Superyacht Challenge Antigua 2026 Day 3 - Full Tilt in the Trades
by Louay Habib 8 Mar 15:53 GMT
4-8 March 2026
Course Approx. 20.7NM - South Coast of Antigua
Fast, physical and tactically engaging, Race 2 provided another impressive showcase of superyacht racing in Antigua's legendary trade wind conditions. What a spectacle!
Race 2 of the 2026 Superyacht Challenge Antigua delivered high-speed action along the Antigua's south coast with the trade winds blowing at 20 knots over the deck and plenty more in the gusts. The course began with a fast broad reach on port to Rupert, followed by an uber gybe to another broad reach on starboard to Rendezvous. From there the fleet hardened up for a tight reach to Stan on port before launching into a VMG slalom run down to Curtains. The race concluded with a tactical beat back to the finish.
Corsairs Class
Linnea Aurora, the 128ft Hoek designed sloop with Magnus Woxen as tactician, continued her strong form to win Race 2 on ORCsy corrected time, maintaining their perfect score for the regatta. Linnea Aurora completed the race in an elapsed time of 2h 12m 27s. Second place went to Namuun finishing 15 minutes 38 seconds behind the winner after time adjustment.
The 108ft Hoek designed sloop Namuun is captained by Georgia Poublan. In an industry where superyacht captains as women are rare, Georgia’s role at the helm of Namuun represents an impressive milestone on International Women’s Day.
“My father had a cruising boat from when I was very young, so from the age of six I was already sailing with him around Brittany, England, Scotland and Ireland,” commented Namuun’s Captain Georgia Poublan. “At one point we even lived on the boat for a year and crossed the Atlantic when I was eleven, coming back through Greenland, which was quite an adventure. That lifestyle really shaped me. After school I tried studying business for a couple of years, but it didn’t suit my personality at all. I realised very quickly that what I really wanted was to work at sea.
I joined the yachting industry, got my Yachtmaster and progressed slowly through the ranks. I started as a deckhand on motor yachts before moving onto larger sailing yachts. I spent time on J Class Rainbow, where I progressed to bosun, which was a big step for me, and later worked as mate and engineer on other sailing yachts.
At one stage I felt I needed more adventure and wanted to prove to myself that I was ready for command. I took my father’s 53-foot aluminium explorer yacht and sailed from Panama to French Polynesia, then down to Patagonia and back up to the United States. I also completed a solo passage from Ushuaia to Virginia, about 8,000 miles over 55 days. Those experiences were very important for me. They showed owners what I was capable of and gave me the confidence to take the next step into the captain’s role.
Altogether it took about thirteen years before I became captain of Namuun. It’s quite a long path, but that progression teaches you everything you need to know about running a boat.”
Privateers Performance Class
Hetairos, the 218ft Dykstra/Reichel Pugh ketch captained by Graham Newton, delivered another commanding performance to take victory in Race 2 on ORCsy corrected time. Hetairos completed the 20.7-mile course in an elapsed time of 1h 35m 20s, comfortably securing the class win and maintaining their unbeaten sequence of races. Second place went to the spectacular 213-ft three-masted schooner Adix, finishing 13 minutes 21 seconds behind the winner on corrected time. Rebecca placed third having received an OCS start penalty.
Catalina is very much a cruising yacht at heart. The owner loves exploring new places and getting off the beaten track, but he also really enjoys a fun regatta, so the boat is a great mix of both worlds.
That’s one of the reasons we love coming to the Superyacht Challenge Antigua. It’s a fun event with like-minded people who all enjoy sailing and racing these boats. The Caribbean offers incredible cruising, but the racing here is phenomenal as well. You learn so much about the boat in a single race, sometimes more than you would in weeks of cruising, so it’s great for crew morale and really gets everyone engaged.
Race 2 was a perfect example of that. It was windy, this is probably the windiest regatta I’ve done here, and the conditions were pretty lively. There was a last-minute course change just before the start, so the crew had to react quickly, get the downwind gear up and adapt the plan. It made for a tense but exhilarating start, but that’s exactly the kind of sailing that makes this event so enjoyable.
Since lifting the trophy last year, Catalina has been on an extraordinary cruising programme spanning the Mediterranean and Caribbean. Whitney reflected on the yacht’s recent adventures, the enduring appeal of the Superyacht Challenge Antigua and the exhilarating conditions experienced during Race 2.
“We’ve covered a lot of ground since winning the Gosnell Trophy last year,” said Whitney. “Not long after the regatta we sailed back across the Atlantic and based the boat in Palma, Mallorca. From there we had a busy cruising season; the Balearic Islands, Turkey, Montenegro and Croatia before returning to Palma to prepare for another Atlantic crossing. In the past seven months we’ve crossed the Atlantic three times, then spent time cruising Puerto Rico and the Spanish Virgin Islands before working our way down island to Grenada and back up to Antigua for the regatta.
The best start of the day was by Catalina, just nine seconds before the starting gun. The 148ft Dubois ketch Catalina, captained by Sean Whitney, holds a special place in the history of the Superyacht Challenge Antigua. In 2025, Catalina which was formerly named Timoneer, was awarded the Gosnell Trophy, which was the yacht’s original bell.
Buccaneers Class
Spirit 111 Geist, captained by Justin Pope, maintained their perfect score with victory on ORCsy corrected time in Race 2. Geist completed the race in elapsed time of 2h 04m 13s. Second place went to Swan 90 Hummingbird, finishing just 58 seconds behind the winner after handicap adjustment in one of the closest finishes of the day. The Tripp 90 Prevail placed third after receiving an OCS starting penalty.
“This is our third year coming back to the Superyacht Challenge Antigua,” said Josh Hill, captain of the Swan 90 Hummingbird. “The first time we raced here was actually the owner’s first big-boat regatta. That experience really gave him the bug for this type of racing. Antigua is a fantastic place to start the season. The sailing is always interesting and the social side of the event is something the owner and crew really enjoy as well. It’s a great atmosphere both on and off the water and a perfect warm-up for the rest of the racing programme we have planned this year.
One of the highlights this week was charging downwind at over 20 knots with the owner on the helm. We try to keep a good balance on board: taking the racing seriously while remembering that the owner, family and crew are here to enjoy it. When everyone’s having fun and the boat is performing well, that’s when the programme really works.”
The Superyacht Challenge Antigua is all about celebrating and with SYCA founder Paul Deeth having his birthday, all of the entourage at the day’s Skippers’ Briefing sang in festivity! After racing, 12 teams entered the Paddleboard relay competition held off the Superyacht Dock ‘Beach’ in Nelson’s Dockyard. Three teams made the final, Action, Hummingbird and defending champions Rebecca. In a finish that required a video replay to decide the winner, Action took the title but the real winner was the non-profit Dogs and Cats of Antigua organisation with over US$1500 donated by competing teams at the 2026 Superyacht Challenge Antigua.
The final race of the 2026 Superyacht Challenge Antigua is scheduled for Sunday 8 March to decide the class winners and special prizes, but ultimately the winner of the Gosnell Trophy. The coveted prize is awarded to the yacht, who in the opinion of the competitors and race committee has competed in the spirit of the event, both afloat and ashore.
More Than a Regatta
Now in its 15th year, the Superyacht Challenge Antigua has become a highlight of the Caribbean season. Its appeal lies not only in the quality of racing, but in its atmosphere: mutual respect on the water, camaraderie ashore and the rare opportunity to race extraordinary yachts in an extraordinary place.
For more information: superyachtchallengeantigua.com