Each year, the Anguilla Boat Racing Association, in cooperation with the Anguilla Summer Festival Committee, makes sure that boat racing fans are delighted with a rigid schedule of races that characterizes the Summer Festival Season and captures the excitement of the lovers of our national sport.
This being the case, after this year’s grand traditional August Monday races, Tuesday August 7th saw the usual passion of friendly competition in a 2:00 p.m. race that extended from the shores of Sandy Ground, along the northern coast, and ended at Island Harbour at around 4:30.
Braving the heat of the sizzling sun, hundreds of fans had gathered on the bay to await the arrival of the frolicking racers. Visitors and residents alike enjoyed the fervor of jovial chatter with joyous laughter — while savouring delicious meals such as of fish and fries, burgers, roasted crayfish and lobster with invigorating drinks. Known as the island’s most popular fishing village, Island Harbour, with its brisk breeze, was pervaded by the aroma of succulent roast-fish daubed with a mouthwatering tinge of lime.
Finally, the long awaited sights of the racing boats created a stirring frenzy of glee on the pier. Excited revelers and onlookers cheered on their approaching favourite sloops. As the boats gradually approached the harbour, avid fans hilariously pointed out first, second, third and fourth positions. The exuberant air was charged with shouts of competitive, friendly disputes which could only characterize the mode of Anguilla’s Boat Race.
The Anguillian spoke with one of the local key boatmen, an avid racing enthusiast, Mr. Prentice Hughes. He has plied the island’s waters as part of a racing team on Speed & Comfort since 2015. Prentice did his best to describe to us how the race of the day started, how it progressed along the northern coast and what factors affected the outcome:
“Eleven boats in total took off from Sandy Ground en route to Island Harbour after 2 p.m., but we were required to head west to Prickly Pear Island first. There all boats had to sail around the stake before taking the easterly course to Island Harbour.
“The wind was blowing out of the southeast. We (the Speed and Comfort) had thirteen persons on board. Unfortunately, this was considered as being not enough weight for the dynamics between the boat, the wind and the water. So, in essence our scant number of persons on board worked against us. We needed about eighteen persons on board for the boat to sail properly on an evenly balance keel. If the weight provided by persons on board is not enough, the boat will tend to drift rather than progress forward.
“Added to that was the fact that while we were heading east to Island Harbour along the Shoal Bay coast, we were forced to make too many ‘hardlee decisions’”. When asked what is a ‘hard lee’, Prentice explained: “A ‘hard lee’ is when a competing boat cuts across the bow of your boat. In order to avoid a collision, you must make a shift. That shift is known as a ‘hard lee’. If you don’t shift, an unfortunate accident can occur, or you may just be disqualified.”
Due to these and other mitigating factors which were not in Speed and Comfort’s favour, Prentice said that the majority of the other boats had an advantage over theirs. This prompted them to make a calculated decision to turn around and return to the starting point in Sandy Ground harbour. It just goes to show the degree of precision and planning that is put into properly preparing for a good race.
The winning results of Tuesday’s Island Harbour race were as follows: 1st place, Real Deal; 2nd place, Sonic; 3rd place, Blue Bird; 4th place, 4G Eagle; 5th place, Satellite; and 6th place, UFO. Only winners in the first to fifth positions were awarded prizes.
