After a frustrating day in which light winds and overcast skies plagued the racecourse, order was resumed in the sailing universe today as the international fleet gathered here for the final day of racing at the 41st Stanford Antigua Sailing Week were greeted with ideal Caribbean conditions: steady easterly tradewinds building into the mid-teen range and a clear, blue ceiling above. Not surprisingly, in most of the 17 separate divisions, the top boats coming into the last day of competition found the perfect sailing weather much to their liking, wrapping up the regatta in fine, winning fashion.


Chief among them was Benny Kelly’s TP52, Panthera, which closed out the series in Racing I today with yet another win to seal the overall class victory in the premier Big Boat class. Kelly’s “heroes,” led by former British America’s Cup and Olympic sailor Andy Beadsworth on the helm, have posted an impressive string of results in the Caribbean this spring, having already won the Grand Prix racing division at the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta earlier this year.

En route to their strong showing here in Antigua, Panthera vanquished George David’s professionally crewed 90-footer Rambler, which took third today but second in the class overall. Sam Fleet’s Swan 601, Aquarius, a runner-up today, finished third in class in the overall standings, with Mike Slade’s 100-foot ICAP Leopard taking a fourth today and overall.

The Racing I, II and III classes, along with Performance Cruising I and the Multihull Racing fleets, dueled over a looping, 26.6-nautical mile course on the south coast of Antigua today, and clearly it was a route much favored by Stuart Robinson’s Swan 70, Stay Calm. Robinson’s big Swan sailed an exceptional series, easily holding off the advances of another Swan, Clay Deutsch’s 68-foot Chippewa, to win the class by a relatively comfortable 5-point margin.

“We won again today,” said Stay Calm crewman Russell Peters. “The wind was very light to start off with, then kicked in a bit. We did really well off the start line. We got a good lead, kept it and managed to keep our closest rivals, Chippewa, well behind us.”

The margin of victory was much more substantial in Racing III, where Robert Swann’s swift Marten 49, Yani – which seemed to have pace on the entire 13-boat class in heavy and light conditions, upwind and down – scored a second today to win the division by a solid 12-points. The battle for second was much tighter, but it was Richard Matthews’s brand new 42-footer, Oystercatcher XXXVI, that ultimately prevailed in a tight tussle with today’s Racing III winner, Barry Sampson’s Club Swan 42, Long Echo, and Peter Peake’s R/P 44, Storm.

In Performance Cruising I, it was clear early on that the eventual winner would be one of two yachts: the 57-foot S&S-designed Charisma, flying a Spanish flag, and Marco Rodolfi’s Swan 62, Berenice, sailing under an Italian ensign. By virtue of their one-two finish today, Charisma justifiably sealed her victory over Berenice in the 12-boat class.
The Multihull Racing division started out the week as a two-boat competition between two blazing trimarans, the powerful 60-footer Region Guadeloupe, skippered by Claude Thelier, and Franck-Yves Escoff’s quick 50-footer Crepes Whaou. As the event unfolded, however, there was a third tri suddenly in the mix, Calle Hennix’s compact blazer, the SeaCart 30, True Look. It turned out, however, that the week’s champion was decided yesterday in unusual fashion after Region Guadaloupe and Crepes Whaou collided before the start of the day’s second race – ironically, a race that was ultimately abandoned due to dying wind. Neither of the boats made it to the starting line today, leaving Hennix and True Look to their own devices to negotiate the course alone and cruise to victory overall.

The Racing IV, V and VI fleets, along with Performance Cruising II, sailed a slightly shortened Ocean Race today of 22.6 miles, also along the island’s southern shores. In Racing IV, the Anteros 36, Easy, capped off a string of impressive races today to easily earn the class victory. The Henderson 30 bMobile Enzyme, with Paul Solomon skippering, held on to score second overall.

