Antigua Rocks!!!

We finished last in 4 out of five races, the fifth we were disqualified for a stupid start line infringement. But the bare results of the 2017 Antigua Classics do not tell the full story of Anne Maries involvement. Although the racing is very laid back, and the whole regatta is a celebration of the beautiful boats and their enthusiastic supporters more than a full on race event, it is impossible to ignore the fact that once on the water, no one likes to b last. So let's get our excuses out of the way before concentrating on the important stuff. We never had a chance in our class. Up against some of the crack racing classics of the world, The Blue Peter, Latifa, the wonderfully sailed Peter, and the eventual overall winner of the event, Mariella, we were outgunned in terms of size(Mariella is 79ft), rig((all the others were bermudian rig, which is demonstrably quicker), and general quality of boatstate(all the others were in A1 condition, Anne Marie is falling apart!). Add to this a shocking handicap, which I truly believe even in A1 condition we could not have made work for us, and we were left with a regatta where the competitive aspect was a non event. That is not to say that we did not try! We didn't leave many minutes out there on the course, and generally managed to get the most out of the boat, stay out of trouble and have great fun. And bringing her back stern to nelsons dockyard in the afternoon as last boat to arrive was great fun, ably assisted by the capable dinghy wranglers! The atmosphere was great, the wind was fantastic, and the rum flowed. We were strongly encouraged to enter the concourse d'elegance, something we would never have had the cheek to enter otherwise, and Katie worked hard to transform her from a grubby well used and cruised boat into a clean and presentable old classic. And she duly won a special mention, which was fantastic, and although Katie and I were putting the girls to bed at the time, Oz went up on stage to collect the prize and I believe gave a rather amusing speech. Good on him, after all his efforts during this whole mission the old boy deserves his fun! The race days went by with fantastic sailing, we were much helped by our friend napper managing to take some time out from working on the J Class Lionheart, and bringing some much needed foredeck skills and racing acumen to our team. The reception of Anne Marie by the folk there was everything we had hoped for, returning to the world she had been designed for and had been away from for so long was emphasised by the old newspaper article I had found at Christmas time which mentioned a Royal Yacht Squadron race at Cowes in England in 1938, where Anne Marie raced against The Blue Peter and Latifa, the two very boats she was now moored right next to! After such a long time away, it was great to get Florence and Nancy on board for the first time, our two little girls. Florence loved sitting at the wheel, a place I hope she will enjoy for years to come! So many thanks to all the great people in Antigua for an amazing event, in the unique and spectacular Nelsons Dockyard, the sailors and organisers for coming together to make such a great time, one that will be fondly remembered for years to come.