ANTIGUA SAILING WEEK

Two very different yachts proved to be almost perfectly matched for much of today’s challenging and memorable edition of this classic 50-mile course. Sailing with an all-star crew, Roy Disney’s turbocharged Volvo 70 Pyewacket took a narrow early lead along Antigua’s south-eastern coast.

Nevertheless, it was not long before Adrian Lee’s high performance HH66 catamaran Lee Overlay Partners lll gained a slim advantage on the water. This duo then enjoyed a close tussle for more than half the race, including a fast reach across the north of the island, with both boats only a few hundred metres apart at speeds of 16-18 knots.

Meanwhile a contingent of smaller boats was competing on a shorter 28-mile course in the Almost Round Antigua Race. After a light airs start, Steve Rigby’s J/122 El Ocaso pulled out an early lead on the water, before consistently extending their advantage as they sailed past the offshore reefs, deserted white sand beaches and idyllic anchorages of Antigua’s east coast.

It was only as they approached Antigua’s northwestern corner that Pyewacket and Lee Overlay Partners started to diverge for the first time. “We got almost all the way round in company with them, then had quite a big squall that came through and they picked their way through it quite a bit better than we did,” explains Ryan Breymaier, one of the pro crew on Lee Overlay Partners.

Pyewacket then changed gear and accelerated to speeds touching 20 knots, markedly extending her lead over the big catamaran. Disney’s team went on to take line honours in a time of four hours 44 minutes, as well as victory on corrected time in the CSA Racing Monohull 1 class, ahead of Woody Cullen’s Swan 58 Wavewalker.

“We had a nice start in nice conditions, with a steady wind, then all of a sudden we hit a squall line and we were only doing three knots,” says Disney. “But then we got round the corner and we were doing a steady 17, with a couple of puffs in another squall line where we were doing 20, which was very nice.

“The rain was like it is in Hawaii. “You get wet but you don't care,” he continues. “When you’re surfing at 20 knots this boat is very special.”

“We all had a great time,” adds Breymaier. “Today, it was really good with Pyewacket – we were about the same speed as them in most conditions and the code zero reach around the north side of the island, when we were very close to them all the time, was great.”

El Ocaso held her lead into the finish of the Almost Round Antigua Race and also took both line honours and victory in the CSA Cruising Monohull class on corrected time. “We had a lot of fun today and an interesting race,” says Rigby. “There was a big squall with really torrential rain, some good seas and maximum gusts of 23 knots.”

Nevertheless, events didn’t always work in his team's favour. On the outbound leg they sailed into some big lulls in which Germaine Williams’ Beneteau First 40.7 Escapado almost caught up. However, by the time they reached the turning mark off the island’s north-eastern shore El Ocaso was three miles ahead of Escapado and they extended even further on the return leg. The latter held onto second place on corrected time, ahead of Bernie Evan Wong’s modified Cal 40 Huey Too.

The bulk of the fleet competing in the core Antigua Sailing Week series, which starts tomorrow (Sunday), spent the day making final preparations ahead of the official Opening Party, the Peters & May prize giving and a convivial evening in the regatta village at Antigua Yacht Club. Festivities continue into the evening when English Harbour transforms into the Heineken Village.

For more information about Antigua Sailing Week including racing, watching the action and the fun-packed shoreside entertainment, visit the official website: www.sailingweek.com