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| Race start of one of the classes |
The Classics Regatta and the week of events surrounding it are so varied it's near mind numbing trying to keep it all straight and often we didn't.
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| Lee and Tom dinghy wrangling sy Sincerity |
What we witnessed and experienced: the absolutely gorgeous classics yachts, the painstaking upkeep and attention to detail, the crews (professional and non-professional), unique liveaboard owners, the Concours D'Elegance, the spectacular racing, the fierce competition, the awards, the boat parade, the camaraderie, seeing old friends, meeting new, interesting characters, quirky ex-pats, groupies, the fun of volunteering, free food and drinks, free T-shirts and hats, a dinghy concert, a boat jam session, dinners with friends, late nights, morning noodling, morning hikes, live music,
hometown KC music and so much more.
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| Dinghy concert |
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| Susie of sy Spirited Lady, Roy of sy Guilding Light, crew sy Spirited Lady |
I am going to try my best to update you all through a serious of blog posts and of course pics.
Note - I have some terrific boat porn of the classic yachts!
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| Elena of London |
One item however needs a little further explanation now so you truly understand the importance as we move forward with other blog postings. That is The Red Hat. This would be the red Mount Gay Rum baseball hat that is given away each year at sailing events such as Classics Regatta. This is a highly, highly sought after and coveted thing my friends. I was offered money for my hat on more than on occasion during the week.
*We got ours early as volunteers AND ours actually say Classics - the others say Antigua Sailing Week. Anyway.....People
want these hats. Cruisers and locals alike. Hat fever is high all week. Red Hat parties actually start the week before Classics. Red Hat parties are held at a local bar, usually the Mad Mongoose. For every Mount Gay Rum drink you order you get a red ticket. Once you have three, you can turn those in for a super special Red Hat ticket. Several days after Classics ends, there is a grand finale Red Hat Party where everyone redeems the coveted Red Hat (or hats, depending on how many Red Hat tickets they have accumulated) with the special tickets from the week before. It's quite a process. Think Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and the golden ticket there. This is like that but with rum and you only get a red baseball cap instead of the rum factory. Crazy? Ah - yeah. But that is Red Hat fever. Julian Putley sums it up perfectly in the latest All At Sea magazine April 2015
"There are lots of options out there when it comes to appropriate lids. Most self-respecting yachties wear the red Mount Gay cap, but it can't be a NEW one. It has to look like it's done a couple of circumnavigations; shabby, faded and salt stained." So now you understand the importance of The Red Hat and you can keep an eye out in the upcoming blog postings for The Red Hats. Oh yeah, there are Red t-shirts, tank tops and bandannas as well but The Red Hat is what is coveted.
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| Golden ticket for The Red Hat |
Let's get started.
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