One word: Weather!!!
I've been shooting most of the Antigua Classic Yacht Regattas since 1999, and I have never had a collection of days like this. I arrived early in the week with my family and watched as the wind blew hard for days. White caps increased and the swell grew daily.
Day 1 - By time the first race started on Friday, the blue swell was large and the winds were a steady 20+ knots. Rain squalls were plentiful that day, and as luck would have it, the sun came out as the dark skies passed, creating a beautifully dramatic backdrop for the boats on the last 2 legs of the race.
Day 2 - It just kept getting better. The winds increased to a steady 26 knots with gusts up to 32. Rain squalls and 10 ft. swells made it an exhilarating ride for me that day. I had hired a 23 ft. center console open chase boat and we slammed and/or rolled from wave to wave to get the shots. I've never see the classics race in such conditions before, and although my gear (and my body) got beaten up, it was worth the shots.
Day 3 - Onboard Adventuress, an 83 ft. Fife restored by Rockport Marine and launched last summer in Rockport Maine (see previous blog postings for the video I made on this restoration with Steve Stone). I sailed onboard with many of the Rockport Marine crew, including Taylor Allen, whose continual grin was a pleasure to see. Thank you Captain Alastair and the Adventuress crew for a wonderful sail.
Day 4 - Ideal West Indies weather, with 15 to 18 knots, blue skies, puffy white clouds and a majestic blue swell. A great way to wrap up the races.
Click here, or on the image below, and enjoy the slide show to follow, and be sure to visit our eStore for purchasing prints of the regatta. If you would like to see a full selection of a particular boat, do not hesitate to contact us and we will post you a selection.
