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Event: Superyacht Challenge Antigua 2024
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Experience the exhilarating Superyacht Challenge Antigua 2024, a captivating sailing regatta set against Antigua’s pristine Caribbean waters. From March 11th to 17th, witness over 15 yachts, each exceeding 98ft (30m), engage in thrilling races. This exclusive event attracts some of the world’s finest racing vessels, promising participants superb racing and exclusive onshore celebrations.
Whether you’re a racing enthusiast or a spectator, immerse yourself in the unique blend of sailing and celebration that defines the Superyacht Challenge Antigua 2024. Contact Northrop & Johnson, esteemed luxury yacht brokers, for an opportunity to charter vessels, including high-performance racing ones, providing an unparalleled experience during this extraordinary regatta.
Indulge in the festivities ashore, enjoy the camaraderie, embrace the love for the sea, and bask in the beauty of the Caribbean. The Superyacht Challenge Antigua 2024 offers not just a racing spectacle but a celebration of the sea, creating cherished moments under the warm Caribbean sunshine.
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Superyacht Challenge Antigua 2023 Overall
The final race of the 2023 Superyacht Challenge Antigua was held off the South Coast of Antigua on Sunday 12 March.
The weather this year was more Mediterranean than Caribbean but the spirit of regatta was unchanged.
Now in its 12th edition, the Superyacht Challenge Antigua is an exciting, friendly event, designed to be solely for the pleasure of superyacht owners, their guests and crew.
The Gosnell Trophy is awarded as the overall prize. Each yacht competing yachts, and the race committee, cast one vote for the yacht that has competed in the Spirit of the Regatta, both afloat and ashore. This year’s winner was John McMonigall’s Oyster 82 Zig Zag. Racing for the seventh regatta in a row, Zig Zag has now won the Gosnell Trophy on two occasions.
“I feel quite emotional to tell you the truth,” commented Zig Zag’s John McMonigall. “I thought winning it last time was emotional and that was it, but to win again with this lovely friendly crew when we are laughing non-stop is just fantastic. I am terribly flattered that the other teams have voted for us. We may not have won a race this year but on the Antigua Carnival Night we did out-party everybody! It has been a great regatta; I just love it. Up against these huge yachts, you can feel out of place but everybody wanted us to come back and I am so glad that we did in double-spades!”
Zig Zag was a big winner on the social scene, which all counts in respect of winning the Gosnell Trophy. Loudest Caribbean Ladies shirt was won by Zig Zag Bow, Grace Murray. Emma Abreu’s Banana Fritters from the Coal Pot got a special mention at The Famous Cook Off and by far the youngest crew at the regatta, Cameron Raynes, was awarded “Best Boat Captain”, a driftwood toy boat was donated by Catalina, much to his delight of the two year-old.
Overall results
Scoring two race wins after ORCsy time correction, the Regatta Series Winner was the 121ft Dykstra sloop Action. The afterguard included two of Great Britain’s most decorated sailors Ian Walker and Shirley Robertson. Action also scored well at the social evening winning the Best Team Caribbean wear on the Caribbean Night and Action’s Chef Caroline Jörgenson, won best Caribbean Dish at the Famous Cook Off.
“We are pleased with how we sailed, we are a crew that’s largely been together since 2016 so we were not starting from the very beginning each time and we felt quite quickly we were in our stride,” commented Action’s Shirley Robertson. “Ian Walker is fantastic on Action, he really brings everyone together with an intensity and a marvellous sense of humour, Ian is our secret ingredient but everybody on board has to do their job or it doesn’t work. Action is a great boat but everything has to be orchestrated, so well done to the permanent crew. The preparation and the huge amount of work to race a boat like Action takes months of work. I think we didn’t make many mistakes, so we didn’t leave much out there. It was good racing; we were all pretty close together and the results were tight in the end. We thoroughly enjoyed the regatta and we can certainly feel ready to go next week to St Barth’s Bucket Regatta.”
The 112ft Sparkman & Stephens sloop Kawil was competing at their fifth regatta and has now been runner-up for two editions. Kawil was the quickest starter for the series and racing as ‘Special K’ won this year’s Stand Up Paddle Board Regatta in aid of the National Sailing Academy of Antigua. Allie Toppa was the quickest around the track. Kawil’s Tess was also given a special mention for her delicious Conch Curry at the Cook Off.
Since competing last year, Kawil has been exploring The Baltic Sea. “We visited Sweden, Denmark Estonia, Finland and then through the Kiel Canal to Hamburg and then Amsterdam,” commented Charlie Ross. “The racing here is very close, as the Boat Captain I stand back and let the racing crew get on with it. As long as they don’t break the boat, I am happy! This is a passionate regatta for our boss, he is really competitive. The boat handling is good and so is the atmosphere on board. Juggy Clougher chooses the race team and they are a super bunch, not just great sailors.”
