Last
night l had an amazing dream . I dreamt that we had sailed into
Antigua on our boat to discover that the Antigua Classic Yacht
Regatta was underway and all around us were these magnificent classic
yachts all under full sail gracefully gliding past us while we
watched in awe at their incredible beauty .
Disregard
everything you have just read as it is nonsense . Our visit to
Antigua to coincide with this amazing event was well planned . Early
in our season we picked up a calendar of all the events taking place
this year in the Caribbean and amongst all the cultural and music
happenings the Classic Week and the Antigua Sailing Week both stood
out like a sore thumb . Being the owner of a Shearwater and being
totally infatuated with classic boats in general this famous regatta
has been on my “ Bucket List “ in bold print forever . A number
of years ago a mate of mine entered his Shearwater as a contestant
and was accepted by the selection committee , so the two of us set
sail from our homeport in South Africa for Antigua to take part in
the event . Unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances we were
forced to turn back and head home . I was deeply disappointed but
vowed that one day come hell or high water l would sail my own boat
to Antigua and witness this spectacle otherwise upon death l would
definitely land up being the grumpiest guy in the cemetery .
Well l
have just made a large tick alongside this event on my “ Bucket
List “ and to top it all it is the 30th Antigua Classic
Yacht Regatta and the organizers are pulling out all the stops to
make it a very special celebration as Nelson's Dockyard in English
Harbour , the venue for the event has just been declared a World
Heritage Site making this years classic a very special occasion .
The
Antigua Yacht Club runs the event which attracts classic boats and
classic boat enthusiasts from all over the world and for the past
week while on anchor and ashore we have watched a steady procession
of some of the most famous classic yachts from around the globe
arriving including most of the J Class boats . So far we have stood
up close to Shamrock , Velsheda , Lionheart , Rainbow and Topaz with
Shamrock the original J built out of wood and launched in 1930 to
Topaz launched as recently as 2015 . Even if boats aren't your cup of
tea these beauties will bring tears to your eyes . Chatting with
Shamrock's bosun Sean Thompson , he said that he would love to show
me around obviously noticing how interested l was in seeing more of
his boat than what was visible from the dock . He also was keen to
find out more about cruising the Caribbean as he intends to bring his
own boat next season and spend sometime following a similar path that
we have cruised . What l thought might be a quick flit around
Shamrock turned into a four hour detailed tour with Sean showing and
explaining every detail of what makes Shamrock tick . She is a very
different boat compared to the one that was built for Sir Thomas
Lipton way back in 1930 . Sean introduced us to the Captain and the
crew but the one guy l really enjoyed chatting to was the engineer
who explained in detail what systems were onboard . Having built our
boat it was really interesting crawling around in her engine room and
seeing how sophisticated modern computerized systems have become .
After a thorough tour from stem to stern with thankfully the first
mate enjoying seeing the more genteel side of the boat including the
owner's master cabin we left with a whole new appreciation of these
awesome J Class boats . Having met the captain and crew you can sense
the pride they have in their boat as being selected to crew one of
these amazing vessels to them is a huge privilege . Immaculate is not
even the right word to describe how well maintained these boats are
and my first mate even spotted a crewmember on another classic using
a fancy mirror to check if they had properly polished the backside of
a shroud that you can't see anyway . These guys and girls who crew on
these classics and superyachts in general spend their entire time in
port polishing and buffing every surface on their boats and Shamrock
in particular with her bronze winches and deck fittings is a site to
behold . Being the oldest and the only wooden J in the fleet she is
now our favourite and we will be rooting for Sean , Simon and the
rest of the crew in their future endeavors .
Getting
back to the regatta , it kicked off with the Concours d'Elegance on
day1 and I would hate to have been one of the judges who had to
decide whose boat ticked all the boxes . It was followed by a
single-handed race which was won comfortably by a woman who sailed
her boat beautifully . Then for the following four days , races were
held culminating with the Prize Giving Ceremony . There are six
classes namely the Traditional , Vintage , Classic , Classic GRP ,
Spirit of Tradition and then finally the Tall Ships .
The
courses are different each day and each one is around 24nm . From a
spectators point of view an area known as Middle Ground is like
standing in the front row at a concert . It is a hill that overlooks
the course with the start/finish line right below us . Seeing these
classic boats particularly the big boats beating up to the windward
mark is a sight to behold . Watching Adix a huge three masted classic
powering upwind under full sail doing 17kn is breathtaking . That is
certainly something l will never forget .
What
really impressed us is how many woman are now professional crew
members onboard these boats . The most impressive woman l met and had
a long chat to was the Chief Race Officer for the regatta . She
captained a square rigger Tenacious and holds the title of having
docked the biggest boat to ever enter English Harbour . It is
wonderful to see these woman making their mark in a pastime that was
predominately male dominated . Good for them .
Although
the Classic is meant to be a fun event the racing is fast and furious
with a couple of boats losing their masts and others suffering gear
damage in the process of trying to claim top honours . Each day after
the racing the events and parties begin , carrying on through the
night with live bands playing outside on the lawns in front of the
impressive Nelson's Dockyard buildings .
The
Classic Regatta has wound down and the boats are slowly departing
while a different fleet of yachts are streaming in everyday one by
one . State of the art race machines from small pocket racers to
super-maxis are gearing up for the 50th Antigua Sailing
Week and apparently this year is going to be huge with a bumper
turnout . The only boat l have recognized is Leopard who sailed out
with us when we left Durban on our maiden voyage to Port Owen in 2008
.
Otherwise
there are some mean machines including a powerful trimaran that would
have my speed freak mate Kevin drooling .
English
and Falmouth Harbour are bracing themselves for a solid week of high
performance sailing and hard partying every night and not
surprisingly Antigua's sailing season officially ends after this
event . I doubt that anyone could survive another event after the
Classic being followed by the Caribbean's biggest single racing
regatta .
The
only sad thing is that l wish my mate Robin could have shared this
awesome experience with me although he would have probably walked
around the entire week with tears in his eyes at the sheer beauty of
these classic yachts .
For me
l feel privileged to have been in Antigua for the 30th
Antigua Classic Week and the 50th Antigua Sailing Week and
celebrating the recent listing of Nelson's Dockyard as a World
Heritage Site .
What a
luck , our timing was perfect .
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