Sailing Events On Friday the wind increased for the ‘Old Road Race’. This trend continued into Saturday. The seas were rough in places and green water cascaded down the decks of even the larger yachts. Sunday did see improvements, but the winds continued to blow for the ‘Cannon Race’. Then came the customary parade into English Harbour. The yachts glided past the overflowing restaurants at Antigua Slipway, their crews in fancy dress, and bursts of cannon fire adding to the nautical vibe. For the last race on Monday conditions returned to normal and it was a brisk Caribbean day. On Tuesday kids and adults took part in the popular ‘gig racing’ event, rowing and sailing their varnished dinghies around the harbour for fun prizes. Then came the final prize-giving presentation on the stage outside the Copper and Lumber Store, an event where almost everyone wins a prize! The overall prizes in 2013 went to Genesis who won the ‘Traditional Class‘, Sumurun who won the ‘Vintage Class‘ and Petrana who took the ‘Classic GRP Class‘ trophy. Wild Horses just beat Spirit of Rani in a tie-break in the ‘Spirit of Tradition Class‘, whilst Stormvogel won the ‘Classic Class‘ and the ‘Yachting World Trophy‘ for best elapsed time overall. Juno beat Adventuress by 34 seconds to get first overall out of the schooners, and Seljm was the fastest schooner for the ‘Beken of Cowes Trophy‘. The final prize, the Panerai watch for the best total corrected time, went to Sumurun. We look forward to a successful Classic Yacht Regatta in 2014.
ANTIGUA CLASSIC YACHT REGATTA
See www.antiguaclassics.com Email: info@antiguaclassics.com
17 – 22 April 2014 By Captain Kenny Coombs, ACYR Chairman
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The Regatta began as usual with the welcome ‘Red Hat Party’ sponsored by Mount Gay rum, local rock band ‘1761’ getting everyone into the party mood. The yachts took centre stage next morning, Adventuress, a recentlyrestored 1924 William Fife Gaff schooner winning the overall prize in the Concourse d’ Elegance judging. The single-handed race followed in the afternoon. The big boat class was won by Sapheadra; the Herreshoff S boat Aquilla was the victor in the small boat class.
Photos: Jason Pickering
he 26th annual Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta in 2013 saw a record number of entries. The weather proved challenging. High winds and building seas created exciting sailing conditions for the owners and captains of these vintage sailing yachts.
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