ANTIGUA SAILING WEEK 2018

North-powered Clients Celebrate Antigua Style, Dominating Six Division Class Wins, Honorable Awards, And A New Race Record

116 Teams from all over the world arrived in Antigua for the 51st edition of Sailing Week. Not only a great showing for the visiting sailors, but the local racing fleet showed their true colors in representation- making for a fantastic week of competitive island racing. Each day the racing was amazing, with breezes ranging from 16-25 knots with 12-foot swells, giving sailors a real taste of Antigua. With 54 courses to choose from, race committee volunteers kept the sailors on their toes each day with long, exciting, and very different races that allowed for some of the most breathtaking views. Seven races were completed by the end of the week, giving teams a forgiving discard, which made the scoresheet very competitive in each class.

Starting the week off in a fast way- client Stephen Murray, Jr.’s modified VO 70 Warrior came out hot in the Peters & May Round the Island Race, a 53-mile course, in a record time of 3 hours 55 minutes and 38 seconds, blowing away the previous race record held by Peter Harrison’s British superyacht Sojana* by over 42 minutes! With breeze reaching 25 knots, no one could hang with the Warrior or Anthony McVeigh’s GF51 trimaran 2 2 Tango, who swept line honors in the multihull division. Congratulations to both teams for your stedfast performances, kicking off Antigua Sailing Week 2018. Starting with CSA 1, clients Stefan Jentzsch’s Carkeek 47 Black Pearl came in 2nd, followed by Brian McMaster’s Cookson 50 Riff Raff in second and Eduardo Plass’ Camiranga, a Soto 65, in third. In CSA 2, client Sojana* claimed the fame, taking 1st overall as well as the Lord Nelson Trophy for best racing class yacht. Ambersail, with owner Simonas Stepnavicius, was close behind in 2nd. CSA 3 class win was awarded to Arran Chapman’s Spirit of Juno*, a Farr 65, followed by Oyster Starry Night of the Caribbean. IN CSA 4 RP37 TAZ claimed a podium position, placing 2nd in class after an unexpected rig failure in the last race on Friday, giving Dingo a chance to move in for the kill.

In CSA 5 Jonty and Vicky Layfield’s 3Di-powered Swan 48 Sleeper X haunted our dreams with an impressive first place streak, followed by Scarlett Island Girl, a Dufour 45e, with owners Ross Applebey and Ossie Stewart who sailed a great regatta. In third was Rob Butler’s modified Reflex 38 Touch 2 Play Racing* from Collingwood, Ontario. Touch 2 Play* also claimed the CSA Travellers Trophy, for best overall results across the board in the Caribbean circuit this year. CSA 7 was dominated by locals on NSA Spirit, with owner Jules Mitchell with a solid lead over 2nd place finishers Maella, X-yacht 34 with Raphael Magras, followed by David Cullen’s Pocket Rocket, a J/109. In CSA 8 Biwi Magic with Robbie Ferron, a modified 6-meter and local topped the fleet with 10 points after one discard. Our multihull clients had their fair share of fun too, with Robert Szustkowksi’s R-Six taking first place followed by Thirst, a Gunboat 55 with owner Seamus Hourihan.

Congratulations to our clients for your outstanding performances across the board. Another fun sailing week with new friends, spot-on teamwork, and beautiful racing- that’s a wrap! *indicates partial inventories