A conversation with Alison Sly-Adams about the 2018 Antigua Sailing Week
by David Schmidt 25 Apr 2018 16:00 BST
April 28, 2018
CSA 5 fleet including Chris Jackson/Sailing Logic's Beneteau First 40, Arthur, Jeremy Thorp's Beneteau First 40, Joanna and Philippe Falle skippering Lipton -Performance Yacht racing's A40 on the final day at Antigua Sailing Week © Paul Wyeth /
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While time has a tendency of dulling memories, really great memories have a way of shinning brighter than others. For me, one such great memory involves the 2008 Antigua Sailing Week, where I was fortunate to be sent (by a different publication) on an editorial assignment that included rides on several super maxis and a lickety-split Gunboat, as well as a few days aboard a Beneteau 50 that some industry friends and I had charted to race in the bareboat division. Tough labor this was not, especially considering that the trip involved flying a hull aboard the Gunboat near the world-famous Pillars of Hercules and getting a great lesson in self-generated apparent wind aboard the maxis, as well as kicking back with victuals, libations and friends aboard the Beneteau.
While I’ve been lucky to have sailed in a number of the classic Caribbean regattas, I remember being especially impressed with Antigua Sailing Week’s variety of courses (and lengths), which tested all teams’ abilities to quickly change gears as wind angles and velocities dictated.
Stir in plenty of sunshine, saline and sailing, coupled with an energetic social scene involving multi-national sailors, and there’s a darn good reason that I regularly conjure-up this sun-kissed trip during the dreary depths of Seattle’s yearly Grey Period.
Last year saw devastating hurricanes sweep across whole swaths of the Caribbean, scything lives and livelihoods with their powerful winds and rain, but-fortunately for local residents and visiting sailors-Antigua was spared the worst of this fury and is in full swing for this year’s regatta.
I interviewed Alison Sly-Adams, Antigua Sailing Week’s Commercial Director, via email, to learn more about the 2018 edition of this classic Caribbean event.
Can you give us an update on this year’s Antigua Sailing Week? Do you and the other organizers have anything new or exciting in store this year?
The on-the-water-racing side remains very similar to last year, with a couple of small exceptions including improving the handicap system for the Club Class.
Can you give us an overview of the week’s racing? What kinds of courses will sailors be racing, and how many races can sailors expect to get in (provided that the weather gods cooperate, of course)?
We have 54 set courses ranging from 4.9 nautical miles to 27.8 nautical miles, which can be applied to the appropriate classes each morning, allowing for the various weather conditions.
The marks are set across the southwestern to southeastern end of Antigua, which is also fantastic for those who would like to watch. Each class can expect to be out on the water for [three to four] hours and will complete one or two race each day.
What kind of registration numbers are you guys seeing this year, and how do these numbers compare to your last couple editions? Also, what classes are looking especially strong in terms of numbers for this year?
Registration numbers to date are well ahead of 2016 but still a little shy of our 50th Anniversary year in 2017, which is what we expected. We currently have 121 boats on the entry list so should end up with 110 boats on the start line as we often lose some in the last week due to breakages and no-shows.
The preliminary class splits are all looking strong with an average of 12 yachts per class, which makes for great, competitive racing and a real achievement if you are successful enough to get onto the podium at the daily or final prize giving.
What advice would you offer to teams that are racing Antigua Sailing Week for the first time? What about for returning veterans?
For first-timers I would strongly suggest taking it easy on the rum, certainly on the first night!
Seriously though, do your homework on the weather and currents, we can have gusty winds and proportionately strong currents [that] can make a big difference to results. For the veterans, watch out for the new competition, there are some hot teams on their way, no two years are ever exactly the same.
For crews who can be here early, the Peters & May Round Antigua Race is a great tune up race – 52 nautical miles around Antigua on the 28th April, but if not the five days of racing in Antigua Sailing Week is still a marathon for many, so be sure to come feeling suitably fit and ready to feel the mid-week pain set in.
We do have a Lay Day planned exactly for that reason: to give all crews a day of downtime before the last two days.
So many different regattas that began as week-long affairs have been forced to truncate their racing to fit into a three- or four-day weekend—how has Antigua Sailing Week managed to maintain its full-week status, and are there lessons in there that other organizers could use to help preserve the length of their regattas?
An interesting question–for a while we did discuss whether we needed to change the format but interestingly having talked to a lot of the charter companies and crews, they like the [full] week. It does mean it’s a bigger time investment but in reality the cost of charter and flights is pretty much the same whether it’s a three-day regatta or a week, and it means that people get real value for money for the extended event if you look at it from that perspective.