After ORCsy time correction, the 148ft Dubois ketch Catalina won the last race of the SYCA Series to finish third by the narrowest of margins, beating Gitana on countback. This was Catalina’s second regatta but the beautiful ketch is a huge part of the history of the regatta. The ship’s bell as Timoneer is The Gosling Trophy. Catalina was also the winner of the Spirit of Tradition Trophy, donated by Rebecca and Pendennis Shipyard. Catalina’s chef Lisa Grimm also took first place in the Famous Cook Off and Catalina’s crew Murray Ford was the winner of Loudest Caribbean Men’s Shirt on Caribbean Night.
Boat Captain for the 148ft Dubois ketch Catalina is Sean Whitney. Since racing at the regatta in 2019, Catalina had sailed thousands of miles. “We went through the Panama Canal, spent a great couple of weeks in The Galapagos, then went to the Marquesas Islands and explored French Polynesia for quite a while before sailing to New Zealand. We have done a lot of miles, the owner looks after Catalina very well and for the last six years, it has been a labour of love for the crew. You always have your wits about you when you are sailing these boats. When racing you have to have an awareness for the course and make early calls on manoeuvres, it is a case of maximising the opportunities. Catalina is okay in light airs but if the boat speed goes, it takes a long time to build again, so there is constant concentration on trim and helm.”
Taking part in the first regatta was the 148ft Dubois sloop Gitana, as the fastest boat in the fleet, Gitana was always the last to get away in the Pursuit Starting Sequence. Gitana showed great speed and agility to pass every boat in every race to take a clean sweep of Line honours and elapsed time scores. Narrowly fourth after countback after ORCsy time correction.
“It was a tough regatta, this was the first racing event for Gitana in seven years and we were very happy with the way that we sailed the boat,” commented Gitana’s Chris Sherlock. “It’s a training regatta for St. Barths for us and the (SYCA) Committee did a great job getting all the races off bar one. I thought they managed the whole thing very well. The regatta served its purpose and we learned a lot, we’ve got a lot of low hanging fruit regarding the (ORCsy) rating to optimise the boat for future events. I was very fortunate that the owner and Jon Barrett asked me to help put the team together so we’ve got nine of the Leopard crew from the bow all the way to the back of the boat with Mitch Booth as tactician. This made our learning curve much, much quicker because we’ve all worked together for so long. We were very pleased with the way that we sailed the boat and the key instrument was having a race team that steps on ready to go complemented by the full time crew. Everybody got on well and hopefully this is the first event of many more for the owner who loves his boat.”
The Prize-Giving Ceremony was held in The Admiral’s Inn, and all of the social functions take place with the kind support of National Parks Authority in Nelson’s Dockyard, a World Heritage Site. The regatta is also supported by Terry Browne and Daniel Taddese at Island Provision. The Superyacht Challenge Antigua is the brain child of Paul Deeth and Stan Pearson who work tirelessly behind the scenes at every regatta. Congratulations should also go to Race Advisors Willii Gohl, Gordon Stredwick and their team for organising great racing in difficult conditions. The next edition of the Superyacht Challenge Antigua will take place in the second week of March 2024, a week before the 2024 St. Barths Bucket Regatta.
www.superyachtchallengeantigua.com
by Louay Habib
YachtBoatNews
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10 yachts competing at the 2022 Superyacht Challenge Antigua
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As the Superyacht Challenge Antigua returns to the island after a one-year hiatus, we take a look at the line-up of yachts taking to the crystal Caribbean waters to compete in one of the first regattas of the year. The race runs from March 8-13 and the winning team will receive several barrels of rum.
At nearly 67 metres in length, Hetairos is the largest yacht to be launched by Baltic to date. While she looks every bit the classic yacht (she was inspired by a Bristol Pilot Cutter), Hetairos is built from a carbon composite with a lifting keel and 2,620 square metres of sail, which means she is deceptively quick around the racecourse. She was designed by Dykstra Naval Architects and checked in at Vitters in 2014 for an extensive 14-month refit that saw her fitted with a new propulsion system and engine room, all new hydraulics and carbon ECsix rigging.
Hanuman was built by Royal Huisman and is a regular on the regatta circuit. In fact, she is one of the most successful winning J-Class yachts on the water today. The 42 metre sailing yacht was first launched in 2009 but underwent a refit in 2018 which saw a complete overhaul of all her racing and sailing systems including a new, lightweight carbon rig and boom that shaved 500kg of her overall weight. Other credentials include a high-speed Reckmann furling headstay as well as an impressive sail wardrobe with sails. Hanuman even scooped the Neptune for Sailing Yacht of the Year at the World Superyacht Awards in 2009.
The 42.4 metre Germán Frers-designed Rebecca is one of the largest ketch-rigged sailing yachts to leave the Pendennis shipyard. The owner wanted a true modern classic that combined the best of both worlds, offering a traditional profile matched with impressive performance under sail. She left the shipyard in 199 and has paid two visits to her home shipyard since her launch for refit work.
