to an exciting victory in the Racer Cruiser (non spinnaker) class during Antigua Race Week which ended on the weekend.

Going into the final race of the week-long, five-race series, Starr Trail was behind Huey Too , a 35-foot yacht, in second place.

Huey Too had been the boat to beat after winning the first three races and placing fourth in the fourth while Starr Trail was in contention after a third and three successive seconds. In third place was Bravo , an American registered 50-foot yacht, after a second, third, fourth and first.

Starr Trail , skippered by Blair Simmons with his father Penny Simmons as guest helmsman among a crew of 20, needed to put at least three places between themselves and their nearest competitors in order to win the class.

The conditions suited the larger yacht as it punched through the big waves that had been building with the trade winds of the Antigua coast. Starr Trail hung on to the lead to finish first while Huey Too could only manage another fourth and Bravo third.

The order of finish gave Starr Trail victory by just one point over Huey Too as Mulderig's boat amassed 10 points and Huey Too 11. Bravo was third overall on 13 points and Marietta fourth on 17 points after placing second in the final race.

Starr Trail will arrive back in Bermuda this weekend and will then be racing again in next month's Newport to Bermuda race, which gets underway on June 19.

Robert Mulderig