The first boat races were held in Anguilla in 1940 with 5 classes of boats, which range in size.
Still this races go on till today. The boats carry 1 mast with a mainsail with a boom, and jib On the MS not a jib is seen.
Anguilla is an island, which means beaches and a long waterfront. And when there is a waterfront, there will be boats as well. Besides tourists, almost everyone living here has a boat, or at least is passionate about sailing. We can almost say that sailing is a sort of tradition here, so a boat racing day only makes even more sense. Most people enjoy their boat to simply head out to the blue waters, practice their sailing skills and just contemplate the vast blue opening of the water that seems endless. But once in a while, boat owners like taking everything up a notch, by participating in the local boat racing day. This is not only competition but more of a tradition of the island, taking place for quite a while now.
It isn’t a secret that the people living in Anguilla spent most of their time out on the sea, or around it. They were fishermen or extract salt out of its waters. In fact, in the 19th century, salt exploitation and export was a major local industry, Anguilla trading its salt with Canada. Most of the boats the locals used came from Nova Scotia, a Canadian province closest to Anguilla. The schooner being one type of boats that people from Anguilla got from Nova Scotia, using them, among others, to sail down to the Dominican Republic, in search of work. Besides salt and fishing, there isn’t much that could be done in Anguilla, and the Dominican Republic needed workforce for their sugarcane plantations. So the beginnings of boat racing could have started then, as sailors raced all the way down to the Dominican Republic. Still, the race back home was the most exciting and challenging, facing the upwind and having family and friends waiting and cheering on the shore.
But there is something else that spiced the interest for boat racing in Anguilla, which is smuggling alcohol. Alcohol faced high taxes in Anguilla, so people started smuggling it from and to St. Martin. For this, they used smaller and lighter boats, which enabled them to race even faster. So it was just one step until boat racing became a sport here. It was back in 1940 when the first official boat race took place, having five different categories, each for a particular boat size. The days of commercial boating are gone in Anguilla, boats existing today only for recreational purposes. And, of course, for the boat racing days on the island. There are six major boat racing events in Anguilla throughout the year, the most important ones being August Monday, during the Anguilla Carnival, Anguilla Day and Easter Monday.
Why should do witness a boat race in Anguilla? Well, boat races here are unique, just like the island itself. The boats are unique in the first place, running without a deck and using crew members as ballast. The thing is that is the boat is too heavy, some of the crew members have to jump into the sea. Also, even if you are familiar with boat races, don’t bother looking at the rules here, because they play it differently. With other words, it is an exciting event, with unexpected turns, a great show to watch from start to end. And let’s not forget about the beach party.
http://www.anguillaplus.com/anguilla-day-boat-racing/
Wikipedia has more on this boats: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sailing_in_Anguilla There are many sites on the internet which give more info.
Anguilla 1992 $6 sgMS896, scott?