ANTIGUA SAILING WEEK

Just over a month after the end of Antigua Sailing Week is crunch time in terms of what the international media thought of the event. Possibly the most influential magazine to cover the event is Yachting World. It is a key player in the UK and European yachting markets and a Gold sponsor of Antigua Sailing Week. That said, it makes it very clear, sponsor or not, that it must maintain full editorial control in terms of its objective opinion of not just Antigua Sailing Week, but all of the events it covers worldwide throughout the year. Certainly throughout the event it utilized daily press releases, video and photographic footage to ensure that Sailing Week received excellent exposure as did other websites such as Sailinganarchy.com, yachtsandyachting.com, sail-world.com and many others.

 

It was therefore a delighted team that received the July issue front cover of Yachting World Magazine with the headline ‘Best Ever’ Antigua Sailing Week and cover shot of newly built participating yacht, Oystercatcher XXVIII, owned by Richard Matthews and racing for the first time in the Caribbean at Antigua Sailing Week. The article itself leads with a fantastic action shot of Sir Hugh Bailey’s Hugo B and the ensuing headline reads, ‘Sailing Week shows quality - if not quantity Toby Hodges has his fears allayed for the future of Antigua Sailing Week.’ Toby goes on to write ‘Despite the low numbers, sailing was golden and the racing classes were “the biggest since 2004” according to results man Paul Miller.’ This is an important point to make, as in a market where he rightly points out charter and bareboat numbers are down by half across the Caribbean it means the focus is very much back on the racing classes to form the heart of the regattas across the region.

 

Regatta Organising Committee chairman Kathy Lammers is delighted with the coverage. Lammers said ‘Given the large number of changes we made on the water this year, we are delighted with Yachting World’s positive response.  It’s a very definite thumbs from an important international media company, and proof that the racing is back on the right track, which was our main objective for 2011.’

 

Positive regional endorsement has also come from Caribbean Compass distributed throughout the Caribbean which supports the changes made to the format of the racing and comments on the rapturous applause from the competitors of the preparation and execution of racing from the race management team under the leadership of Kathy Lammers.

 

Antigua’s Minister of Tourism, the Honorable John Maginley, comments, ‘It is excellent to see such strong support for the changes made to the format and goes to show that we must continue on with the strategy of sailing comes first. There is no doubt that the focus must remain on what the sailors’ wants and needs are; if we give them what they want the numbers will build back and the social side will re-evolve to cater to sailors’ changing needs.

 

The team has begun the planning process for 2012 with dates confirmed as the 29^th April to 4^th May. Entries are now open online and plans are in place to begin overseas marketing and continue with the strategy of networking with key players in the industry which it is hoped will continue to show positive dividends for the event.