BVI Spring Regatta

Rain squalls ripped through the Sir Francis Drake Channel at the start of racing on day one of the BVI Spring Regatta, enhancing the trade winds to over 20 knots for most of the day. A short sea state, at times rising to three metres when the fleet was racing out of the Channel added gusto to the wet and wild conditions. Across the three combat zones, concentration, anticipation and ultimately boat handling were the keys to success in the big conditions. It wasn’t until later in the afternoon that the breeze subsided to a relatively calm 18 knots, but by then, several yachts had been forced to retire with boat damage.

The BVI Sailing Festival continued on Wednesday 1st April with the Veuve Clicquot Invitational Pursuit Race to Jost Van Dyke. Spectacular sailing through one of the most scenic routes in the BVI was the order of the day, with the added adrenalin rush of trying to catch the slower yachts that started the race before the high performance racing yachts.

Racing got underway for the BVI Sailing Festival with the Round Tortola Race for the Nanny Cay Cup. White horses dotted the Sir Francis Drake Channel as the warm trade winds provided sparkling conditions for the 35 yachts taking part.

At the start just off Nanny Cay, the yachts powered to windward, playing the lifts from the southern shore before cracking sheets at Beef Island. Setting downwind sails for the long reach along the stunning northern shore the fleet got a taste of the Atlantic; surfing on ocean waves.

Sailors from all over the world have gathered at Nanny Cay for one of the Caribbean’s most spectacular sailing events. The three-day BVI Sailing Festival is the pre-cursor to the BVI Spring Regatta and offers the international fleet the opportunity of tune-up races for the main event. Entries for the Round Tortola Race are up on last year, with at least 45 yachts expected to start the circumnavigation off Nanny Cay Marina.

With less than a week to go until the 43rd edition of the BVI Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival, a truly international cast is making ready to take centre stage in the beautiful sailing grounds off Nanny Cay and Tortola. 87 yachts have entered and not only is the number of entries larger than last year but there is real strength in depth, both in terms of the standard of the yachts and the sailors that will be racing.