JASON & THE ARGONAUTS

ONE WILD RACE AROUND ST. MARTIN ABOARD JASON CARROLL’S MOD70, ARGO— WITHOUT WIND L IMITS, RESCUE DIVERS OR SEAT BELTS—IS PROOF ENOUGH THESE BROTHERS HAVE EACH OTHER’S BACK.

I’m having one of those what- have-I-gotten-myself-into moments—one hand gripping a Go Pro, the other clenching the lifeline.

Moments after the start, the boatspeed jumps to 35 knots, and I am terrified. If I was driving, I’d be white-knuckled. The wind-whipped Caribbean Sea thrashes Argo’s hulls, but Jason Carroll is cool at the tiller of his 70-foot trimaran. He leans back in his driving chair and squints through the visor of his crimson helmet at the turning mark ahead.

A few days earlier, one of Argo’s new T-foil rudders snapped during the delivery from Antigua to St. Martin for the Caribbean Multihull Challenge regatta—a delivery of less than four hours despite the breakage. Carroll’s team spent the night swapping to Argo’s older rudders, but combined with the boat’s newer and longer J-shaped foils, the boat isn’t set up correctly. “Things could get a bit sporty out there,” Carroll had warned me before we shoved off. “As long as the conditions aren’t too crazy, we should be fine.”

So much for that. With 30- knots blowing across the bows, we hurtle out of Simpson’s Bay, and I take a knee at the back of the cockpit and brace for dear life. I’ve seen the video of Argo’s capsize before the 2019 Caribbean 600, so I’m stoked with my decision to extend my insurance coverage to include extreme watersports. Still, I’m having one of those what-have-Igotten-myself-into moments— one hand gripping a GoPro, the other clenching the lifeline.

Carroll and company outmaneuver the other MOD70,

Brian Thompson, on the helm, and Jason Carroll, on the sheet, work the MOD70, Argo, upwind in 30 knots of breeze at the 2020 Caribbean Multihull Challenge.