37th Oyster Regatta Antigua - Day 2
by Louay Habib 7 Apr 2016 21:30 BST
4-9 April 2016
Spinnakers to Jolly Harbour
The impressive Oyster fleet weighed anchor in the stunning natural harbour of Nonsuch Bay for the second day of racing at the Oyster Regatta Antigua. The forecast for the day was not looking promising, the typical Trade Winds from the east were forecast to be effected by a low pressure system to produce light southerly winds for the morning, with a dying breeze backing to the east. The race from York Island to Jolly Harbour was downwind for the duration. However, the fickle breeze kept the Oyster fleet on their toes. Heating up the angle in the lulls, and coming down towards the next mark on bullets of pressure, was a key technique. In terms of strategy, choosing when to gybe, to stay in pressure, was the key to performance.
Principle Race Officer and Oyster Group CEO, David Tydeman, summarised the day's racing.
"For once, the forecast was right, with the breeze dying off early in the afternoon and we had very close racing, leg after leg, until perhaps the very last, which was where some big gains and losses were made. Starting today was much smarter than yesterday, with everyone less than a minute from the gun. Oyster 82, Starry Night of the Caribbean was just two seconds shy of the line for the best start.
In Class 1 the top four boats were just six minutes apart on corrected time, however their order had been continuously changing during the race. Oyster 885 Guardian Angel was the winner of Class 1 but at Curtains, the penultimate mark, Guardian Angel was in third place.
In Class 2, Dick Hammill's Spirit had a fantastic race, especially considering that this was the first time they had raised their spinnaker on the new Oyster 575 and it was only in the last mile of the last leg that Henrik Nyman's Oyster 625 Delicia got their strategy spot on, to save their time and win the Class.
In Class 3 it was great to see Oyster 53, Crackerjack gain confidence, switch from being a social entry and join the race fleet with two very young children on board. It was delightful to see the whole family in costumes crossing the line! Simon Brown's Oyster 56, Britican was impressive today, scoring the biggest winning margin of any Class and Ian Galbraith's Jig Saw had another consistent race to take second with the first of the new Oyster 545s, Shelena, taking third."
The Oyster Regatta Party was held at The Tamarin Restaurant at Curtain Bluff Resort, one of Antigua's finest and long established beach resorts. Oyster owners, their guests and crew arrived to a spectacular sunset and enjoyed a very warm welcome from the Managing Director, Rob Sherman in the resorts fabulous facilities. Curtain Bluff proved its reputation for service offering nearly 130 people choices from a menu created especially for Oyster and serving some wonderful fine wines. After dinner, live music packed the dance floor, with sailors energised by the knowledge of a lay day the following day.
Racing at the Oyster Regatta Antigua continues on Friday 8th April, with a racing around laid marks off Jolly Bay Marina.
Full regatta report including results here.
For more information about Oyster Yachts visit www.oysteryachts.com