ANTIGUA YACHT CLUB

On a windy and wild Sunday afternoon on March 4, 2012 the second annual West Indies Sail Regatta took place outside Falmouth Harbour.  Winds were in the 25 to 30-knot range and that, combined with other factors, meant that only four boats took to the water for the start of the race.  Unfortunately, after only a short time Summer Cloud returned to the dock, clearly having decided that the conditions weren't for her.

So three boats set sail - Ocean Nomad, Alexander Hamilton and Genesis.  Watching from the beach, soon afterwards we were very disappointed to see Ocean Nomad come around the corner from west of Falmouth Harbour with only half of her mast!  The wind had been too much for her and the mast came down.  Perhaps Summer Cloud's decision had been the right one after all.

The race continued with Genesis and Alexander Hamilton battling it out to the end.  Genesis finished first over the line a very long way ahead of Alexander Hamilton but Alexander Hamilton sailed along gracefully behind looking beautiful and displaying more speed than we've seen from her in the past.

Congratulations to those who persevered notwithstanding the windy conditions.  Good luck to Ocean Nomad with the restoration of her rig and we look forward to the third annual West Indies Sail Regatta in 2013 - with hopefully a little less wind!

Photos by Hans Lammers