Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta

"Boto" aboard "Kuhela"

The 24th Annual Classic Yacht Regatta is presented by the Antigua Yacht Club, April 14th-19th, 2011.

We’ve heard about Antigua and it’s regatta for some time now and are excited to be here (finally, although we are now safely tucked away on July 28th in Grenada, we are recounting our regatta adventure for posterity). While Antigua is yet another beautiful Caribbean island, we get the impression that the primary reason to visit are the Regattas. Following on the heels of the Classic Regatta, (which is a showcase of racing yachts from the 1920’s-1930’s as well as newer yachts whose designs mimic the craftsmanship of those bygone days) is the Antigua Sailing Week, April 24th-29th, 2011. The Sailing Week is a competition of the latest and greatest racing yachts, crewed by professional sailors. Although we saw many of the newer race boats on our visit we were most taken with the classics.

After getting ourselves settled in and making the rounds to greet old friends and new we are ready for the races. With a quickly accepted invitation from “Kuhela” to join them on Sunday the 17th to watch the races from the first mark we are up and going early. We first met Harry and Linda of “Kuhela” in the Bahamas last year and have continuously crossed paths with them ever since, we love Harry and Linda.
Linda's a laugher. Harry's an eater


They have decided to open their home ( http://kuhela.blogspot.com/ ), a 45 foot Royal Cape catamaran built in South Africa in 2002-3 to a group of cruisers for a day at the races. In addition to “Boto” the guest list includes; Rob and Lauren of “Arita” (http://aritacruising.blogspot.com/ ), Dudley and Becca of “Altair” (http://sailblogs.com/member/altair ), Rick and Debbie of “Miss Heidi”, Ken and Lynn of “Silverheels III”, Dave of “Persephone”, Bev of Bev and John (john was off racing on one of the classic work boats, in their spare time they run a charter boat out of Eastern Canada), Mark and Willie of "Liahona"(http://svliahona.wordpress.com/ ) and a further cast of thousands. Visit the regatta home page here, http://antiguaclassics.com/ .

Short of being on deck, hovering just off the first mark for a sailboat race is a lot of fun. The pictures to follow will tell the tale, we thank Lauren and Rob of “Arita” for sharing these with us as our camera has been on the blink since St. Martin; truth be told it kinda worked until Ed decided to fix it. Oh well a new camera should catch up with us in Guadelope.



There is something enchanting about the lines of classic sailboats, even more so when seen under sail.



Of course modern yachts have taken the best of the yesterdays craftsmanship and combined it with todays technology to create some wonderful boats, there is no better example of this than the "Maltese Falcon" ( http://www.symaltesefalcon.com/about.php ) our neighbor in Falmouth Harbour and later in St. Kitts.


After a week of regatta parties, how does Antigua top things off? A "Red Hat Party" of course. One of the unoffical sponsors is the rum that started it all, Mount Gay. The red hats have become collectors items over the years, selling on eBay (where else) for large sums. In order to receive a "free" Red Hat, one must obtain a voucher. These vouchers are handed out at various establishments around the island, of course one must first imbibe in a certain amount of Mount Gay product in order to receive the "free" hat vouchers. We managed to acquire six (6) hats, one tee-shirt and a backback. Vicky managed to acquire the shirt and backback using her female wiles and her big smile. Two of the hats were obtained by knocking back EC$ 50 worth of rum drinks, while the other four were obtained through old fashioned begging. For the nice young lady from the Mount Gay Rum stand who accomodated us with four additional hats I want you to know that the additional hats were in fact gifted to some very appreciative young folks that were unable to attend. For those out there thinking we were robbed by having to dole out EC$50 (about US$18) don't worry about us. Mount Gay was gracious enough to set up a sampling tent the night of the Red Hat party, gratis.



What party is complete without bagpipes and paella!

Antigua

It’s July 28th, but we’re looking back……

April 14, 2011: Forecast:
Thr 4/14 NE/ENE winds 15-17k with squalls
Fri 4/15 E winds 12-15k early and dry then less than 10k NE
In my next life I may try to be a weather forecaster, of course I will model myself on Steve Martin from “LA Story”. We left St. Barts heading for Antigua with 80nm in front of us not a big trip but an overnighter, and we always wish to have good handle on the weather when we have to make an overnighter. Good news, the weather guys got it more or less RIGHT!!! Boto manages a comfortable 4.5k for the entire trip, we cover 78nm and although we see thunderheads throughout the evening we are spared the punishment of squalls.
Many sailors love to sail at night; others avoid the trek as much as possible. The crew of Boto is somewhat indifferent, although practical. Sailing through a single nights crossing is no big deal, extended nights tend to rob one of a good night’s sleep. When we are faced with 24, 48 or 72 hours under sail we have a nice meal before we depart and prep our other meals; then we hug and kiss and it’s on watch for one while the other tries to sleep. Long distance sailing is not a joy ride, it is an endurance test and as we are “Cruisers” we try to avoid the long hauls whenever possible. We make Jolly Harbor, Antigua at 0830 on 4/15 and it is time to check in once again; new country new rules. We find out later that many sailors have had a hell of a time checking in at Jolly Harbor, however for us it was more or less easy!? After anchoring, we drop the dinghy and off to customs, immigration and port authority we go. Upon presenting our papers to customs we are asked, “Where is your boat”, to wit we respond, anchored outside in the bay. Apparently, the rules require all vessels to present themselves at the dock so that customs can visually inspect them. While not a big deal, it is always problematic to approach an unknown warf in an unknown bay. After a few kind words, and an offer to bring “Boto” to the dock the officers “took pity” (as Mom always says smile and be nice, of course nobody wants to mess with Mom, so she has it easy). We didn’t have to come to the dock! So after visiting Customs, Immigration and Port Authority (by the way all three offices are housed in the same trailer) and paying the appropriate fees we entered into Antigua. We later found that numerous other vessels had a hard time clearing in, having to bring the boat alongside for inspection. Either we were lucky, or we simply have an endearing quality!?
We are now legit, so off to Falmouth Harbor by way of English Harbour. Ed’s a WEENIE! English Harbour is a quaint old harbor with restored boat works all along the docks. It’s also fairly small and on the 15th of April it is packed cheek to jowl with boats, nary room to swing a dead cat let alone a 40’ boat. Although there may have been some possible spots to drop anchor, Ed’s a WEENIE and we head off to Falmouth Harbour.
Of course Falmouth is larger with lots more space. Of course there is a squall our first night and boats drag all over the bay making for a lot of fun, that is unless you are on Boto watching the larger yachts drag toward you. Things quite down and we are finally off to a good night’s sleep. Crews must rest well as the start of the Antigua Classics Regatta is at hand and that means full days of race watching and fuller nights of eating and rum tasting (the rum is gratis so be assured there will be lots of tasting).

We Have become fans of the Dark and Stormy:
2 parts rum
4 parts ginger beer
slice of lime
serve on ice