Every year Antigua Sailing Week features a Guadeloupe to Antigua Race the Friday before the week’s racing begins. The event is organised in conjunction with Antigua Yacht Club and the Triskell Organisation in Guadeloupe and serves as a feeder race for boats coming from the islands to the south of Antigua. However, many boats already in Antigua preparing for the week-long regatta often take this opportunity to head south to Guadeloupe specifically to participate in this annual race.

The 42-nautical mile race is open to boats of all types, whether or not entered in Antigua Sailing Week. For those who are entered, it provides an opportunity for crews to get to know each other better both on and off the water, as well as providing several hours of crew practice to improve teamwork in preparation for the week ahead. For boats not entered in Antigua Sailing Week, the Guadeloupe to Antigua race is a fun event that, in addition to the exciting day of racing, provides an opportunity to enjoy the warm hospitality of the Triskell Association and the Village of Deshaies Department of Tourism, the event’s hosts in Guadeloupe. In fact, it is an ideal race for Caribbean cruisers who want to have some fun but don’t want to race around the cans. There are no marks in the race – simply a start line and a finish line. So boats of all types are welcome and encouraged to participate. If you’re planning to head north from Guadeloupe, why not join the fun?

The 2018 Guadeloupe to Antigua Race will take place on Friday, April 27 from Deshaies, Guadeloupe to English Harbour, Antigua. The start is planned for 9 am at a line to be set north of Deshaies and the finish will be off Fort Charlotte outside English Harbour. A Welcome/Farewell reception will be held on Thursday, April 26 in Deshaies Harbour (details to follow). Registration and a skippers’ briefing will take place during that reception. Be sure to attend Registration to obtain your Sailing Instructions and pay your entry fee if you haven’t already paid in advance. Water taxis will be provided for those without dinghies for purposes of getting ashore to clear Customs and for getting to and from the reception.

In Guadeloupe clearance can be done at The Pelican cyber café on the main road in the Village of Deshaies, open from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm and 4 pm to 7 pm on Thursday, April 26, 2017. For clearance into and out of Antigua, use of the eSeaClear online advance clearance system is mandatory and can be accessed here: https://www.eseaclear.com/home/index.cfm.

In 2015 the elapsed time record for the race that had stood since 2004 was smashed by Lloyd Thornburg’s MOD 70 trimaran Phaedo^3, finishing the 42-nautical mile course in an amazing 1 hour and 27 minutes! The previous elapsed time record of 2 hours, 18 minutes and 42 seconds was held for 11 years by Bob Miller’s 140-foot Briand schooner, Mari-Cha IV! We invite you to take on the challenge of breaking Phaedo^3’s record in 2017.

The Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions for the 2018 Guadeloupe to Antigua Race will be available on the Race Documents page closer to the time of the Race.

To enter the Guadeloupe to Antigua Race click here.

For more information about the Guadeloupe to Antigua Race contact the Regatta Organising Committee at roc@sailingweek.com.