Sunday 29 April 2012, Antigua
Worthy of King Viv: Day 1 - Antigua Sailing Week
Louay Habib
Tagesvideos
Starry Night, Oyster 82 enjoys spectacular racing on day 1 of Antigua Sailing Week
Credit: Tim Wright/Photoaction.com
Tonight the legendary West Indian batsman, Sir Vivian Richards will be in Nelson's
Dockyard for the imobile Dockyard Festival. Sparks often flew when 'King Viv' came
to the crease, and there was some electrifying action on the first day of Antigua
Sailing Week. Big breeze and lumpy seas were the order of the day for the first
race with more exciting action and drama to get the regatta off to a blistering
start.
imobile ambassador, the legendary Sir Vivian Richards helps make Antigua Sailing
Week a memorable occasion for competitors at today's prizegiving Credit: Ted Martin/photofantasyantigua.com
Peter Harrison's Farr 115, Sojana corrected out to win CSA 1A today but there was
a dramatic rescue in CSA 1B. Stefan Lehnert was understandably concerned when his
son, Phillip went over board from Tripp 56, Passion 4C during a broach when approaching
the Half Moon mark. The two Oyster 82s, Starry Night and Zig Zag were the closest
to the scene and Richard Matthews, steering Zig Zag was the first to spot the man
in the water and perfected a recovery. Philip Lehnert was unharmed in the incident,
however the quick action of Zig Zag in pulling him from the water and the willingness
of other competitors to assist was commendable. Richard Matthews' Zig Zag got their
just rewards for their valour by winning today's race after a decision by the Race
Committee regarding duress.
CSA 2 produced probably the best skirmish of the day, Chris Brand's Swan 53, Merel
Four took line honours but Ross Applebey's Oyster 48, Scarlet Oyster corrected out
to win the first battle of the series. However, the top six yachts were all very
much in contention during today's three-hour race. Ulrich Rohde's Swan 53, Dragon
Fly Plus took the last podium position. However, Christian Reynolds' Swan 51 Northern
Child, Andy Middleton's Global Yacht Racing and Gijs van Liebergen's Swan 65, King's
Legend were all very much in the running.
In CSA 3, today's race was won by Richard Wesslund's J/120, El Ocaso by just six
seconds on corrected time. Wesslund's Florida based crew have been in fine form
all season but the team may well have a battle royal on their hands this week.
Mario Martinez skipper of Smile and Wave has brought a Brazilian team to race at
Antigua Sailing Week. "We all come from Sao Paulo and we had heard about how great
Antigua Sailing Week is, so we decided to come. The sailing today was just fantastic!
Back home we rarely get to race in more than 12 knots of wind so we do not have
much experience in big conditions, so we feel a bit tired right now but one of the
other reasons we have come to Antigua is that we have heard there is a great party
atmosphere, so we are looking forward to tonight!"
Nick Burns' First 40, Lancelot II made a great recovery after turning back to restart.
Lancelot II was called OCS and it was at a big cost but the team from the Royal
Hong Kong Yacht Club dug deep and managed to climb back through the fleet to finish
in third place.
In CSA 4, Calvin Reed's First 40.7 Elandra is defending their class win from last
year and took the first race of the series. Sir Hugh Bailey's First 456 Hugo B was
just a minute ahead of archrival, Carlo Falcone steering Caccia alla Volpe.
In CSA 5, Geoffrey Pidduck's Six Metre, Biwi Magic put in a polished performance
today, winning the opening race of the regatta by a substantial margin. Tanner
Jones' J/30 Blue Peter corrected out to take second place with Rick Gormley's First
38, Elethea taking third. Biwi Magic's owner-driver, Geoffrey Pidduck was born in
Dominica 74 years ago but grew up in Antigua and is remarkably fit and agile for
his age. Geoffrey spoke dockside outside the Antigua Yacht Club shortly after racing:
"I was a late starter to sailing, so I have only been coming to Antigua Sailing
Week for about 40 years," joked Geoffrey, dockside at Antigua Yacht Club. "Today
was great fun, that's what racing in Antigua is all about - good breeze and warm
water. We got away well and seemed to leave the rest behind, which was very satisfying.
I have invested in some new sails and I was delighted with our boat speed today.
However, it was important to make the fewest mistakes today but we did have a bit
too much sail up on the last beat and took in a bit of water but all in all a great
day. Two of the crew have come all the way from Canada and I want to make sure they
have a challenging week, so we can all better ourselves."
In the Bareboat division, there are 35 teams racing at Antigua Sailing Week. Gold
Sponsors Sunsail and other charter companies provide a user-friendly way of entering
the regatta and with virtually identical boats in each division, racing is incredibly
competitive. Stewart Reed's Dilligaf placed third in Bareboat 2 today. Stewart
is racing with a group of friends from the UK to celebrate his 50th birthday. It
has been 25 years since Reed has come to Antigua Sailing Week and you can see an
interview with Stewart and on board action in the Day One Video wrap up video on
line.
The last paragraph of today's report must mention the highly inventive and extremely
successful race course for the multihull class. Peter Aschenbrenner's 63' trimaran
Paradox is lightening quick, so much so that the multihull is rated at twice the
speed of the rest of the competition. So Paul Miller, Race Officer for the multihull
division for the day, elected to send Paradox twice around the 14.5 mile course.
The decision paid off as the Paradox crew had a real race on their hands and crossed
the finish line less than a minute in front of Robbie Ferron's Lagoon 410 Katzenellenbogen.
Tonight the imobile Dockyard Festival kicks off with a special appearance from the
West Indian cricket legend Sir Vivian Richards. Nelson's Dockyard will be buzzing
with live music from the Harmonites Steel Orchestra and great local bands including
Hygh Tempa, 1761°, Claudette Peters & the Taxik Band and if that isn't enough, Mindful
Movement will be bringing Zumba to Sailing Week!
For full information about the race and Antigua Sailing Week visit: www.sailingweek.com.
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