ANTIGUA CLASSIC YACHT REGATTA

In September 2017, Thorpe Leeson was in Virgin Gorda, BVI, happily planning future trips on Apollonia, his 56’ Bill Tripp Jnr double-planked yawl, built in 1963 in Bremen, Germany by De Dood and Sons – until rudely interrupted by Hurricane Irma, knocking her to the ground. Fortunately the mast remained intact and the boatyard righted her in December. Then a chance encounter in a pub in Grenada with Harry Ricciardi, wooden boat builder par excellence from Gannon and Benjamin, Martha’s Vineyard, triggered the pair of them to tackle the ongoing intensive repairs needed by Apollonia to come and take part in the Antigua Classics as originally planned.

Thorpe Leeson has owned and captained more wooden boats than he can remember, and Harry Ticcierdi built his own 25’ wooden Folkboat that he sailed to Grenada and back single-handed, so the partnership was a match made in heaven.
 
Helped by the remarkable First Mate and acrobat Nichole Raab, who may perform at the Antigua Classics, the laying of the shutter planks is nearing completion, with launching imminent…
 
Apollonia will be setting sail soon for Antigua: if anyone is interested in coming on this trip, there is a bunk and free beer! Contact thorpe1@aol.com or chole15@hotmail.com.
 
We very much look forward to seeing them all and are delighted that serendipity intervened to make this possible.

Register now.

Apollonia under sail