2025 Superyacht Challenge Antigua - Day 2
by Louay Habib 8 Mar 2025 14:31 GMT
5-9 March 2025
German Frers 140ft (42m) ketch Rebecca © Cory Silken
A tricky first day of racing for the Superyacht Challenge Antigua with 9-13 knots of breeze from the southeast oscillating throughout race-time.
PRO Hank Stuart and the SYCA Race Committee set a seven-leg course of approximately 21NM, weaving inshore and offshore off the South Coast of Antigua.
Buccaneers
Don Macpherson's Swan 90 (27.5m) Freya was the winner of the first race of the series from Swan 90 Hummingbird captained by Josh Hill. Freya won by eight minutes after ORCsy time correction but that included Hummingbird's five minute penalty for being OCS. Third in the Buccaneers Class was Oyster 885 Karibu (27m) captained by Williams Dovey. Fourth was John McMonigall's Oyster 82 Zig Zag.
Hummingbird's tactician is Ben Saxton who represented Great Britain in the 2017 Summer Olympics and is a NACRA World Champion but this is his first Superyacht Challenge Antigua.
"This is my first time racing in Antigua, and I am loving it!" commented Saxton. "Sailing beautiful boats in amazing waters with wind and sea state that makes it interesting and challenging. Today, planning ahead was important because we had a lot of corners, so avoiding traffic was a big one and with the subtle changes in wind direction and strength making the right sail choice was very important. This is a very friendly and well-run event with a happy atmosphere. The quality of sailors here is phenomenal and mixed with great boats, great teams and amazing weather, makes a fantastic combination."
Swan 90 Hummingbird is back for their second regatta, Captain Josh Hill explains why. "This was the owners first regatta last year and Hummingbird had a great time and as a result is now fully into superyacht racing, so it was a no brainer to come back" explained Hill. "Hummingbird has had an extensive refit including the hull, new sail wardrobe and a big focus on our rating and ultimately getting closer to Freya on the water. We will be going to the 'Bucket this year and hope that three Swan 90s will be racing and Antigua is a really good pre-feeder to St Barths, we are really grateful to be here."
Corsairs
The 121ft (37m) Dykstra sloop Action captained by Angus Fuller was the winner of the first race by just over eight minutes after ORCsy time correction. The 98' 5" (30m) Dubois sloop Nostromo co-captained by Ed Handasyde-Dick and Justin Blackmore was second. The 148ft (45m) Dubois sloop Gitana captained by Greg Wilson completed the podium but their OCS penalty cost them second place after ORCsy time correction.
Privateers
The 182ft (55.5m) Dykstra schooner Adela, captained by Greg Perkins was in impressive form winning the race by over 15 minutes after ORCsy time correction. Second was the German Frers 140ft (42m) ketch Rebecca captained by Seumas Meharg. Completing the Corsairs' podium was the 148ft (45m) Dubois ketch Catalina captained by Sean Whitney.
Women making waves at the SYCA
Laura Dillon is back as tactician on board John McMonigall's Oyster 82 Zig Zag. John's team, with a majority women crew, is back for its ninth regatta in a row.
"Big race boats often have mostly male crew and that is understandable as the enormous sails require big muscles but I think that this regatta is great for women," commented Dillon. "It is so friendly both afloat and ashore, everybody is made to feel part of the event. We only have a couple of paid crew on Zig Zag and we are up against some of the best professionals but we get plenty of experience racing at this level and that has to be a good thing. Getting on to big boats is not always easy for women sailors but this regatta definitely bucks that trend and I would encourage more women to take part."
Paddleboard racing and party vibes
After a wonderful day of superyacht racing, the adrenalin junkies from the superyachts flexed their muscles for Paddleboard racing, while the rest of the entourage cheered on their teams from the beach party with the DJ spinning tunes to add to the spice of the entertainment.
Ten teams took part with Freya, Action, Rebecca and Karibu making it to the final after the knock-out rounds. In the four-team final disaster struck Freya shortly after the start when their paddleboard snapped. Rebecca, Action and Karibu all took the lead during the four-leg relay final. However, Rebecca was the first to finish winning the SYCA Paddleboard competition. Karibu was runner up with Action third in front of Freya. However the real winner was PAAWS Antigua which is a charitable rescue home for Dogs and Cats in Parham Antigua. Over US$ 1200 was raised for the worthy cause.
Racing for the Superyacht Challenge Antigua continues Saturday 08 March with more racing off the spectacular southside of Antigua. For full results, more reports and stunning images: www.superyachtchallengeantigua.com