Sailing

This weekend Joe and I have been sailing. We signed up for the four week introductory adult class, which the Anguilla Youth Sailing Club is running and we have been trying to get to grips with sailing a Laser 420 two person sailing craft around Road Bay.

Yesterday was our final session. So far we have found out how easy it is to capsize our craft, how hard it is to right it again, have learnt some of the mysteries of the 'foreign language' that sailors use and I have found out just how painful it is to be hit repeatedly by the boom! We have managed to sail in a straight line and just about managed to tack. We have learnt about 'ticklers' and their role in steering.

All of this is exciting stuff! I freely admit that I am an impatient person and need to really keep at things which are difficult. There have been times over the course of the class when I was just overwhelmed with the difficulty of trying to skipper the craft, was seeing stars from various attacks from the boom and just wanted to get back on dry land! I am glad I persevered though. Joe and I may not be the world's most elegant sailors but we can make a boat go in the vague direction we want it to go in now and have actually been able to have a bit of fun learning to do so!

In three weeks time we are going on an away day with the club, when we will be sailing to Sandy Island, in open water (!), for a picnic and then sailing back to Anguilla again. That is the plan anyway.... Fingers crossed!

Thrills at the Anguilla Regatta!

I have been really busy lately so apologies for keeping you waiting for news of the 2008 Anguilla Regatta, which took place over the weekend of 9,10,11 May.

It was a thrilling weekend. The sun shone, the sea was a beautiful blue and the wind was good for sailing. Friday was a little choppy and the sky was overcast occasionally, but all agreed it was a weekend when the sailing was perfect.

Friday saw the 26 nautical mile 'Beach Jam' Course, which took competitors into some of the island's most beautiful bays on the Western end of Anguilla. I was on Hearts Desire, the 1925 43' Alden Schooner owned and skippered by Glen Schroeder. He has owned the vessel for five years and purchasing her was the culmination of a love affair with schooners which has been with him since boyhood.

We started last as none of us were sure of the starting signals. This was a bit of a blow but we were not unduly worried. We wanted to beat the other 1925 Alden Schooner in the race, Charm III, about which I have written elsewhere in this blog. This was not to be though as she was being crewed by the skilled lads of the Anguilla Youth Sailing Club and they meant business! Hearts Desire had a green crew and several of us have not sailed a gaff rigged vessel before. With no winches or pulleys it is hard work pulling on ropes to make anything happen! In the end, we settled for a sedate 6 hour and 11 minute sail and arrived back at our start to much applause from those hardy spectators still waiting for us to return. I am sure that the race officials, who had loyally waited for us to complete the course, were relieved when we finally finished!

I missed the Governor presenting the prizes so cannot report what he said, although I am reliably informed that he gave a witty speech, which was well received. I would have liked to have heard it...

Saturday dawned and with it the big 12 metre yachts from St Martin. These were being crewed first by teams from Temenos and CuisinArt Resort and Spa as they fought for the West End Cup, and then by the National Bank of Anguilla and the Caribbean Commerical Bank in the race dubbed the 'Battle of the Banks.' These races are tremendously popular on island. CuisinArt uses a place in the crew as an incentive during the year. All the people on board had earned their places with hard work and good service. No wonder they were so excited!

In the end, CuisinArt Resort and Spa triumphed over Temenos, who has vowed to return next year, and the National Bank of Anguilla beat the Caribbean Commericial Bank. Each bank has now won the race three times, so it will be interesting to see how they get on next year!

On Sunday there was the Sir Bobby Velasquez Local Boat Race. This was great fun! Nine Class A sloops competed and their huge sails made a pretty picture against the beautiful blue sky on the horizon. Eagle caused a bit of a stir when two other boats forced her inside one of the markers and she carried on regardless. There was much indignant shouting from those watching in the myriad of small craft which was following the race. Real Deal won the race and Alvin Richardson, the skipper, was over the moon!

In the meantime, there were races for Open, Cruising, Multihull and Spinnaker classes and lots of vessels turned out for highly competitive races. In the end Budget Marine Too, skippered by Robbie Ferron won the Spinnaker competition. Moonshadow, captained by Eddie Baretto won the Cruising class. Steve Donahue thrilled everyone when he took the Open class on Anguilla registered Juluca. Herve Harel on Harel Yachts took the Multihull title.

I buzzed about on the press boat, ably skippered by Damian Carty to whom I owe many thanks. I took thousands of photos, some of which are reproduced here. I hope that they give you a flavour of what the Anguilla Regatta is all about. For those of you who might like to visit Anguilla to sail in or watch the fun, visit http://www.sailanguilla.com/ for more information on the Regatta and sailing in general.