Another Royal Huisman sailing yacht currently racing in the Superyacht Challenge Antigua is Kamaxitha . Constructed under the codename Spirit of Tradition, the 55 metre was built in 2012 to a design by Dykstra Naval Architects and Rhoades Young Design. Kamaxitha’s owner started out building a classic sailing ketch but later chose to change his brief after seeing the sailing yacht Hetairos from the same designers. She has a lifting keel and flies 2,449 square metres of sail downwind.
The Sparkman & Stephens sailing yacht Kawil is a familiar face on the superyacht regatta circuit. She has travelled far and wide to compete in some of the most prestigious events around the world and even lifted the first place trophy at the New Zealand Millennium Cup regatta in 2020. Kawil started life in America at the Derecktor Shipyard and can sleep six guests in three cabins with a spacious pilothouse that provides wind and sun protection.
Freya was launched by Nautor's Swan in 2012 as a Swan 90 and was the 2,000th hull delivered by the Finnish shipyard since its inception. She measures 27.71 metres in length and was designed by longtime Swan collaborator Germán Frers. While Freya was built primarily as a performance cruiser she is also designed with long-range bluewater sailing in mind.
No regatta is complete without a Huisman-built sailing yacht charging through the field, and while Action is the smallest of the three yachts from the Dutch shipyard competing in this year's Superyacht Challenge Antigua, she still packs a mighty punch. The 37.3 metre sailing yacht features naval architecture by Dykstra Naval Architects and joins the fleet fresh from a refit in 2020. Action will undoubtedly put up a tough challenge to her competitors.
Farfalla is a 31.8 metre performance cruiser built by Southern Wind and delivered in 2015 as a raised saloon version of the SW102. Her design, from the boards of Nauta Yacht Design in collaboration with Farr Yacht Design , scored Farfalla a Neptune at the 2015 World Superyacht Awards and she will be one to watch on race day. An aluminium rig was chosen over carbon to dampen the noise transfer for improved comfort when cruising.
The 34 metre Nilaya was built in composite by Baltic Yachts and has an exceptional regatta track record. When she was launched in 2010, she was heralded as a new breed of racer-cruiser that could offer superb comfort with exceptional speed and performance. Nilaya displaces just 89 tons and features a lifting keel from APM reducing her draft from 5.5 metres to 3.5 metres. She is designed by Reichel/Pugh with an interior courtesy of Nauta Yacht Design and is currently listed for sale with Superyacht Partners .
Zig Zag is no stranger to the regatta circuit and the Superyacht Challenge Antigua will mark the yacht's sixth race in a row. At 24.99 metres in length, Zig Zag is the smallest yacht at the regatta but renowned for racing as hard as any of the largest yachts in the fleet. She springs from the drawing boards of Humphreys Yacht Design and is one of 17 Oyster 82 models built by the British shipyard.
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Superyacht Challenge Antigua - 2024
When: March 11, 2024, 12:16 p.m.
Where: Antigua, Caribbean
The Antigua Superyacht Challenge is a prestigious regatta specifically designed for superyachts, attracting some of the most luxurious and impressive vessels from around the world. The event typically includes a series of races and social events, providing an opportunity for yacht owners, guests, and crew to enjoy friendly competition and the beautiful surroundings of Antigua. The regatta also serves as a platform for networking and showcasing the latest in superyacht design, technology, and maritime expertise.
Where its held
The Antigua Superyacht Challenge has a rich history in the Caribbean, specifically in the beautiful island of Antigua. The event takes advantage of Antigua's stunning natural surroundings, warm climate, and excellent sailing conditions to provide an exceptional experience for participants and spectators alike. Antigua's long-standing reputation as a yachting hub and its picturesque harbours and bays make it an ideal location for hosting such a prestigious superyacht regatta. The island's hospitality and nautical infrastructure also contribute to the success and allure of the Antigua Superyacht Challenge.
The Antigua Superyacht Challenge was first established in 2012, making it a relatively young event in the world of superyacht regattas. However, it has quickly gained a reputation as a premier event for superyacht owners, captains, and crew. The regatta was created to provide an exclusive and enjoyable racing experience for large yachts, with a focus on camaraderie and sportsmanship. Over the years, the Antigua Superyacht Challenge has grown in popularity, attracting an impressive fleet of superyachts and becoming a highlight of the Caribbean sailing calendar. The event continues to uphold its tradition of combining competitive racing with social gatherings and networking opportunities in the stunning setting of Antigua.
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The 12th edition of the Superyacht Challenge in Antigua will take place in March, comprising five days of spectacular racing. The regatta hosts four 12-30 (approx) mile sailing races and is a wonderful celebration of the sport, alongside numerous laid back social events.
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