I was lucky enough to be in the Rock Insurance Party who won the inaugural Antigua sponsored sailing Regatta that took place in Southampton in September. Actually to be truthful I was too busy that day but once I found out that they had won the event and an all expenses trip to Antigua to go sailing for 3 days I pulled rank!!!

Having previously visited Jamaica and Barbados I can say Antigua is a step up in class, being much less developed and spoilt. In many ways it retains its old colonial feel which is reflected in the makeup of the Sailing Club welcome committee which seemed to be dominated by ex-captains of many of the UK’s leading sailing clubs…or so they tell me since I have no idea about this sort of stuff.

On day one we where hosted to a great island tour that took in many of the visitor highlights and demonstrated the sheer beauty of the Island with low level mountainous terrain and natural harbors.

Day 2 involved a two boat sailing showdown on the high seas. God it’s scary how close racing boats get in the heat of the race and although I was frustrated to lose I can understand why our captain, my good mate Andy Golding from TDG Media was disqualified for his aggressive….give no water…tactics.

We stayed at a small local hotel called the Catamaran Hotel, which was run by the lovely third generation owner who really understands the concept of customer service. Early for breakfast at 6.30 am…no problem…breakfast juststarts earlier. Want to borrow a sun sail for an afternoon of sailing fun…no problem…free of charge. It’s a hotel I could not recommend enough with its 10 yard walk to the sea and beautiful views of the harbor.

Each night was a mixture of good food and live music which went on late into the morning hours. All in all a great trip and a lovely island.

I am in the process of getting it set up as a twin centre by our sister company the Longhaul Traveler as part of a City and Beach twin centre. Fancy 4 days shopping in NewYork followed by 10 days sailing and chilling in the Antigua sunshine? If you do …check out The Longhaul Traveller site or book direct with the hotel here.