Antigua – This year, Antigua Sailing Week is celebrating its 50th edition. Everybody wants to come to the party and it is not too late to take up the invitation. Eighty-four yachts have already entered and many more are expected to enjoy the memorable occasion. Whilst yachts from Antigua and the Caribbean will be racing in numbers, the majority of sailors will come from Europe, especially Great Britain and Germany, as well as from North and South America, Scandinavia and as far away as Australia. Antigua Sailing Week produces a fine cocktail of top Caribbean sailors blended with yachtsmen and women from all over the world.
The CSA classes boast several previous class winners from overseas – Mike Slade’s world record breaking 100-foot Maxi Leopard 3, Sir Peter Harrison’s 115-foot ketch Sojana is back, as is Richard Matthews’ Oystercatcher XXXI. Other previous class winners from overseas include Adrian Lee’s Cookson 50 Lee Overlay.com, Ross Applebey’s Scarlet Oyster, Chris Jackson’s Arthur and Andy Middleton’s Quokka8.
“Leopard’s winter home is Antigua so we would love to take on similar teams at Antigua Sailing Week,” commented Leopard’s Boat Captain Chris Sherlock. “There are likely to be several Maxis here so it would be just a case of getting us all to race. It would be a fantastic showdown to celebrate the regatta’s 50th edition“.
For decades, Caribbean sailors have come to Antigua Sailing Week for the last big battle of the season. The 50th Antigua Sailing Week will be a special one and as usual will feature trophies for Best Antiguan and Caribbean Yachts.
Antiguan entries have had great success in recent years. 2016 Lord Nelson Trophy winner, Sir Hugh Bailey will not be missing the big party, nor will fellow overall winner, Jonty Layfield racing Sleeper 10. Bernie Evan-Wong’s Taz, Geoffrey Pidduck’s Biwi Magic and Carlo Falcone’s Caccia alla Volpe have all won their classes in recent years. Yachts visiting from other Caribbean islands will be looking to get a memorable win including Peter Lewis’ Whistler from Barbados, Reginald & Nicole Williams’ Legacy and Mark Chapman’s Dingo from Trinidad. Ian Hope Ross’ Kick ‘em Jenny 2 and Robbie Ferron’s Micron 99 Ossenfeffer from St. Maarten will also be there.
Multihull racing at Antigua Sailing Week is on the rise. One newcomer to the regatta is the turbo charged HH66 catamaran R-SIX from Belize. R-SIX will be going up against the Gunboats which are capable of similar raw speed, including Gunboat 60 Moementum.
Antigua Sailing Week invites sailors from across the world to come to its 50th edition and not having anything to sail or living overseas is not a good enough reason not to come!
Dream Yacht Charter has a range of Sun Odyssey, Dufour and Harmony monohull bareboats, as well as, Lagoon, Catana and Bali racing multihulls which are also suitable for motherships. There are several charter options for the CSA classes as well, from single berths to skippered race boats.
There are direct flights to Antigua from all over the world. Virgin Atlantic is the official Trans-Atlantic Airline Sponsor of Antigua Sailing Week and operates three flights weekly between Antigua and London.
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