Growth of Boat Racing

The sport seemed to have grown steadily for in the late thirties, Mr. Mac Owen of North Hill launched the 'Violet', primarily built for racing. The fact that he did this points to a growth in competition. The 'Violet', like many other small boats, was brought to Anguilla from St. Kitts. Under the tree in his back yard at North Hill, Mac Owen immediately set about rebuilding her to his own specific design. According to Sir Emile Gumbs, the boat was then about 19 feet long. When finished, friends and family carried it to the brow of the hill and carefully lowered it with long ropes to the seashore at Benzies on August Monday, 1941. Helpful hands, including Emile's, then rowed the boat around the point to Sandy Ground Harbour, in time for the races. In the early 50's, the 'Violet' was redesigned and lengthened to 20 feet, 10 inches. The work was done by MacDuff Richardson, eminent Anguillian shipwright and contributor to our boat racing history.

And indeed, Mac Owen was followed quite rapidly by others who bought boats quite cheaply from St. Kitts where they had been seized by Customs for smuggling. These boats were brought to Anguilla and remodeled with the object being speed, not room for pots of fish. These racing boats continued however to be fishing boats throughout the years until after the rebellion in 1967 and the advent of the outboard engine, when they gave way to a faster and more efficient type of fishing boat. Now they are left primed and groomed on the beaches, the objects of intense argument and speculation waiting for a chance to prove themselves and as the saying goes to 'knock out the competition!'.

Well there it is, or some of it at least. It may be just another sport to some but to many, many people it is a festive event and very, very Anguillian. It is an offshoot of Anguillian culture that has remained very true to its roots and it is our own salt watered version of the Sport of Kings.

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