The photos show: from top to bottom - Temenos and CuisinArt battle it out, Glen Schroeder, Hearts Desire and Mike Syme, crew aboard Hearts Desire.

Anguilla Regatta - Coming Soon!

It is Thursday 8th May 2008.

Tonight is the Skippers Briefing for the Anguilla Regatta, which starts tomorrow and lasts all weekend. At 6pm Roy's Bayside Grill will be packed with sailors for the briefing and it will be the beginning of a busy time for me.


I will be on the press boat Friday 9 May, to report on the races and will cover the prize giving by HE The Governor, Mr Andrew George.


Saturday 10 May will see me taking part in a race - my first! I feel a quiet mix of apprehension and excitement at present and I still have two days to go! On Saturday too the Battle of the Banks will be fought. The 12 metre ex-America's Cup racers will provide thrills and much competitive spirit in the best tradition of sailing. It will be spectacular to watch.


Sunday 11 May, the final day of the Regatta, the local wooden racing boats fight it out in the Sir Bobby Velasquez Local Boat Race. These boats, without internal ballast and decking, fly through the water and are really fun to watch. Regulations go out of the window apart from the 'Hard Lee' rule, when, to avoid a collision, a captain will give this cry and each boat must tack away, regardless of where this will put the boat! It leads to fun and excitement, particularly when the rocks, sand bags or crew used for ballast is jettisoned to lighten the boat in an effort to reach the finishing line first!

In all the Anguilla Regatta, an annual event since 2003 to raise much needed funds for the Anguilla Youth Sailing Club, and run by the Anguilla Sailing Association in conjunction with the Anguilla Tourist Board, will be a weekend of fun for all the family.

I will let you know how I get on in my race - I will be aboard the Juluca, owned and skippered by Steve Donaghue. Wish us luck!

The Festival Del Mar was such fun! The whole community turned out to support it and there were lots of visitors to go around the various food stalls and stands.

The Anguilla Sailing Association came along with the kids from the Anguilla Youth Sailing Club and Kenny Richardson did well to win the Optimists race. Captain Lue won the Sunfish race and was jubilant "I'm one of the main guys," he modestly remarked afterwards.

Four brave fishing boats went out in the still-heaving seas for the Fishing Tournament. Two returned in time for judging and Roger Smith won the Best Catch category. He had a great weekend as he also won the Adult Model Boat Race and competed in the Adult Triathlon. Asked what he thought of his achievements he said,"I am proud and I am the best fisherman in Anguilla!"

As the weather had been so bad, the traditional boat races were curtailed. One Class B boat sank on the prerace warm up and had to de-sail before being refloated.

Food was spectacular as is to be expected on an island with the reputation for culinary expertise. The Island Harbour beach restaurant, Coté Mer, served delectable Paella with ingredients donated by several island businesses and gave all proceeds to the local St Andrews Church. Local vendors cleaned and sold fish on the roadside.

Music went on into the night. The delightful Garvey and his Satisfaction band got people into the mood on Saturday evening.

In all this first Festival Del Mar was a success and lessons learnt this year will go towards making it a must for everyone, local and tourist, next year.

Charm III

Life has been busy recently. I have had the good fortune to have been commissioned by several different editors to write articles about a range of subjects over the last couple of weeks. This has been very interesting as I have been able to meet and chat with a diverse range of individuals. I think this is a perk of the writer’s job. What could be better than to be able to talk to talented people about what they do best and why they do it?

So I have met cake and pie makers, artists, gardeners, sailing enthusiasts and philanthropists, music makers and teachers and have tried to capture the essence of what drives them to do what they do.

Tomorrow I will be privileged to be a guest on board Charm III, a 1928, 50’ Alden Schooner, which has been rebuilt on Sandy Ground beach, here on Anguilla. This race winning Schooner is currently being used to raise funds for the Youth Sailing Club’s endeavour to send 6 young sailors from Anguilla to St Thomas, for the 2008 Scotiabank Caribbean International Optimist Regatta in June. This is a historic event for Anguilla as, despite Sailing being its National Sport, it will be the first time that sailors from Anguilla will be competing internationally. Charm III will be plying the waters around Anguilla’s northern shores on fundraising cruises which take in some of the delights of this Caribbean gem. I am covering the first cruise for a series of articles I am writing for The Anguillian newspaper, which are focusing on various aspects of the Anguilla Sailing Association and Anguilla Youth Sailing Club.

I am really looking forward to the day and to speaking with Richard West, the craft’s owner, and with the crew, who are all members of the Youth Sailing Club’s Race Team. I hope to get some wonderful photos to illustrate the article too.

If you are interested in sailing on Charm III, please call +264 235 8200 or +264 584 3826.