JOLLY HARBOUR YACHT CLUB

Jolly Harbour Yacht Club (JHYC) held its annual regatta on Saturday, November 22 and Sunday, November 23.  Saturday saw 15 boats sailing - 9 boats in Division 1 and six boats in Division 2.  Weather conditions were cloudy with rain squalls throughout the day, all of which somehow managed to miss the fleet.  Four races were held with J30 Blue Peter winning in all four races in Division 1 (congratulations Tanner Jones and crew) and Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 44i Chilli Chilli cleaning up in three of four races in Division 2 (congratulations Tim Richards and crew).

Three races were held on Sunday with 13 boats out on the water – nine in Division 1 and four in Division 2 – in some pretty exciting conditions with wind in squalls up to 35 knots.   One such squall hit when seven boats were approaching the windward mark in very tight formation which added some serious excitement to the mark rounding.  Blue Peter fought it out with Beneteau First 38 Elethea in Division 1 with Elethea taking first in two out of three races and Blue Peter finishing third, first, and second.  That performance combined with Saturday’s results gave Blue Peter the overall first place prize in Division 1.  Congratulations to Tanner Jones, Shari Potts and crew!

In Division 1 overall, fourth place went to Digicel Spirit crewed by the National Sailing Academy Youth Sailing Team.  Both Digicel Spirit and Digicel Valiant participated with Digicel Valiant being crewed by students from All Saint Secondary School in their first regatta – how exciting!  Both teams had some challenges with ripped and blown out spinnakers.  Third place went to Frolic (Hans Lammers), and second place to Elethea (Rick Gormley).  Congratulations to all!

In Division 2, Chilli Chilli took first place in the first and third races while the Commodore's boat Yesss finished first in the second race.  Overall it was a clear first place win for Chilli Chilli.  Second place went to Yesss, third place to Full Monty (Grahame Williams), and fourth place to Volare (Terry Allan).

There was plenty of excitement shoreside as well with a gathering for the skippers’ briefing at Westpoint Bar on Friday night, dancing to the music of Itchy Feet on Saturday night and the final results and awards presentation on Sunday evening.  Members were honoured to have Sir James Carlisle, former Government General of Antigua and Barbuda, as Guest of Honour to give out the prizes as he did at Antigua Sailing Week so many times in the past.

Click here for final results for Division 1: Day 1 , Day 2 and Division 2: Day 1, Day 2

By Kathy Lammers