Line honours for Pindar

Open 60 wins Guadeloupe to Antigua race

Pindar’s Open 60 Pindar AlphaGraphics made an impressive Antigua debut yesterday claiming both line honours and overall first place in the prestigious Guadeloupe to Antigua race. The annual precursor to Antigua Sailing Week, the race saw a dozen boats cross the start line of Des Haies to sail the 44-miles across the Caribbean Sea to English Harbour.

Sailing in moderate south-easterly winds at an average of 14 knots, the Pindar Open 60 took two hours and 51 minutes to complete the race, almost an hour ahead of Destination in second place and 33 minutes slower than the course record of 2 hours and 18 minutes set by the 140ft schooner Mari-Cha IV in 2004.

The race also marked an exciting debut for 26-year old Nick ‘Nobi’ Black who made his first skipper appearance on board the Open 60. Speaking on the victory and of his eight-strong crew which included record breaking yachtsman Alex Thomson, he said “Today was a great result for us and exciting start to the week. Both the boat and crew are looking in really good shape - it was just a shame that the wind tailed off a bit towards the end which took away any record hopes.”

The victory reaffirms Pindar AlphaGraphics as one of the fastest yachts on the IMOCA circuit. Leading British skipper Alex Thomson who, along with Brian Thompson, has been invited to join the crew throughout the regatta, commented: “It was an excellent day on the water today and a great experience for me to sail on another 60. The breeze was good and she looked really comfortable right from the start. Here’s hoping today’s victory will be a good omen for the rest of the week.”

Thursday also saw the arrival of Pindar’s second yacht, the Volvo 60 Pindar which arrived into Falmouth Harbour during the morning having made the 5,400 voyage across the Atlantic from Gosport, UK. Speaking from the dock, skipper Loz Marriott commented “It was a pretty slow delivery but eventful all the same. The crew bonded really well and on occasions picked up some strong winds reaching a top speed of 26.5 knots and a 24 hour run of 367 miles.” He continued “Ideally we would have liked to have arrived a few days earlier to allow more time for preparation, but we’re very much looking forward to the week ahead and getting in some competitive sailing.”

Now celebrating its 39th edition, Rolex Antigua Sailing Week officially starts with the ‘Round the Island Race’ on Sunday 30 April.