the “Spirit of Tradition” class
Despite some inclement weather and mechanical failures the competitors in the Anguilla Regatta managed to have a wonderful long weekend of sailing. The first face began on Friday afternoon from Simpson Bay where 13 boats started the race with good wind from 10 to 15 knots and overcast skies. There were four boats entered in the spinnaker class, five in the non-spinnaker, two multi-hulls and two Anguilla boats, Tradition and Jasie in their own Spirit of Tradition class rounded out fleet. At the end of the race, an hour and forty five minutes later in Road Bay, the Du Toit 51 multihull “Quality Time” owned by Petro Jonker crossed the line first to take the multi-hull class. This would be the pattern for the multi-hulls for the rest of regatta with Quality Time taking all bullets from Billboard Media Guimamalou owned by Jean Michel Ricour with an amazingly consistent four minutes separating the two boats in almost every race. In the spinnaker class the very consistent Melges 24 Budget Marine won the race on corrected time despite being beaten over the line by the speedy Panic Attack who would fall to third behind Amcon 1. In what would be a pattern for the regatta Team Island Water World skippered byFrits Bus was unable to start the race due to a halyard problem and would never make it over to Anguilla. In the first Saturday race for the spinnaker class Panic Attach lost a rudder and was left unable to compete but Budget Marine and Amcon 1 fought it out anyway and Budget Marine came out the victor by 1 minute 19 seconds in a short windward leeward duel. Then it was Amcon’s turn to break a rudder and she would not compete again for the rest of the regatta. And on Sunday it was Budget Marine who sustained a broken stanchion and also pulled out. So Panic Attack who had moved heaven and earth to make its repairs was left to go around the course on its own on Sunday in early rain and then glorious sunshine. In the end Budget Marine’s two wins proved enough and she took the class victory. Perhaps the most competitive class was the non-spinnakers where Sir Bobby Velasquez’s Beneteau 45 “L’Esperance” and “Wild Devil” owned by Ben Jelic battled all weekend but the recent modifications to the Custom Kiwi 35 seemed to have done the trick and the Devil took the victory in all of her races although never by more than 3 minutes on corrected time. The St. Maarten Sailing School Beneteau” Vanille” skippered by Garth Steyn was always in the mix and nabbed a second in the first race on Saturday losing by only 3 seconds to Wild Devil. Spirit, Alan Edwards’a Swan 65 and “Kick em Jenny” skippered by Ryan Hope-Ross rounded out the class. Perhaps somewhat fittingly the Spirit of Tradition class was won by the beautifully restored Caricou sloop Tradition owned and skippered by Laurie Gumbs although Cape Dory Day Sailor “Jasie” owned by Gordon Andrews proved she could move around the courses with the best of them. In the end there was good wind and little rain and the Regatta proved to be a thoroughly entertaining event both on the water and off of it and the competitors all guaranteed that they would be back next year and would bring their friends. The organizers wanted to that the Anguilla Tourist Board for its support and especially Paul and Deborah Miller of www.regatta-guru.com who provided most of the technical and logistical support necessary to make the event possible.
– Press Release
(Published without editing by The Anguillian newspaper.)
