S 2020’ SHORT
BUT VERY SWEET, SAILING SEASON
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As usual, the first few months of the year are a busy time for Antigua & Barbuda’s sailors and yachters. Although participants and fans will now have to wait until 2021 to enjoy the islands’ world-famous Antigua Sailing Week, Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta and other major events that usually take place, the waters around the twin islands have been busy so far in 2020. As one of the top sailing destinations worldwide, the steady trade winds and stable weather conditions between December and May ensure optimal conditions for competitive and leisure sailing alike. Whetting the appetite of local sailors for what was to come later in the season, the year kicked off with the annual Round the Island Race in January; a fun, anticlockwise circumnavigation of the island in which the winners take home the skipper’s weight in rum. Moving into February, teams from 37 nations descended on Antigua for the 12th edition of the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s RORC Caribbean 600. As the only offshore sailing event in the Caribbean, the event is held in association with the Antigua Yacht Club and starts and finishes in Fort Charlotte near English Harbour, taking in some of the most stunning sailing grounds in the world. As the name suggests, the event is a 600-mile race around the Caribbean, passing 11 spectacular Caribbean islands as far as St Maarten in the north and Guadeloupe in the south. Weaving through these magical islands, the teams navigate turquoise seas and regularly spot whales, dolphins and turtles. By night, the boats continue racing under the twinkling stars of a velvety Caribbean sky.
ISSUE 7 • MAY 2020
39