We are also somewhat lucky with ASW as it being the first Caribbean regatta of its kind (often referred to as the Grand Daddy of regattas) it’s very much on people’s bucket list as an event. What we have had to do is work hard to manage the different expectations of sailors, spectators and party-goers as the original creation of the event was to be a marketing tool for Antigua and to extend the season. It still achieves both of those objectives but its DNA is professionally managed serious racing.
In order to deliver [this], six years ago we did change from the event being a destination event [that] made stops around the island to all being centrally based out of English Harbour–and we added a daily prize giving where all the sailors get together in one location post-racing (on the podium if they had a good day).
The logistics of destination racing were way too complex and costly and given that the event is a weeklong was starting to price itself out of the market. On the shoreside we then offer beach parties and a huge concert called Reggae in the Park, which offer great opportunities to experience Caribbean culture for those who want to.
What about onshore and evening entertainment—what do you guys have in store for visiting sailors this year?
Saturday 28th April – Peters & May Round Antigua Race Prize Giving & the Official ASW Opening Party – live music under the stars in UNESCO designated Nelson’s Dockyard – it doesn’t really get much better than that!
Sunday 29th April – The first of five days of after Race Prize Giving & Parties, the first three afternoons are located at Antigua Yacht Club with live music after the daily prize giving’s, the last two in Nelson’s Dockyard. Each afternoon prizes are given out from Sponsors English Harbour Five-Year Old Rum, Fever Tree, KPMG and Johnnie Walker.
Tuesday 1st May–Reggae in the Park–a fantastic night, and the ninth edition of this party usually [attracts] 3,000-4,000 people in Nelson’s Dockyard. It’s a magical night listening to conscious reggae with an audience of sailors, other visitors and locals all in the name of reggae!
Wednesday 2nd May-a much needed day off and the Wadadli Beer Lay Day Beach Party at Pigeon Point Beach. Beach games and recovery set from 12 PM until 3 PM and then a line up of seven DJs take us past sunset.
Thursday 3rd May – Seafood Thursday follows on from the afternoon prize giving party.
Friday 4th May – the Final Award Party – traditional ASW silverware including the Lord Nelson’s Trophy is presented by the Governor General of Antigua and Barbuda followed by live music late into the night.
It doesn’t end there either – there are then two parties, Dockyard Day, which is a family day of fun when all the islanders head to English Harbour and take part in fun and games including the greasy pole! And the day comes to a close following the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda’s Beating of the Retreat.
The following day, we head to the North of the island to the INET Dickenson Bay Beach Bash–a ten-hour beach party marathon [that] is the final finale! Thank goodness the following day is a bank holiday in Antigua.
For anyone who brings non-racing friends and family, we also have a ‘Chase the Race’ tour that heads out to watch the starts each day and once through sails to a nearby bay, anchors up for lunch and snorkeling before heading back to the base at Falmouth Harbour Marina.
Can you tell us about any steps that you and the other organizers have recently taken to help reduce the regatta’s environmental footprint?
We are in our 7th year of The Sailors for the Sea Clean Regattas Program. As a regatta we probably spend a disproportionate amount of time discussing what we can do to minimize our environmental footprint, [and we] also work with the Antigua and Barbuda Marine Association and the other marine events in Antigua to try and impact behaviors year-round.
Once such program has been the Straws on Request program– we have managed to run this program year-round, island-wide, and are seeing a big decrease in straw usage, [as well as] many bars either banning or now switching to paper.
Antigua has finally banned Styrofoam packaging and plastic bags, and now has a ban on importation of plastic straws and utensils with eyes on a future ban. Lobster-closed season starts 1st May so we will be doing our utmost to ensure all vendors in the event support that and raise awareness with our guests to not eat any lobster, if offered, [after] that date.
Our final newest initiative this year is to reduce single-use plastic cups. We will have an event cup [that] people get on their first drink order and then need to keep it with them for the entire night. We expect to see an 80-percent drop in plastic cups going to the landfill, and I am delighted to say that a new company has just set up who will be using all [previously used] plastics to manufacture other items.
Finally we have a green team in place who [will] deal with all the recyclables. Our official beer has a deposit scheme so collects all bottles and re-uses them.
Anything else that you’d like to add, for the record?
It’s going to be great! We had our 50th event last year so this year is the start of the next 50 years. If people haven’t experienced [Antigua Sailing Week], it’s time to come!