J/122s Dominate Antigua Sailing Week
(English Harbour, Antigua)- The 56th edition of Antigua Sailing Week took place this past week, with sailors enjoying spectacular Caribbean weather conditions with, plenty of sun, strong tradewinds, and big, white-capped seas for adrenaline-packed sailing. In the end, it was another powerful testimonial to J/Boats designs excelling in the demanding racing conditions.
CSA Racing 3 Division
Before the start of racing, most racing pundits in Antigua knew the ultimate battle for division honors would be between two past Caribbean Offshore Series and Antigua Race Week Champions- Steve Rigby’s British crew on the J/122 EL OCASO and Sir Richard Matthew’s famous TEAM OYSTERCATCHER from London, England sailing the chartered LIQUID. After a ten-race battle trading all podium finishes, it was Rigby’s EL OCASO team that won with 16 pts net. Then, taking home the bronze medal was Sir Richard’s TEAM OYSTERCATCHER- LIQUD with 24 pts net.
At the start of the final day of racing several boats were still in contention to win each of these classes. “We started today in second place, so we’re really surprised to win,” says Rigby, “but we had an amazing first race of the day and won the second as well. We’re delighted.”
“There are five boats that could have won this regatta,” he adds. “We’ve won four races and the next boat won three, so it’s been very competitive and it really could have been anyone’s regatta, so we’re delighted, despite the boat’s success in the past. It feels like the most competitive regatta that El Ocaso has ever been in.”
After a week of intensely close racing, Steve Rigby’s chartered J/122 EL OCASO triumphed in CSA Racing Class 3 and claimed Antigua Sailing Week’s most coveted prize, the Lord Nelson Trophy. This recognizes the CSA Racing 2, 3, or 4 class winner with the fastest overall corrected times calculated on a time-on-distance basis.
What’s the appeal of Antigua Sailing Week? “The seas are amazing. The weather’s amazing. It’s been rather rainy this week, but despite that, we had amazing racing, so we love coming here,” Rigby continues. “We love the people, we love what happens here, and can’t wait to come back next year.”
Other J/Teams in the highly competitive division were Marc Emig’s J/133 CREDIT MUTUEL- JIVARO from Marseilles, France taking 5th place and Peter Lewis’s J/121 WHISTLER from Barbados finishing in 6th position.
CSA Racing 4 Division
From the beginning, it was known among the sailing glitterati in Antigua that a top contenders in this large division includes Ryan Hope Ross’s J/105 MORE ZESSIN from St. Maarten Yacht Club. As a multiple Caribbean winter circuit regatta winner, this well-tuned J/105 has been on the podium so many times, most everyone seems to have lost track of them all. In the end, Hope Ross’s J/105 MORE ZESSIN took home the silver medal for their efforts.
CSA Club Class B Division
This class encompasses a mix of smaller boats, ranging from Carrack & Tyden Jones’ J/30 ABSOLUTE PROPERTIES (Blue Peter) to assorted other classic racers. Like their stablemates, the Jone’s J/30 team of virtually all Antigua Sailing School youth sailors took home the silver medal after losing a disappointing tiebreaker at 11 pts each!
For more Antigua Sailing Week regatta information
https://www.sailingweek.com/