Antigua Sailing Day Regatta at St Edmundsbury Sailing & Canoeing Association
by Mike Steele 25 Jun 2018 14:38 BST
24 June 2018
Competitors and spectators enjoyed Caribbean like weather at the St Edmundsbury Sailing & Canoeing Association's 'Antigua Sailing Day Regatta', at Lackford Lake, near Bury St Edmunds, on Sunday.
This was the 6th running of the event, which was originally conceived to celebrate and coincide with Antigua Sailing Week. The move of the Regatta to June certainly provided warmer temperatures than in recent years, although the wind turned out to be rather light and shifty. The Chief Race Officer, Debs Steele, did well to get three races completed during the day with time for a lunch break.
The fleet was boosted by a large contingent from the Newmarket and Mildenhall Sea Cadets, who coped well with the challenging conditions. The racing, however, was dominated by the Denny brothers – James, Richard, Sam and Ben – who showed remarkable speed and consistency in the fickle breeze.
Their performance may have been enhanced by the mellow, calypso sounds of the steel pan band, that had been generously provided by the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority, wafting over the lake.
In the final standings, James Denny won the overall prize, with three first places in his Laser; Mike Senior came second in another Laser, with Mike Steele third. Sam Denny won the junior prize in his Topper, narrowly being his older brother Richard, with Sam and Finn taking third in a Pico. The ladies' prize went to Sea Cadet Sophia Shaw.
Prizes were presented by Cherrie Osborne, Director of Tourism for the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority.