This year’s Antigua Sailing Week, which was originally scheduled for Sunday 26 April to Friday 1 May, has now been cancelled amid the continuing coronavirus situation.
In a statement, the major offshore regatta’s president Alison Sly-Adams said: “As a result of national and global measures being taken to contain the COVID-19 pandemic and the priority being the health and safety of our citizens, competitors, spectators and volunteers, the decision to cancel Antigua Sailing Week is the only viable option.
“We would like to thank everyone who has supported the event and worked diligently behind the scenes towards creating what was to be a remarkable edition. Now more than ever, we are committed to building on this unfortunate turn of events for a phenomenal 2021 event.
“If you are a registered participant with a boat in the region and in need of advice for onward logistics we are standing by, available to assist you.
“Please note that we will be reaching out to registered participants, sponsors and the Sailing Week team over the next week.”
Meanwhile, this summer’s Kiel Week (Kieler Woche) in Germany has been pushed back from June to September in the wake of the pandemic.
In the next few days, organiser Dirk Ramhorst says, the focus will be on informing participants and classes of preparations for the move to the new dates of 5-13 September, and the possibility of adapting the programme to new requirements.
“We still have a lot of fine-tuning to do, among others with the German Sailing Association and the World Sailing Federation. First of all we wanted to create facts for the planning,” Ramhorst says.
Recent days have seen the cancellation of the RORC’s Easter Challenge and the Scottish Series over restrictions imposed in the UK to hold back the surge of the virus.
