Image: Overall winners of the Peters & May Round Antigua Race - Geoff Manchester’s J/133 Vamoose (USA) © Paul Wyeth/pwpictures.com
Racing action at Antigua Sailing Week got underway with the stand-alone Peters & May Round Antigua Race. Sunshine was in abundance, but with light conditions expected all day, Antigua Sailing Week Race Manager Jaime Torres chose a shortened course. Testing the teams at every point of sail, two race tracks were set of around 25 and 15 miles, providing smooth racing and gorgeous vistas of Antigua.
Starting off the Pillars of Hercules outside Nelson's Dockyard, the fleet played the stunning shoreline on the south side of Antigua, beating past Willoughby Bay and Half Moon Bay. At Green Island, the raceboats cracked sheets to reach up the windward side of Antigua. CSA 1, CSA 2, and the Multihull classes raced past Devil's Bridge to a virtual mark. CSA 3 had a different virtual mark providing a shorter course. The fleet gybed south on a reciprocal course to pass Green Island for the second time. A broad reach to Cat and a tactical beat to the finish gave a spicy flavour to the finish outside Antigua's Nelson's Dockyard.
The overall winner after CSA time correction for the Peters & May Trophy was Geoff Manchester's J/133 Vamoose (USA). The home port for Vamoose is Newport, Rhode Island, and the boat has been in Antigua since February.
"We are here 'moosing' around," joked Geoff Manchester, skipper of Vamoose. "We got a good start, and upwind is our thing, plus the boat is very good in light air. After getting the gain we didn't give it back, so we had a fantastic day. The boat has stayed here since February and we have met some friends and put a good crew together. Antigua is a beautiful place that has become our home for the winter."
Winner of CSA 1 and runner-up overall was John Evans & Trey Sheehan's TP52 Hooligan Racing (USA). First 53 Yagiza (FRA) sailed by Hilary Culkin was runner-up, and third was Daniel Gribble & Dean Ziehl's Tripp 65 Prevail (USA). Winner of CSA 2 was Vamoose, runner-up was Jean Michel Figueres Farr 40 Maisons Satec Punch Croisieres (FRA), and third was Raymond Rhinelander's J/133 Bella J (CAN). In CSA 3, First 47.7, Unbound (ANT) skippered by Ryan Donaldson was the winner. Jonathan Hutchison's Oyster 675 Seabird (GBR) was second and Chloe Need's Salona 44 Moonflower 3 (GBR) was third. Guy Chester's Crowther 46 trimaran Oceans Tribute (AUS) was the winner of the multihull class.
The international cast of sailors received a warm welcome at the Antigua Yacht Club with a steelpan recital from Original Steel Orchestra. Peters & May got a massive thumbs up from the crowd for buying the first round of English Harbour Rum Punch! The 54th Antigua Sailing Week Welcome Party was very well attended with DJ WHO spinning the tunes.
"Peters & May has been a proud sponsor of Antigua Sailing Week since 2016," commented Peters & May Global Director of Operations for Racing, Craig Stanbury. "Peters & May offers all competitors yacht shipping discount with a further discount for a round-trip transatlantic shipment. The whole team at Peters & May wish all of the sailors a memorable week of racing in paradise."
Overall Winners:
1 Vamoose, J-133 43, Geoff Manchester , Newport, RI, US -
Winner of the Peters & May Round Antigua Race Trophy
2 Hooligan Racing, TP52 52, John Evans / Trey Sheehan , Cleveland, OH, USA
3 MAISONS SATEC // PUNCH CROISIERES, Farr 40 12.41, Jean Michel Figueres , Sainte Anne, Martinique, FRA
Place, Yacht Name, Type, Owner/Skipper, Hometown, Results, Total PointsCSA 1 Racing Monohull (CSA - 6 Boats)
1. Hooligan Racing, TP52 52, John Evans / Trey Sheehan , Cleveland, OH, USA - 1 ; 1
2. Yagiza, First 53 56.3, Hilary Culkin - 2 ; 2
3. Prevail, Tripp 65 65, Daniel Gribble / Dean Ziehl , Laguna Niguel, CA, USA - 3 ; 3
CSA 2 Racing Monohull (CSA - 7 Boats)
1. Vamoose, J-133 43, Geoff Manchester , Newport, RI, USA - 1 ; 1
2. MAISONS SATEC // PUNCH CROISIERES, Farr 40 12.41, Jean Michel Figueres , Sainte Anne, Martinique, FRA - 2 ; 2
3. Bella J, J133 43, Raymond Rhinelander , St.John’s, Newfoundland, CAN - 3 ; 3
CSA 3 Cruising Monohull (CSA - 6 Boats)
1. Unbound, First 47.7 48, Ryan Donaldson , St Johns, St Paul's, ANU - 1 ; 1
2. Seabird, Oyster 675 68, Jonathan Hutchison , London, GBR - 2 ; 2
3. Moonflower 3, Salona 44 44, Chloe Need , Nantwich, Cheshire, GBR - 3 ; 3
CSA 4 Racing Multihull (CSA - 1 Boats)
1. Oceans Tribute, Crowther design #93 Trimaran 46, Guy Chester , Yorkeys Knob, QLD, Australia - 1 ; 1