In Racing V and Racing VI, the always-competitive ranks of J/Boats served up a pair of winners. In Racing V, it was James Dobbs’s J/122, Lost Horizon, winning yet again – and finishing off a perfect 6-0 undefeated series – to put the cap on a most memorable Stanford Antigua Sailing Week. In Racing VI, the appropriately named Philippe Champion, sailing his J/120, Paulista, had a rather more difficult path to glory. Paulista, with a second today, and Paul McNamara’s Beneteau First 40.7, Incognito, with a third today (both behind the day’s winner, Calvin Reed’s 40.7 Elandra of Hamble) both finished the series deadlocked atop the standings with 12-points apiece. By virtue of more first-place results, however, Paulista was crowned the victor.

The Gunboat class was wide open coming into the final day, with the Gunboat 62, Lickity Split 2, holding a slim advantage over another 62, Bruce Slayden’s Looking for Elvis. Had Elvis won today – which it did – and John Kwitek’s Lickity finished worse than fourth, Slayden’s big cat would’ve squeaked into the winner’s circle. But Lickity took fourth and barely held on for a one-point win in the class.

In Division B, the remaining Antigua classes took part in the return trip from Jolly Harbour, Thursday evening’s party venue, in the 20.2-nautical mile Jolly to Falmouth Race. When all was said and done, the individual class winners were as follows: Pocket Rocket, David Cullen’s J/109, in Performance Cruising III; Northern Child, Julian Sincock’s Swan 51, in Performance Cruising IV; Olga White’s Murka Dragon and Sasha Eskov’s Half Moon, tied atop the International Dragon class; Blue Whale, Kent Mitchell’s Cape Fear 60, in Cruising I; and We Two Are One, Michel Teerlink’s Crowther cat, in Multihull Cruising.

One of the innovative features of Stanford Antigua Sailing Week is the way class organizers address the Bareboat charter fleets, which this year drew 42 boats in four classes. At the end of Thursday’s racing, the fleet was divided into the 12-boat Bareboat Gold fleet – consisting of the top three placers in each class – with the remaining boats separated into the Bareboat Silver fleet. The winner of Bareboat Gold is thus recognized as the champion of the Bareboat charter competitors.

This year, top honors in Bareboat Gold went to Carsten Jacob’s Sun Odyssey 49, Beluga V, in first; Phil Devereux’s Dufour 44, Just Du 4 It, in second; and Burt Keenan’s Beneteau Oceanis 46, in third. Topping the 30 boats in Bareboat Silver was Jan Soderberg’s Beneteau 445, Chess.

On Saturday, the 41st edition of Stanford Antigua Sailing Week will conclude with a prize-giving and awards ceremony at the Regatta Village at historic Nelson’s Dockyard.
For complete results, photographs and video, on-the-water features and much more, visit the Stanford Antigua Sailing Week website at www.sailingweek.com.

Nelson’s Dockyard, Antigua (May 4) – It was a week of innovation, of lively parties, of big winds and flat calms, and when all was said and done, it was a week that showcased great competition on the water and wonderful camaraderie off. In short, it was another fine edition of Stanford Antigua Sailing Week, the 41st annual one, and everyone who attended was a winner.
Of course, along with those figurative winners, there were also the true champions, the sailors who excelled on the racecourse and earned both the respect of their rivals and the spoils of their success. And in two separate awards ceremonies yesterday afternoon and last night at the regatta’s Event Village here at Nelson’s Dockyard, the top racers in the 17 respective classes for this running of Stanford Antigua Sailing Week reaped the rewards of their top-notched efforts.
Joining the ranks of such famous yachts as Enzian, Kialoa 4, Infinity, Sayonara, Morning Glory, Pyewacket, Lolita and Rosebud – all past winners of the Lord Nelson Trophy representing the overall victory at Antigua – is a new name, Benny Kelly’s TP52, Panthera. Along with the Lord Nelson prize, Panthera also took home the Curtain Bluff Trophy presented to the winner of the big-boat Racing I class.
Racing I was also the domain of two of the more impressive yachts to ever compete in Antigua, George David’s 90-foot Rambler and Mike Slade’s 100-foot ICAP Leopard. Both took home some silverware: Rambler won the West Indies Publishing Cup presented to the overall runner-up for the week, while ICAP Leopard secured the Yachting World Trophy given to the boat recording the Best Elapsed Time in the two-part Around the Island Race that opens the week’s racing. A third Racing I yacht, Sam Fleet’s Swan 601, Aquarius, received the Quin Farara Cup for third overall.

