Five races in the can and the leader boards are starting to shuffle
Strange things often happen at the mid point in a week long regatta. For some it is finding form where they have previously struggled, for others it is the opposite as tactical errors and gear failure deface an otherwise impressive score line. Tuesday’s racing in Antigua had examples of both of these, plus some classic Caribbean conditions as the 18knot breeze and big swell nudged the bar a little higher.
On Quokka we had our share of thrills and disappointment, winning the first race and being disqualified in the second for being OCS at the start, dropping us down from our overall lead in CSA4 to third.
The racing among the top four in this class is very tight and by the end of today it was another charter race boat, the First 40 Southern Child that had taken the overall lead. Indeed, all of the top four are charter boats with Lancelot II, another First 40 and skippered by Jeremy Thorp holding second overall.
There were several others in the fleet who suffered a similar OCS fate and saw their overall results take a tumble including Richard Wesslund’s J120 El Ocaso, last years Lord Nelson Trophy for the Best Yacht of the week.
But there were plenty of crews with smiles on their faces by the end of the day, particularly Antiguan Geoffrey Pidduck, who scored his fourth bullet in his converted six metre Biwi Magic. Perhaps more impressive though is the fact that Pidduck is 75 and his foredeck crew Antiguan Jules Mitchell is just 15, a 60 year separation between the front and the back of the boat. With a foredeck the width of a cricket bat and in the big swell and punchy seas at the top of the beats, their solid score line is all the more impressive.
Interestingly, Steve Carson, former skipper of the superyacht Adela, who has been chasing Pidduck, and is currently lying second overall with his Dehler 34 Hightide, was the one who originally converted the 6 metre to a cruising boat and sold it to Pidduck.
Tomorrow, Wednesday, is lay day which for some means competing in the RS Elite Challenge, an invitational event for some of the top skippers. For the remainder, the well known lay day activities should provide time for sore muscles and bruised shins to recover before racing gets back under way on Thursday.
The equivalent of pressing ctrl-alt-delete.
VIDEO
Day 2 from the air – don’t watch it if you suffer from regatta envy.
Tuesday 30 April
Day 3: Antigua Sailing Week
Provisional Results:
CSA 1:
Race 4:
1. Kuankun, Soto 48, Eduardo Wong Lu Vega, PER 481
2. Whisper, RP 78, HM King Harald V of Norway, IRL77777
3. Maximizer, Farr 73, Jose Arozamena, GBR711
Race 5:
1. Kuankun, Soto 48, Eduardo Wong Lu Vega, PER 481
2. Whisper, RP 78, HM King Harald V of Norway, IRL77777
3. Ambersail, Volvo 60 Farr, Simonas Steponavicius, LTU 1000
CSA 2:
Race 4:
1. Locura, N/M 92,Hector Velarde, USA 28992
2. Nix, X612, Cogent, IVB612
3. Auliana II, JV53, Christian Potthoff-Sewing, GER 6053
Race 5:
1. Nix, X612, Cogent, IVB612
2. Locura, N/M 92,Hector Velarde, USA 28992
3. Auliana II, JV53, Christian Potthoff-Sewing, GER 6053
CSA 3:
Race 4:
1. Arethusa, Swan CS42, Philip Lotz, USA 4216
2. El Ocaso, J/120, Richard Wesslund, USA 28920
3. Peake Yacht Services Slippery, Reichel Pugh 37, Peter Peake, GBR 9419T
Race 5:
1. Arethusa, Swan CS42, Philip Lotz, USA 4216
2. Kick ‘em Jenny 2, Melges 32, Kick ‘em Jenny 2, USA 128
3. Digicel Challenger, Cork 1720, Antigua Yacht Club, GBR 1789
CSA 4:
Race 4:
1. Quokka 8, Grand Soleil 43, Philippe Falle of Deep Blue Racing, GBR 2215L
2. Southern Child, Beneteau First 40, Team True, PUR 11
3. Coyote, Beneteau 40.7, Matt Shafer, GBR9949T
Race 5:
1. Southern Child, Beneteau First 40, Team True, PUR 11
2. Coyote, Beneteau 40.7, Matt Shafer, GBR9949T
3. Caipirinha, Beneteau 40.7, Patrick Holloran, GBR7825T