Superyacht Challenge Antigua: "Hetairos" crew in record-breaking mood: A giant in her element

Otto Happel's "Hetairos" has started the Superyacht Challenge Antigua with a new round Antigua record. The 40-strong crew used the start of the racing series in the Caribbean for an impressive performance. The 218-foot Dykstra/Reichel-Pugh ketch, built by Baltic Yachts in 2011, completed the almost 50 nautical mile course in just 3 hours, 46 minutes and 8 seconds. This was not only enough to win the "Line Honours", but also the overall ORCsi victory. In the handicap classification, the performance resulted in a narrow five-minute lead over the 121-foot-long Dykstra slup "Action". The "Hetairos" team led by skipper Graham Newton and tactician Cameron Appleton improved on the previous record set in 2018 by the Volvo 70 "Warrior" by 9 minutes and 30 seconds in the race around the Caribbean island surrounded by coral reefs. The 180-foot Dykstra ketch "Kamaxitha" sailed to the podium in third place in the ORC.

"It's a very special boat"

"The conditions were a little more moderate than we thought," said "Heitairos" tactician Cameron Appleton after returning to the superyacht dock in Antigua. "The boats ahead of us had a few knots more wind at the start. We had up to 18, 19 knots on the clock. We sailed quite conservatively for most of the race, partly because we wanted to conserve our equipment for the series. The plan was to carry out the manoeuvres cleanly and well. The 'Hetairos' team did an excellent job and the boss was great at the helm. The boat is quite a machine. As long as you treat her well and plan ahead, go into the manoeuvres with a good philosophy, everything goes according to plan. It's a challenge because the loads are big and you have to think a lot. You have to be ahead of the game at all times. A boat like 'Hetairos' deserves immense respect - it's a very special boat."

According to the motto "length runs", the "Hetairos" team was able to keep the almost 100-foot smaller slup "Action" with double Olympic champion Shirley Robertson and Volvo Ocean Race winner Ian Walker on board at bay. Walker was nevertheless satisfied with his team's performance and said shortly after the start of the eleventh Superyacht Challenge Antigua: "There have been a few crew changes on 'Action' since our last start here two years ago. Today was a good opportunity to test everything and check the boat thoroughly. It was a bit rough up above the island, where we had gusts of up to 23 knots. So it was good that everything stayed together. We sailed really cleanly and the boat ran well. Sailing a cruising superyacht in regatta mode means action. So we have to minimise the manoeuvres, which means you have to compromise on the ideal strategy. We had a really nice day of racing and the owner was steering 95 per cent of the time - a fantastic start for all of us and the boat." Click here for the homepage of the Superyacht Challenge Antigua The results and an overview of the superyacht series, which continues with further short races until 13 March (please click!).