Some sailing
events are small and charming, some events are big and full of activity, and
others still are of such proportions they can only be referred to as Mega. Yes,
mega…that is the word used by the organizing authority to describe yachts of
100 feet or more that participated in the Antigua Mega Yacht Challenge.
While the tag line, “are you big enough” had multi levels this year, the event
wrapped with enthusiastic participants and a happy committee.
Over the weekend
of April 9th, 10th and 11th, mega yachts from around the
world participated in three days of racing off the southern coast of Antigua.
All races were approximately twelve to thirty miles in length and all were
pursuit races with the slowest yacht starting first.
The 2004 Mega
Yacht Challenge saw are record number of participants. However, this year, the
number of entrants was down to three, adding another dimension to the tag line
mentioned above. When asked about the low entries this year, the committee
cited two contributing factors, the St. Bart’s Bucket and the Trans Atlantic
Race. To add further complications, Anemus suffered from mechanical
problems and was not able to race until day three. This left return yachts Sojana
and Destination Fox Harbor to battle each other for races one and two.
“After all,” says Tommy Paterson of the Antigua Yacht Club, “you only need two
boats for a race!”
In the end, both
Sojana and Destination Fox Harbor tied for First Place and
received their “bottomless” barrels of English Harbour Rum decorated with a
scrimshaw design. They can return the empty barrels to the Antigua Yacht Club
for refills at any time.
The committee is
looking at a date change for next year and interested yachts for the 2006 Mega
Yacht Challenge are asked to visit the Antigua Yacht Club website at www.antiguayachtclub.com for
updates.
