The 52nd edition of Antigua Sailing Week will be remembered for a cocktail of superb sailing, thrilling racing and a great party atmosphere ashore. Teams from 21 different countries from all over the world chose Antigua Sailing Week as their destination.
The trade winds blew for all six days of racing; mixed in with tropical heat and a rollercoaster ride of Caribbean swell, Antigua delivered world class sailing. Racing was incredibly close with the majority of the classes enjoying thrilling competition.
New marks introduced provided the opportunity for longer coastal courses, allowing the boats to stretch their legs and take in the beautiful west and rugged east coasts of Antigua. The introduction of new top and bottom marks on the Windward Course allowed for better windward-leeward race tracks, testing the technical abilities of the international fleet.
Sir Peter Harrison's Farr 115 Sojana was the overall winner of Antigua Sailing Week, retaining the coveted Lord Nelson Trophy. It has been 20 years since Larry Ellison's Sayonara achieved the last successful defence, and Sir Peter and the Sojana crew were ecstatic with their achievement.
“It's fantastic; we won the Trophy last year and in 2011, so this is a hat trick. I didn't think we would ever do it!” exclaimed Sir Peter Harrison. “The wind has been very strong all week, so Sojana has been powering along and there hasn't been a day when we haven't done well. I am absolutely delighted,” he concluded.
Sojana was the best boat racing in CSA Overall, winning the Corum Cup, second overall in CSA winning the Peter Deeth Trophy was Scarlet Oyster, and third overall winning the Catamaran Marina Cup was Lady Mariposa. The Bareboat Overall Champion, winning the Dream Yacht Charter Trophy, and a voucher for one week's bareboat charter from Antigua Sailing Week 2020, was Hans Steidle's KH+P Barbuda.
Sojana was the winner of CSA 1, scoring six race wins. Lithuanian Volvo 65 Ambersail2, skippered by Simonas Steponavicius won the last race to take runner up. With Jean-Pierre Dick's French JP54 The Kid in third.
In CSA 2, Ker 46 Lady Mariposa, skippered by Jesper Bank, scored six bullets to lift the English Harbour Rum Trophy. Lombard 46 Pata Negra, skippered by Adrian Fisk's Itchenor SC team won the last race to claim second, a point ahead of Jeremy Thorp's British GP42 Phan.
“We are pretty ecstatic right now. It's been an awesome week!” commented Jason Rowed, Lady Mariposa. “We have had a great time in a fantastic location. Great wind, great courses and we have all really enjoyed the week with hospitality from friendly people.”
In CSA 3, Adrian Lee's Irish Swan 60 Lee Overlay Partners II scored five bullets and was also declared Best Swan at Antigua Sailing Week. Mark Jagger's CNB 60 Theia of London was second, and OnDeck Antigua's Farr 65 Spirit of Juno was third.
In CSA 4 Ross Applebey's British Oyster 48 Scarlet Oyster won arguably the most competitive CSA Class, lifting the Sanhall Trademarks Trophy and the Hinckley Cup for best racing charter yacht. Pamala Baldwin's Antiguan J122 Liquid was second and also the winner of the CSA Travellers' Trophy. Andy Middleton's British First 47.7 EH01 was third in class.
CSA 5 featured close racing with races won or lost by seconds. Jonty and Vicki Layfield's Antiguan J/11s Sleeper battled to a class win, lifting the Governor General's Cup. Sleeper was also awarded Best Caribbean and Best Antiguan Yacht. Sir Richard Matthews, competing in his 40th Antigua Sailing Week with his British ST37 HoldIng Pattern, was runner-up. Martyn Oldroyd's Royal Yorkshire YC team racing First 40 Optimus Prime was third and the first time Martyn has made the big stage after 30 years of trying.
CSA 6 was won by Jules Mitchell's team who are all under 20 and racing the National Sailing Academy's modified Cork 1720 Spirit. The all-Antiguan team scored six bullets to win the class, lifting the Henley Trophy. Second was Raymond Magras and Patrick Bernier's St.Barths team, racing Dufour 34 Speedy Nemo. Raphael Magras' x-34 Maëlia CEPAC Antilles, also from St.Barths was third.
Robert Szustkowski's Polish HH66 R-SIX won all five races to dominate the Multihull Class. Stephen Bourne's Rapido 60 Ineffable was second, and Fredrik Moe's Gunboat 60 Momentum was third.
The inaugural Double-Handed Class was won by Philip Asche's American Swan 44 Freebird, winning the National Parks Trophy in the very last race. David Kinsey's Oyster 49 Buckaroo was second, and Henry Rourke's Open 40 Raucous was third.
Full results: www.yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative.cfm?eID=4734
