ANTIGUA CLASSIC YACHT REGATTA

21-Jul-11 - 03:50pm

PRESS RELEASE AND NEWS UPDATE
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  FALMOUTH HARBOUR, ANTIGUA -- The 25th annual Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta is scheduled for April 19 through 24, 2012 and plans are underway to make it a memorable Celebration of the first 25 years and the launch of the next 25.

  The Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta also serves as the kickoff for the 2012 Panerai Classics Yacht Challenge, a series of 10 classic regattas staged in North America and Europe under the  sponsorship of Panerai, the renowned Italian timepiece company.  Panerai is the platinum  sponsor of the Antigua Classic Regatta.

  Registration for the event will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 17 and 18 on the second floor of the Antigua Yacht Club, which is the official host for the event.

  The Regatta will feature four days of competitive racing on four distinct courses outside Falmouth and English Harbours, preceded by the popular single-handed race, which usually features a variety of classic yachts ranging in length from 30 feet to over 100 feet.

  Land-side events will include the popular State of Maine Party  sponsored by Portland Yacht Services,  a  special "In The Beginning ..." evening with visual presentation  by Halsey Herreshoff, of the Herreshoff Maritime Museum in Bristol, RI, on the history of classic yacht design, and a representative of the International Yacht Restoration School on the skill of restoring old classics.  Their presentation  will precede a meet-and-greet cocktail hour so yacht crews may meet and chat with the two presenters.  The evening event is  sponsored by Hinckley Yacht Services.

  "We have worked very hard over the past 25 years to make the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta one of the most prestigious sailing events in the Caribbean, if not the world, and our continued growth is the best indication we have that we are achieving our goal," said Capt. Kenny. Coombs, founder and chairman of the event.

  "We continue to see, year after year, more classic yachts, and more of the larger yachts, participating in our Regatta.  We had 60 classic yachts join us last year, compared to 49 in 2010, and we are anticipate similar growth in the number of prestigious yachts in 2012," Coombs said.

Pre-Entry can now be done online here:  http://antiguaclassics.com/12html/register_pre.html and yachts that have entered before can email the organisers at entry@antiguaclassics.com to update their information.