This year saw the first ever Yachting Matters 'Superyacht Soiree' held at the Admirals Inn in English Harbour. The salubrious event, which was held during the Antigua Charter Yacht Show, proved a huge success raising over $25,000 for a number of local schools.
As one of the main event sponsors, Global Services' Richard Gardiner was delighted with the amount of money raised by the event, "We were absolutely bowled over by the generosity of the people attending the dinner. What started as a prize giving soon turned into an auction which quickly gained momentum with Captains, owners and businesses all donating large sums of money to help rejuvenate local schools including Cobbs Cross Primary School. A huge thank you to everyone who gave so generously'.
There are over 90 children at Cobbs Cross junior school which takes in pupils from the Falmouth and English Harbour area of Antigua. The school is one of the major benefactors of the auction. The money raised will make a huge difference allowing them to upgrade the toilets and improve the water supply. There will still be enough money left to paint the school and even provide a computer and whiteboard for one of the class rooms.
135 guests attended the Superyacht Soiree, where Captains and their partners enjoyed a 3 course dinner and entertainment from a local steel band. Sponsors of the event which included Global Services, IYR, BWA, Awlgrip and Al Yachting then took Cuban cigars and finest port round to each of the tables. More VIP guests joined the party later in the evening when Captain John O'Johnson took the floor and sang a few popular tunes much to everyone's delight.
Organized by Colin Squires, Editor of Yachting Matters, the Superyacht Soiree was such a success that it has already been booked in again for next year with guests rating it one of the best events of the show. Richard Gardiner comments, "Many of us in the superyacht industry have been coming to Antigua for years. It's fantastic to be able to give something back to the local community and I hope that next year's event will prove just as successful.