40
‘few venues in the world offer
such ideal conditions for
racing classic craft’
t all began 31 years ago, when a group of pals
sat drinking rum in the cockpit of the 106ft
schooner Aschanti in English Harbour,
Antigua. Among them were the late Kenny
Coombs and his wife, Jane, owners of Cora A,
a tiny Harrison Butler-designed yacht built in 1937.
Immediately outside the harbour, the Atlantic tradewind
belt was in full cry, with strong easterly winds and seas
unchecked all the way from Africa. Few venues in the world,
they decided, offer such ideal conditions for racing sound
classic craft. The Antigua Yacht Club was right next door in
Falmouth Harbour and, almost before anyone realised it,
the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta had been born.
Today, with Aschanti still powering round the courses,
joined by some of the great names in traditional yachting,
the event has become a riot of racing and good times.
Where else on planet earth can you see the likes of the
80ft Fife Yawl Mariella and the enormous Starling Burgess
fishing schooner Columbia crossing tacks with local boats
such as Genesis, Sweetheart and Free in St Barth, built on
the beach at Carriacou, all making hull speed in a Force 6.
Add a cast of classy cruisers up for the excitement before
heading home and you have to wonder how Jane Coombs
and her team of unpaid volunteers from Antigua Yacht Club
contrive to manage this annual week-long extravaganza.
Yet somehow they pull it off in April, year after year.
This spring, it fell to me and my wife, Roz, to join the
illustrious band of judges for the Concours d’Elegance on
the first morning before the racing. Over the decades, Roz
has done her time with the 600-grit sandpaper, and my
first-ever job as a paid deckhand was polishing a large
brass binnacle on a Yankee schooner, so I guess we qualify,
but it was a humbling task to confront such an array of
quality vessels and to decide which was the most elegant.
Down in Goodwood, just east of the Solent, an annual
classic car revival attracts thousands of visitors. It’sofficially about serious track competition but it’s worth
fifty quid just to drive our ancient Bentley into the parking
lot and feast our eyes on the array of vintage hardware.
Antigua Classics is a bit like that. You wouldn’t be
disappointed if all you did was turn up and walk the docks.
The dazzling line-up promised a tough challenge for
our crew of judges, but we were an experienced,
international group. The Brits were represented by the
Cunliffes, the editor of Classic Boat and my old shipmate
Mick ‘Scrim’ Strzalkowski with whom I shared a
memorable knockdown in the Gulf of Lyons in 1970.
Cosmetically, age hasn’t been generous to either of us,
but it was a grand thing to see his noble moustache
coming up the stairs for the briefing. A strong contingent
from the west side of the ocean was headed up by the
sponsor, Bill Lynn of the Herreshoff Marine Museum. Bill
was backed by a number of local experts who knew their
way around and were in a strong position to slip the wink
to the rest of us when it counted.ANTIGUA CLASSICS
I
Tom Cunlif fe
fulfilled a lifelong
wish to sail on
Ticonderoga
(below)