One of the great joys of my job is being able to sail on different boats. It allows you to see and learn different design concepts and how designers tackle the different challenges of each project. A great example of this was the recent Antigua Sailing Week when I had the opportunity to sail on Peter Harrison’s’ SOJANA with Marc Fitzgerald and his team. SOJANA is a 115 foot ketch designed by Bruce Farr and built in 2003. This was the first ketch I have ever sailed and I quite enjoyed it.

One of the benefits of doing a ketch rather than a sloop is that with two masts rather than one, their relative size is reduced. And on a yacht this size, it makes a world of difference, both in sourcing the deck hardware and fittings, and in managing the sails while underway. Also unique to this design is how they designed the cockpit to be down inside the boat with the work area nicely fitted in amongst the social and guest areas.

Marc Fitzgerald has been running Peter Harrison’s’ SOJANA since the conceptual stage and it was very comfortable to step onboard at the last minute to drive and have him help operate the boat like a well oiled machine. All the systems worked perfectly and he knew the angles and sail combinations to allow the boat to be always sailing to its optimum.

We raced in the new Ocean Series, which was a series of three distance races within Antigua Sailing Week designed to attract the large yachts. Although we finished second in the series, we managed to set the record for the new Redonda Race, and break the record for the Around Antigua Race.

Thanks Peter, Marc, and the whole SOJANA team for a great week!