DAN’S PAPERS
danshamptons.com
August 24, 2012 Page 59
By eric feil
Y
ears from now, a crowd will be gathered at the Sag Harbor waterfront on an August afternoon, marveling at a parade of sailboats and cheering yet another running of the AntiguaBarbuda Hamptons Challenge. It may be 25 years from now or more, but somewhere in that crowd you’ll hear voices talking about the first time they saw this race. You never forget your first time. The 25 boats that made up the inaugural Antigua-Barbuda Hamptons Challenge regatta set sail from the Breakwater Yacht Club amid rainy skies and fickle winds this past Saturday, but in the glow of the awards party back at the yacht club hours later, reggae band in the background, you’d never know the day was awash in anything but Caribbean sunshine. “No matter where those spinnakers fly, it’s always beautiful,” said Antigua-Barbuda Minister of Tourism John Maginley, and nobody in the crowd could argue. “Everybody came home safely, yeah? We haven’t lost anybody? Then we’ve had a successful race.” Those are fine standards, but the bar set by Maginley and Captains Guide magazine publisher Rob Roden when they conceived of the Antigua-Barbuda Hamptons Challenge last year were far loftier. What they dreamt of was a race that would promote East End sailing and the sailing haven that is Antigua, then link those two cultures beyond the rigging and mainsails. “Hamptons in the summertime, Antigua
the rest of the year,” Maginley says. “That’s what we’ve been saying all along.” The first ambassadors of that notion are the recipients of the regatta’s top prize—an all-expensespaid trip for the winning captain and six crewmembers to fly to the Caribbean and compete in Antigua Sailing Week 2013 next spring—and the announcement of the winner was the highlight of race day. The handicapping system governing the race meant that not only could smaller boats have a chance of upsetting the big boys, but that the first boat to cross the finish line was not necessarily the overall grand-prize winner. Beer and wine and camaraderie flowing at the yacht club gave way to a moment of “American Idol”–worthy anticipation as Maginley paused before revealing the champion. And when he announced that the boat Wasn’t Me, led by Jim Ryan—the vice commodore of the Peconic Bay Sailing Association and one of the key race organizers from the very beginning—had earned top honors, cheers exploded. Not just for the winner, but the success of the event. Launching a new endeavor of this magnitude in the Hamptons is no easy task. “This is something unique,” Maginley said. “It’s the only regatta in the Hamptons in the summertime, there’s a prize that nobody else can offer. And when I see commodores of yacht clubs and experienced sailors saying ‘Yes, this is something I want to be part of,’ that’s important. “Also very important is the iTri Triathlon HDS_Reg_Dans.4C_2012.pdf
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“Sleek as a yacht, Andrra Glides into Three Mile Harbor ready to revel” - Newsday “Andrra is dreamy” - The East Hampton Star THE
Theresa Roden
Antigua-Barbuda Sailboat Race Held Here Last Week
Colin James, Mindy Vitale, Jim Ryan and John Maginley
charity,” he continues, lauding the program that helps adolescent girls build self-esteem and other life skills through triathlon training, which the race supports. “While we’re promoting Antigua, we’re also helping underprivileged girls in this area—there’s a social side to it. So the racers have a good time—you can see they’re all partying here!—iTri develops and can support the young ladies. And for Antigua and Barbuda, we’re fixing our presence in this community in a very positive way.” It is a presence the race organizers only see growing. “We had 25 boats this year,” says Ryan. “I see 75 boats next year. Everybody’s going to want in—it’s a huge prize. It’s going to ramp up sailing on the East End dramatically. This is going to be a Hamptons event, like the Hampton Classic horse show. This is something people are going to want to be a part of.”
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