The glorious weather enjoyed by the Angostura Tobago Sail Week fleet all week stuck around for the last day’s racing today. All fleets sailed a triangular course, followed by a sausage for the cruiser racer and charter classes, and two an extra sausage for the racing class.

With no discards in this regatta, and no obvious class winners yet, there was still plenty to fight for in the final race. Clearly everyone was very eager to get going: in Donald Stollmeyer’s case, perhaps a little too eager. Repeating yesterday’s start, his Beneteau Class 10 Bachanal Woman hit the pin end of the line as the gun went! As usual, the first weather mark, ‘Angostura Bitters’ just off the Crown Point Hotel, was the scene of much excitement after the short beat up from the start. The Henderson 30 Enzyme tried to sneak inside rivals Pressure only to be squeezed onto the mark. As the racing fleet popped kites and shot off back downwind on their first sausage Enzyme performed a quick 360 that put them back on the right side of the race committee.

With the race fleet sizzling downwind, the rest of the fleet cracked off from Angostura for a triangle that took them out on a shy reach to the DHL mark off Pigeon Point. It was an indication of the close racing that when the fleet returned to the Angostura mark later there was still plenty of close boat-on-boat action. Marsha Farfan’s Morgan 36 Business Machine (in yellow and blue bikini’s this time) came in a little low of the mark and tried to shoot it just below Lawrence Aqui’s C&C 36 Blurred Vision. Both boats were on starboard, but Blurred Vision called starboard on Business Machine as they half tacked to get around the mark. Needless to say, red flags fluttered from both boats’ backstays soon after.

As the racing fleet rounded Angostura for the second time they faced the tight reach out to Pigeon Point. This gave the Henderson 30s a chance to show their bowsprit-powered stuff as they popped their asymmetrical kites while the other racing boats plodded along under white sails. Still, it was Storm that led the racing fleet on the water, with Slippery When Wet, showing scintillating speed, having the edge over Guardian Star in the tussle for second, and taking first on corrected time in the racing class for the day too. This wasn’t enough to earn her hard working crew any silverware however. Storm took overall honours, with Guardian Star in second. Douglas Myers’ Soverel 42 Legacy only finished in the top three once, as winner of the second race on day two, but their consistent performance earned them a third overall.

There was no such surprise in the cruiser racer class. Rawle Barrow’s brilliantly sailed Petit Careme won today’s race, and took a well deserved first overall from Wayward, hot on their heels throughout the week. Rapajam’s second today was not enough for a podium spot, leaving Titan M with third overall. Mayumi dominated the cruiser class today, and also won overall, with Business Machine close behind on both accounts. Annie T, Saga Boy and McFly have been trading spots in the top three of the charter fleet all week, and today was no different, but it was Annie T that eventually took overall honours.

With the fleet now back in the Crown Point anchorage rum bottles are emptying, air horns are howling and skippers are being tossed into the sea. It’s the end of another Angostura Tobago Sail Week regatta. There’ve been perfect conditions throughout, some really tight racing, a healthy dose of controversy, and most of all a huge amount of fun. In a few hours the awards dinner gets underway, and for those still standing, the real party kicks off after that.

Final positions:

Racing: 1. Storm 2. Guardian Star 3. Legacy

Cruiser/Racer: 1. Petit Careme 2. Wayward 3. Titan M

Cruiser: 1. Mayumi 2. Business Machine 3. Nirvana

Charter: 1. Annie T 2. Team McFly 3. Saga Boy

Comfort Cruiser: 1. A la Mor 2. Udjat 2. Scot Free