Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta: The Trades Came Back

With great relief, the seasonal 15-knot easterly trade winds came back today and the relatively flat seas made perfect sailing conditions for the third day of racing at the 35th Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta. The new Caterpillar course, which is the reverse of yesterday's Butterfly course, was enjoyed by all.  Cameron Riddell, owner of Eros, commented “Amazing conditions today. We’ve sailed here many years and the conditions rivalled the conditions of any year we’ve been here. It was amazing."  Eros' skipper, Colin Horton added “Today was a good schooner day. We were wing on wing at the finish. That was pretty awesome.”  

In the windier conditions today, the tall ships finished their race with Ocean Star, the 88-foot Seamester youth sailing vessel, coming first on corrected time, following by Sailing Classics' 177-foot staysail ketches Rhea in second place and Chronos third. That leaves only one point separating all three ships in the class in the cumulative standings with one race to left. In the schooner class, Charm III claimed first place again today, followed by Eros in second and Adventurer third. In the vintage and classic class, Bolero came first today, with Seefalke II and Petrana coming in tied second and The Blue Peter fourth.

That puts Seefalke II in first place in the cumulative standings with The Blue Peter a point and a half back and Bolero only one point behind them. In the traditional class, Alani was first today with Genesis second and New Moon third creating a showdown in the final race as Genesis leads with six points, Alani one point back with seven and New Moon eight. In the Modern A class Legacy won today with Saida second and Longbow of Itchen third.

In the cumulative standings Legacy leads Saida by one point going into the final race. In the spirit of tradition class, Eager won first place today with Chloe Giselle second and Freya third. Chloe Giselle leads in the cumulative standings going into the final race but Eager and Freya are tied for second only one point behind. Finally, in the Modern B class Jabberwock now has three first places giving them a four point lead in the cumulative standings over Encore, who held onto second with Blue Peter, the 1979 J-30, moving into third place.

With so many classes up for grabs on the last day there will be some spirited sailing in race four on Sunday.

At the 18th century Admirals Inn yesterday evening, English Harbour Rum generously hosted a rum tasting event sampling their older blends matured in different type wooden casks. This evening's Open Mic Night promises to be a lot of fun where anyone can participate showing off their skills singing, dancing and entertaining the crowd.

Tomorrow is the last day of the fleet racing concluding with the late founder, Kenny Coombs' famous Cannon race. Afterwards the yachts will parade through the historic English Harbour Dockyard with running commentary giving the background history about all these amazing classic boats. This spectacular parade can be best viewed from either the lawn in front of the Copper and Lumber Store or the restaurants opposite at Antigua Slipway.