Sail - July 2018

SAIL MAGAZINE

I suppose judging a “concours” of yachts is simple when marks are

purely for brightwork and paint. In Antigua, however, there’s more to

it. How do you match up the 143t replica of a 1923 Starling Burgess

ishing schooner itted out like a superyacht with a 1957 Sparkman and

Stephens racing yawl, restored by Gannon and Benjamin as a perfect

period piece? Not easy, huh? Add in a couple of Carriacou sloops, a

family-run 32t Spanish ocean racer and the Hoek-designed Atalante, a

bulb-keeled fast cruising yacht with traditional lines above water. Now

note that down the dock the burgees of the Mylne-designed Fife Mari-

ella and the 103t Aschanti snapping out stily in the trade wind. Like

can’t possibly be compared with like here. he secret is to break the

leet into groups, then judge on criteria where varnish and polish are

only one section. Keeping faith with the boat’s original ethos is equally

important. he only missing box to check here is for “soul.”

Considering that all these boats had sailed long and hard to be

in Antigua, the general standard of sparkle was remarkably high,

so digging deeper to make judgments came naturally. Most of the

larger yachts I’ve been aboard recently have been modern craft with

accommodations like high-end shore-side apartments. Clambering

down the 73ft Ticonderoga’s companionway into the saloon, therefore,

served up a contrast that filled yours truly, in particular, with joy.

Surprisingly small, but flawlessly proportioned and fitted out in age-

less good taste, it carried the day in style.

Meanwhile, Atalante showed what a modern yacht can do with an

uncompromising spirit of tradition, while the gutsy 60t Russamee won

hands down in the Arne Frizzell trophy for a seamanlike operation, safe

in anything the wind could throw at her.

Ultimately, it was also Russamee taking a concours prize that truly en-

capsulated the spirit of the classics. Her crew hadn’t intended to enter her

because she was salty from the ocean and never conceived to compete with

gold-platers. Her decks were rough and ready, her awnings bleached by

the sun, but when you noted the mast step, adzed from a massive chunk of

tropical hardwood by her Bangkok builders, then moved on to check her

frames and scantlings, you knew that here was a boat that would survive.

She had soul by the shovel-full, and her people were justly proud of her.

Many a fancy yacht show would have discounted her at sight, but not Anti-

gua. his is a land where boats are understood, the sea is all around and the

blustering tradewind takes no prisoners.

Out on the water, the four race days provided the anticipated great sail-

ing in hard winds and big seas. Courses were laid so that everyone might

be thrilled at the spectacle of the big boats trampling the waves and the

little ones somehow cutting a path through. No matter what the boat, the

common factor was that all hands got soaked with warm tropical sea then

washed of again by heavy squalls that roared through to keep us on the

ball. In the evenings, Mount Gay ensured that the rum never faltered and

laughter was all around. If you ind yourself within a thousand miles of

Antigua at the right time next year, ease your sheets and get on down. It

may take a week to recover, but the Classics is unique and not to be missed.

For complete details on both this year’s regatta and the upcoming 2019

Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta, visit antiguaclassics.com. s

The sloop Genesis leads a

trio of traditional workboats

on a reaching leg