Never Again: Carrack Jones reflects on record-breaking sailing achievement

14-year-old Carrack Jones sailed 100 nautical miles from Antigua to St Maarten in a record-breaking journey.

He later stated that he would never undertake such a feat again and hopes no one else does either, as it was incredibly challenging. He compared the experience to being hung upside down by his feet from a tree for two days.

The journey started on November 22 and took 31 hours to complete. Carrack sailed from Antigua Yacht Club in English Harbour and arrived in St Maarten successfully. According to Carrack, the most challenging parts of the voyage were the lack of wind and when his boat capsized at 4 am, which led to the death of his GPS.

The batteries of his GPS exploded out of the back of the device and it stopped working off the coast of St Kitts. However, he managed to complete the rest of his journey from memory. A stash of granola bars and a cushion were lost in the capsize but recovered by a support boat.

Unfortunately, Carrack was unable to get them back as he was required to complete the journey unassisted. After reaching his destination, Carrack said that he wasn’t excited due to fatigue, but after taking a long nap, the excitement kicked in.

As for future plans, the St Anthony’s Secondary School student has his sights set on competing in the RORC 600 – an annual 600-mile race around 11 Caribbean islands that begins and ends in Antigua.

Carrack is currently the world-record holder of the longest distance sailed in an Optimist boat, which is a small, single-handed sailing dinghy averaging 7.5 feet. He broke the previous record of 80 nautical miles set by 13-year-old Lolie Osswald, who travelled from Antigua to St Barths in 2022.

Carrack started sailing at the age of six and has continued to do so for the past eight years. He has taken part in Antigua Sailing Week, the Classic Yacht Regatta, and the Optimist World Championships in recent times.

Finally, an event was held to celebrate Carrack’s recent sailing feat at Jolly Harbour, which was attended by the Governor General, Sir Rodney Williams, who presented an award to the teenager.