ANTIGUA YACHT CLUB

Pendennis Shipyard held a cocktail reception at Antigua Yacht Club on the eve of the Antigua Charter Yacht Show to officially launch the Falmouth to Falmouth Rum Race and to encourage yachtsmen in Antigua for the Show to participate.

Antigua Yacht Club and Pendennis Shipyard have partnered to organise this trans-Atlantic race that will start in Falmouth, Antigua and finish in Falmouth, Cornwall, UK in advance of the 2012 pre-Olympic schedule of yachting events, including the Pendennis Cup and J-Class Regattas.  At the finish of the race, all entrants must have on board a case of rum to be consumed at the dockside welcome party in Falmouth, UK.

The Falmouth to Falmouth Rum Race grew from dock talk in St. Barths during the St. Barths Bucket in 2010.  The concept is modelled after what was known as the ‘Route de Rose’, a yacht race which traditionally started in St. Tropez at the end of the Mediterranean season in mid-October and finished in St. Barths at the beginning of December in time for the start of the Caribbean season.  In the Route de Rose, entrants loaded cases of rose wine on board, one of which had to be landed in St. Barths to be consumed at the race-end celebrations.  The winner of that event was determined by the shortest cumulative time taken en route, which allowed yachts to start at different times and make stops along the way.

The Falmouth to Falmouth Rum Race will transit the Atlantic from west to east with the fleet beginning at the Antigua Yacht Club in Falmouth Harbour, Antigua in early May.  The race has been designed for all sailing yachts that want to be in the UK for the 2012 summer season while celebrating some of the world's finest rums in two of the nicest locations anywhere!  The event will get underway with a dinner reception hosted by Antigua Yacht Club on the 6th of May followed by a fleet start on the 7th of May.

The Falmouth, UK finish will be organised by the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club.  Any yachts interested in entering the Falmouth to Falmouth Rum Race should contact Tristan Rowe tristan.rowe@pendennis.com for more information and updates.

Article by Kathy Lammers, Editor of Antigua’s Yachting Insider.