The above sum of money, in cash prizes and other expenses for the August holiday week of boat races in Anguilla, was not the motivating factor for the national sport over those days. Like every other time, the driving force was the fun and fever-pitched excitement which the competitive races bring to the captains, crews and fans.
The boat races attracted large crowds at all the locations and points of termination, and the only disappointment was that the August Monday race had to be cancelled due to inclement weather conditions. This was particularly regrettable given the vast crowd at Road Bay, Sandy Ground, which gathered there for the Caribbean beach party following the colourful J’ouvert morning musical street jam from The Valley.
The boat-racing fans were all spiked up for that race having witnessed the Sunday August 3 race in which there were seven competing B class boats and thirteen A class boats. The first five boats in the winning categories in each race were B class: Hurricane; F5 Tornado; De Storm, Upsetter and Legal Rights; and A class: Sonic, Real Deal, 4G Eagle, NWO and Light N Peace.
The rest of the results with five boats in the winning five positions as above were as follows:
Tuesday, August 5 (A class boats only): Sonic, Satellite, Real Deal, De Tree and Viking 007.
Wednesday, August 6 (A class boats only): Real Deal, Sonic, De Tree, Viking 007;
Thursday, August 7: B class boats: F5 Tornado, De Storm, Alma Gloria, Kedro Pride and Legal Rights; and A class boats: Sonic, Real Deal, 4G Eagle, Satellite and Viking 007. (The Wizard sank.) Six B class and twelve A class boats participated in the races.
The Champion of Champion Race: Sunday, August 10 – B class: De Storm, Alma Gloria, Stay Up, Legal Rights and Upsetter. Class A: Sonic, Real Deal, Viking 007, De Tree and NW0. (The Eagle sank and Satellite broke-down.) There were eight participating boats.
The races were overseen and managed by Ms Atreme Pemberton, Acting Chairperson of the Anguilla Boat Racing Committee in the absence of the Chairman, Mr Paul Romney. The cash awards are to be presented at a later date.