Like Panthera, David Cullen’s J/109 Pocket Rocket was the recipient of a pair of prestigious awards, the Chippy Fine Yacht Woodwork Cup that goes to the top boat in the Performance Cruiser III and IV ranks, and the British Airways Trophy for supremacy in the Performance Cruiser III division. The Performance Cruiser IV champion, Gianfranco Fini’s Comet 51, Bellissima, was presented with the Temo Sports Trophy for first-in-class, and the Helical Moorings Cup as runner-up to Pocket Rocket in the overall standings in those combined classes.
A host of other Division A boats in the all-out spinnaker racing classes received sparkling awards for winning in their respective fleets. They included Stuart Robinson’s Swan 70, Stay Calm, which won Racing II and the Price Waterhouse Coopers Cup; Robert Swann’s Marten 49, Yani, which won Racing III and the San Hall Trademarks Trophy; and the S&S 57, Charisma, which won Performance Cruiser I and the Big Banana Trophy.
In the Racing IV, V and VI fleets, the overall winner in the combined rankings, for which they received the Global Bank of Commerce Cup, was James Dobb’s dominating J/122, Lost Horizon. The J/Boat also was presented with the Air Canada Cup for winning Racing V; the Beefeater Trophy as Best Caribbean Yacht in Division A; and the Hightide Trophy as the Best Antigua Yacht in Division A
First overall in Racing IV was the Anteros 36, Easy, winner of the Henley Trophy. Winner of the Antigua & Barbuda Investment Bank Trophy, for besting the Racing VI fleet, was Philippe Champion’s J/120, Paulista.
A pair of fast multihulls earned prestigious awards: Calle Hennix’s SeaCart 30 trimaran, True Look, which received the La Perla Cup for winning Multihull Racing, and John Kwitek’s Gunboat 62, Lickity Split 2, which earned the American Airlines Cup for winning the Gunboat cat class.
Altogether, nearly one hundred individual prizes were awarded in 38 separate categories, including prizes for first, second and third in each class, and a series of special awards presented throughout the fleet. Clay Deutsch’s Swan 68, Chippewa, was given the Budget Marine Trophy as the Overall Winner in the Racing Class of the Caribbean Big Boat Series. Stay Calm scored the Antigua Breweries Cup for Best Swan in Division A, while its counterpart, Julian Sincock’s Swan 51, Northern Child, snared the American Express Cup for Best Swan in Division A.

In the Cruising Classes, Kent Mitchell’s Cape Fear 60, Blue Whale, was the recipient of the Peter Deeth Cup as top boat amongst the Cruising I competitors, and Michel Teerlinck’s Crowther 40 cat, We Two Are One, earned the Admirals’ Inn Trophy as the leader of the Multihull Cruising fleet. Carsten Jacob’s Sun Odyssey 49, Beluga V, won the Gold Fleet prize for the Bareboat Charter classes, and in doing so was presented with The Governor General’s Cup as the best of the best charter boats.
Finally, longtime judge Arthur Wullschleger, the famous “Tuna” himself who this year served as the jury arbitrator, was given the Jan Santos Trophy, so named for Sailing Week’s vice-chairman, for his long-time distinguished service to the regatta.

With the 41st running of Stanford Antigua Sailing Week now in the record books, race organizers are already turning their attention to the event’s 42nd regatta, which is scheduled for April 26-May 2, 2009. It’s not too early to begin making plans to be there.
For complete results, photographs and video, on-the-water features and much more, visit the Stanford Antigua Sailing Week website at www.sailingweek.com