Living Barbados Magazine November 2014 Edition November 2014 edition | Page 29

“There is nothing more grounding than
being out on a sailboat, sun on your face,
wind on your back”

Rapajam, a 53ft Beneteau owned by Ralph Johnson which is the current holder of the 60 and Under Monohull Round Barbados Race Record

Record-breakers are awarded prizes in each category, with the
award being the skipper’s weight in Mount Gay XO. Winners have been
known to drink copious amounts of water or place heavy items in their
pockets so as to increase their “winnings”, which has been regarded
with a degree of light-hearted humor by the event organizers.

Crew members aboard the legendary Silver Bullet, a multi-hulled
boat which has held the title of absolute record holder across all
categories since 2012, describe the process of “fattening the skipper,”
Bryn Palmer, “like a stuffed turkey” in the weeks prior to the event.

Alene mentions the days when the “last to finish” was offered a
barrel of rum, but this practice was terminated when it was realized that
there were a number of boats that would intentionally stay out on the
sea, just so that they could “win” the rum.

In addition to bragging rights and the highly coveted rum, entrants
describe the sheer joy of participating in the event- an exhilaration of
sorts. Silver Bullet crew member, James Edghill describes his team’s
record breaking victory in 2012. “There is nothing more grounding than
being out on a sailboat – sun on your face, wind on your back… but
when the race gets started… because of the handicap system, we were
the last to start the race, and even though we were one of the favorites,
we remained in the final position until we reached the East Coast… that
was when things finally took off. At that point, we were just hanging
on for dear life- hanging on by a wire. When we finished the race in 4
hours 24 minutes, the record for any sized boat, it was so exhilarating.
And to celebrate with 100 litres of Mount Gay rum, well, that made it
even sweeter.”

LIVING BARBADOS NOVEMBER 2014 - MARCH 2015

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