Blasting into Fever-Tree race day at Antigua Sailing Week
by Louay Habib 1 May 2018 06:18 BST
28 April - 4 May 2018
Three bullets after two days of racing for NSA Spirit skippered by 19-year old Jules Mitchell and a youth team from the National Sailing Academy competing in a Cork 1720 - 2018 Antigua Sailing Week © Paul Wyeth / pwpictures.com
Strong trade winds continued for Fever-Tree Race Day at Antigua Sailing Week where the rodeo ride upwind was rewarded with double-digit boat speed downwind, blasting through warm Caribbean surf. Sailors from 37 different countries have come to Antigua Sailing Week for the legendary sailing conditions and for the second day in a row, that was delivered in aces.
Antiguan flagged yachts are leading in five classes and three yachts with a perfect scoreline have deep Antiguan roots: Peter Harrison's superyacht Sojana, Jonty Layfield's Swan 48 Sleeper X and Antigua's National Sailing Academy racing Cork 1720, Spirit skippered by Jules Mitchell.
"It's a lot of fun out there on the race course," commented Jules Mitchell, the 19 year-old aiming at representing Antigua and Barbuda at the Olympic Games. "We have good breeze, a good team and a nice boat. Everything is working well for us, but the most important thing is really the team dynamic."
Frank Loubaresse's French Sunfast 3600 TwinL Jaws 2 had a stellar day scoring two bullets in the highly competitive CSA Six. "This is a 30 year reunion for friends and we are having such a great time," commented Loubaresse, sipping a Vodka and Fever-Tree Tonic after racing. "I raced the boat here, crossing the Atlantic in the Transquadra Race and some of the Antigua Sailing Week crew will sail back to Marseille. The boat is good and the team is really cool. The ambience on board is very good and to win one bottle of rum today we are very happy! Antigua Sailing Week is excellent; the weather is fine, even when we get wet, it is just a pleasure and the boat is going fast. The Race Committee is very good, giving us all very effective starts and very well managed races."
Four Caribbean sailing wizards are having a grand master showdown in CSA Eight. Robbie Ferron racing the Modified 6 Meter Biwi Magic scored his second bullet of the regatta today to lead the class. Geoffrey Pidduck racing Bavaria 44 Minerva fought back to take the last race to place second after three races. Tanner Jones' Caribbean Alliance Insurance (Blue Peter) is in third and Sandy Mair is in fourth with Cricket, a Beneteau First 35.
"It wasn't just Geoffrey we were tussling with today, we had tussles with all sorts of people. I am not selective who I tussle with," commented Robbie Ferron. "Geoffrey is sailing very well and to be honest the last race was a tough one for me. I was being passed by so many boats and I went offshore. It was very strange with a different wind there, which was unusual, but it helped me catch back up. It is a great battle in our class and we will have to be on our game. On the other course we should have a finish to weather, which is the key to me. Biwi Magic points high and she goes through everything."
Congratulations to all of today's winners including: Stephen Murray Jr's Modified Volvo 70 Warrior, On Deck's Farr 65 Spirit of Juno, skippered by Arran Chapman, Oyster 82 Starry Night of the Caribbean, Jean Michel Figueres' Farr 40 Perseverare Diabolicum, Alexander Pfeiffer's KH+P La Bella Vita, Rainer Kamrath's Vanuatu, Thorsten Meyer's Rubens, Canon & Harvey's KHS&S Contractors, Robert Szustkowski's HH66 R-SIX, and Grahame Williams Bavaria 42 Full Monty.
Tomorrow's racing on the third day of Antigua Sailing Week is all about celebrating youth sailing in Antigua and Antigua & Barbuda Sailing Association's (ABSA) new Youth to Keelboat Programme (Y2K), sponsored by the Global Bank of Commerce.
Find out more at www.sailingweek.com