Chairman of the National Park Authority, Senator Philip Shoul, is distancing himself from the suggestion of introducing a new sailing regatta in March as is being proposed by the ministry of tourism.
Speaking on the Just for the Record, programme aired on Pointe FM Radio on Tuesday evening, Senator Shoul is recommending instead that there needs to be a ‘meeting of the minds’ to revive the fortunes of the Antigua Sailing Week (ASW), the annual sailing regatta that runs from the end of April to the first weekend in May. At more than 50 years old, it is perhaps the oldest regatta in the Caribbean.
In a Point Express exclusive, Tourism Minister Charles Max Fernandez on Tuesday announced that the government plans to introduce a new regatta in March of 2027, even while ASW continues at its current dates.
According to Sen. Shoul introducing another regatta in March would not be a successful undertaking as that month is already jammed packed with other regattas.
“Introducing a new regatta in March will not solve the problems of Antigua Sailing Week for two reasons; there are now over twenty-two sailing regattas in the Caribbean within a calendar year. This does not include the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos and Puerto Rico or the BVI. Within that calendar year too, we have many events already slotted for March; these include the St. Thomas International Regatta, the BVI Spring Regatta, St Maarten’s Heineken Regatta and the St. Bart’s Bucket Regatta. So putting another sailing event in March is going to be a failure,” he stated.
Senator Shoul emphasized that there are no slots available in March for another regatta here in Antigua.
The NPA chairman is strongly recommending that efforts be made to ‘fix’ ASW as he highlighted a number of missteps made by the organizing committee in the past and which have led to the current situation where the number of yachts participating is down significantly.
He noted that the Antigua and Barbuda government has pumped much money and resources into ASW and according to the senator, there has been no accounting for this. “Where is the transparency?” he asked. Additionally, he wants the Antigua and Barbuda Hotels and Tourist Association which owns the ASW name to become more involved with planning and staging of the event.
His recommendation is for a meeting between the current organisers of the event, along with representatives from the ABHTA, the ABTA, NPA and the Ministry of Tourism to sit down and analyse fully what is wrong with the current iteration of the regatta and what can be done to save it.
