Location: Antigua
Hello, all at home! We have been having a blast at Antigua Classics. Today was the third and final day of racing. Yesterday the race started at 9:30 am, and we have been getting up extra early to prepare the last couple of days. But today, we got to sleep in a little bit because the start time wasn’t until 11:30 am, and we have gotten so efficient at getting the anchors up. Sail covers off, halyards on sails up, and ready to go!
We are, of course, in the schooner category, and there are five other boats we are racing against. Thus far, we have not been the fastest boat in our category, but we have still been having so much fun tacking, jibing, snacking, dancing, and just generally having an enjoyable and relaxed time. Today, however, we still came in last, BUT we were actually ahead of Adix for the first few minutes, and we were square with the pack the entire time. Today’s course was a long (4 miles) beam reach course that required two full laps straight out and back. It was my personal favorite course because it meant that you got to pass lots of other boats as they were returning on their lap. It was awesome to see so many different boats up close, and everyone was very friendly, waving and cheering each other on. We had gorgeous sunny weather and good tunes, and by today our stations felt like second nature. The Jib team, main staysail team, flying jib team, and “main crew” have worked together so well these last few days, always hopping to when it’s time for a tack or jibe or any change in sail trim.
After the completion of the race, we participated in the Parade of Sail, where all the incoming vessels came slowly into the harbor and were formally announced to the watching crowd. We even kept our main staysail up to make us look even prettier for the parade. Once we were safely on the dock (right next to everyone’s favorite – Adix!), we swiftly got changed and ready to go to Shirley Heights for dinner and a sign-out night. Shirley Heights is a beautiful overlook on a hill that has delicious food and drinks and a steel drum band with lots of dancing. We saw a gorgeous sunset, ate jerk chicken, and had a few local dark and stormies and rum punches before some dancing and a brief taxi ride back to Argo from our favorite driver Eric. All in all, a wonderful day. We have made so many memories during this trip so far, but Antigua Classics will surely be a favorite for me.
Lots of love and hugs to friends and family at home – we are having the time of our lives.
Special shoutout to my sister Anna for safely coming home from her naval deployment today! Love you, sissy.
Pictured: Our sister ship Ocean Star and Adix; all the boats on the course; a closeup of Ocean Star under sail; the starting line with several boats close to us; flying jib team taking a rest during one of the long legs; jib team relaxing; our fearless leader Freddie with Adix in the background (the one time we were ahead of her); main staysail team taking a break; main crew; starting lineup organized chaos; professional photo of Argo from Tyler Fields – former Seamester student and talented photographer.