By Neto Baptiste
Jules Mitchell, driver for team Antigua and Barbuda at the recently concluded Super Sailors League Gold Cup Final Series held in Gran Canaria, Spain, believes that had it not been for a close call that went against them during a crucial race, the tiny twin island nation could have possibly achieved a much higher finish at the prestigious event.
“So, this was actually a race earlier in the previous round; it was the final race in the series which counted as a double points race. We were leading the race going into mark one and then we had a rule altercation with team Malaysia. The call was put into the jury’s hands and it didn’t go our way. They flagged us as the boat at fault and we had to do a 360 penalty turn which then put us in a really difficult spot to be able to return from that, and we still managed to progress to the next round,” he said.
Team Antigua and Barbuda finished third in fleet three of the Round of 16 at the event, achieving a profitable finish in their first outing.
Mitchell said the team did not allow the development to daunt their spirits.
“The mentality is always that this race can be won until the very last second. We keep the mindset that we can pull this back from the ashes and come back from it, and I’d say we did a really good job just staying in that mental zone. Everyone was still fighting just as hard as if we were winning the race,” he said.
Vincent Anfi, pit-man (in charge of sails) for team Antigua and Barbuda, said the event provided opportunities to promote both the sport and the country.
“Not too many people know what we do and … if people go online all the races are there and every race you can see all the drone shots, so the amount of publicity we’re getting is amazing. To be able to see that and see where sailing is going to go just fuels the fire for me to keep going, keep sailing as well as I can and may even create a pathway for younger Antiguans,” he said.
The Super Sailor League Gold Cup World Series is referred to as the ‘Football World Cup of Sailing’ with over 40 teams competing to see who will be crowned World Champions.
