BVI Spring Regatta
Doug Baker and Crew on Runaway Win 2017 Nanny Cay Cup
A tauntingly light breeze of 5-7 knots out of the south was enough to get 50+ boats starting in the Nanny Cay Cup, the first event of the 2017 BVI Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival. Rather than the usual Round Tortola Race, conditions favoured a 16 NM course starting in the channel off Nanny Cay and taking the fleet around Pelican and Flanagan Islands. The breeze built a little around the islands offering up a fairly steady 7-8 knots throughout racing.
Read MoreAn International Fleet Race Ready for the 46th BVI Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival
With the breeze looking light for Tuesday’s annual Round Tortola Race, Bob Phillips, Regatta Chairman is recommending a shorter course to ensure racers have an opportunity to get out on the water.
Read MoreNew boats & old favourites prepare for 46th BVI Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival
Always offering up something new and different, the BVI Spring Regatta and Sailing Festival 2017 is pleased to welcome the C&C 30 Sportboat and Gunboat fleets to this year’s event which kicks off today with registration at noon and opening party at 6pm.
Tuesday March 28th brings on the Round Tortola Race, a 31-nautical mile race around the beautiful island of Tortola, for the Nanny Cay Cup – a challenge for the fastest mono and catamaran record around the island.
Read MoreThe Gunboats Are Coming
With six Gunboats confirmed to race the 2017 BVI Spring Regatta, the competition dial has been seriously notched up for one of the best Caribbean racing events under the sun. In the line-up are: Gunboat 60 Arethusa, Gunboat 62 Elvis, Gunboat 66 Extreme H2O, Gunboat 60 Flow, Gunboat 60 Momentum, and Gunboat 55 Thirst.
Read More50 Days To First Start Gun In BVI Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival
It’s 50 days until the start gun for the first day of racing in the BVI Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival.
A highlight is always the diversity of boats that participate across many classes – this year there will be some 18 classes – including boats who are in for the very first time, like the newly launched all-carbon HH66 NALA. Others, such as the J122 El Ocaso which has competed in the regatta for the past 10 consecutive years, just keep coming back for more.
Read More2016: A Look Back
The year ended on a high note, as we opened the new outer marina after 17 months of construction. At a ceremony held at the entrance to the new outer marina on December 12, Premier and Minister of Finance, Dr. the Honourable D. Orlando Smith, OBE, declared the marina officially open.
Read MoreLight Breeze Teases Fleet on Final Day of Racing
On Sunday evening, under a setting sun on the beautiful beach at Nanny Cay, the 45th BVI Spring Regatta and Sailing Festival drew to a close with the ritual awards ceremony and fabulous fireworks. The entire fleet was treated to a delightful racing day, with a light easterly of 8 to 12 knots throughout the morning, becoming a little lighter towards the end of racing.
It was no surprise that first place in CSA-Racing 1 went to the TP52 SPOOKIE, skippered by Steve Benjamin (USA), finishing the regatta with 7 bullets over 7 races. The Melges 32 Soca, skippered by Luis Juarbe (PUR) finished second with 18 points, and in third, Tschuss, a Mat 1180, skippered by Christian Zugel, finished with 23 points.
Read MoreSpring Regatta Enjoys Classic BVI Conditions: Class Leaders Maintain Positions
Day two of the 45th BVI Spring Regatta offered up just what the people came for: plenty of sunshine, turquoise water, breeze up to 17 knots and awesome sailing.
Races today took most classes to the north side of Tortola and around Sandy Cay, a BVI National Park and one of the most spectacular islands in the BVI.
Read MoreA Lively Day One For BVI Spring Regatta
It may have been a rainy day in the BVI but not enough to take the heat out of today’s racing, which saw 12 classes on three courses enjoy a consistent easterly breeze of 13-15 knots.
Some competitors continued their winning streak of earlier in the week: SPOOKIE, the TP52 owned and skippered by Steve and Heidi Benjamin (USA), took first in CSA-Racing 1 with 3 points; Ventaneiro 3, owned and skippered by Renato Faria (BRA) sits in first in CSA-Performance Cruiser 1 with 2 points; and in CSA-Bareboat 2, Warvor, helmed by Willem Ellemeet (NED) is also in first with 2 points.
Read MoreIntrepid Wins 3rd Annual VP Bank Tortola Sloop Spring Challenge
Today was all about switching gears and changing pace, with the 3rd Annual VP Bank Tortola Sloop Spring Challenge being raced off Nanny Cay as part of the BVI Spring Regatta’s Maritime Heritage Day.
The Challenge brings to life the significance that the beautiful old Tortola Sloops played in island life more than a hundred years ago, and celebrates the theme of sailing which has always been a mainstay of island culture.
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