Events
BVI Wine & Food Festival in November
The inaugural BVI WINE & FOOD FESTIVAL will take place at Nanny Cay and Scrub Island Resort November 1-3. The BVI Wine & Food Festival is an international event that will showcase the talents of renowned wine and spirits producers, chefs and culinary personalities. For three days, visitors and residents alike will be able to sample, learn, feast or lounge through the event’s menu of a la carte events.
Read MoreLeg 2 of ARC Europe sets sail from Bermuda today
Sailing aboard the yacht, NYCTEA, Oscar seems to be asking “Are we there yet?”Leg 2 of ARC Europe sets sail from Bermuda today, with Portugal as their final destination. The yachts left the BVI on May 4 after a week of preparation at Nanny Cay, in a joint start with the Atlantic Cup.
Read MoreCompetitive racing in light wind conditions defined the BVI Dinghy Championships last weekend at Nanny Cay.
Competitors in four fleets were challenged by light, oscillating south westerly winds and flat seas.
The race committee ran a total of 28 races over two days with Virgin Island sailors posting top results in all classes, including first-place finishes in two of the three Optimist Championship fleet divisions and the IC24 Class.
Read MoreARC Europe & Atlantic Cup 2013 is Under Way!
The ARC Europe start off Nanny CayThirty yachts hailing from twelve different nations headed off from Nanny Cay on Saturday on the start of the ARC Europe and Atlantic Cup Cruising Rallies. The 2013 editions of each event marks the first occasion in which both fleets took the same starting line, and will compete together in two classes en route to Bermuda. Both events included a week of festivities in Nanny Cay, including the Farewell Supper at Peg Leg’s on the beach Thursday night and the final Skipper’s Briefing in Genaker’s Café yesterday. After a final check-out with the Rally Office in the morning, the fleet headed to sea.
Read MoreARC Europe Safety Day
Yesterday the World Cruising Club (WCC) team held a morning of safety demonstrations for the ARC Europe & Atlantic Cup fleet gathering at Nanny Cay. A safety flare demonstration was conducted on the breakwater to enable any crew that had not experienced the use of flares or seen them ignited before to get some hands on experience with these safety devices.
Read MoreBVI Dinghy Championships this weekend
The BVI Dinghy Championships are scheduled this weekend (May 4 and 5) at Nanny Cay and along with Laser, Laser Radial, and Opti Dinghy Classes, IC 24 and 420 classes have been added. Participants can register here or call the RBVIYC at 1-284-494-3286. Entry fee is $75. Registration is at Nanny Cay on Friday evening for all participants with a window on Saturday morning as well to register before the racing starts.
Read MoreARC Europe back in town and preparing from Weekend departure
The ARC Europe team from left: Kieran Higgs, Lyall Burgess, Andy Schell, Mia Karlsson At 0900 on Monday morning, the ARC Europe team from World Cruising Club raised their flag on the breakwater and opened the doors to the rally office, located upstairs next to the Marina office.
Read MoreWinners in decided in BVI Spring Regatta
Rene Van Dop’s Dutch Team Aquaholics sealed Bareboat 1 class win with two bullets today The large expanse of the North Atlantic lies just to the North of The British Virgin Islands and on this morning, the BVI Spring Regatta competitors got a real taste of it. The sea state kicked up to 2 metres and the wind speed for the first start was 20 plus knots when a vicious squall darkened the horizon in The Sir Francis Drake Channel.
Blinding rain colder than the sea spray reduced visibility to just a few feet and had sailors scurrying for foul weather gear. With wet sails, slippery decks and the big easterly breeze blowing squalls in off the Atlantic, the last day of racing at the BVI Spring Regatta got under way. However, conditions improved during the day with the squalls diminishing to allow the competitors to dry out in the fresh 15-20 knots of warm breeze and glimpse of sunshine through the broken cloud.
Read MoreA Wild Day in Paradise
With 20 knots of easterly funnelling into bullets of pressure of 25 knots, the second day of the BVI Spring Regatta hosted by Nanny Cay Marina produced some electric action in the Sir Francis Drake Channel. Pulses were racing, especially in the Melges and IC24 fleet who scampered downwind in a ball of spray, surfing at high speed. With no discard available in the BVI Spring Regatta, keeping clear of trouble was a major factor in the big breeze and the yachts that succeeded faired well on the leaderboard after a windy day in paradise.
Read MoreDay one of BVI Spring Regatta a tense, tactical teaser
Hamnett Hill’s Marten 49, Defiance from Montreal, Canada leads Performance Cruiser 1 after day one of racing Photo: Todd VanSickleIt was a day for watching the weather on the first day of the BVI Spring Regatta hosted by Nanny Cay Marina, Tortola. 10-12 knots of easterly pressure provided perfect conditions for the fleet at the start of the day and the Race Committee chose to use the string of beautiful islands on the south side of the Sir Francis Drake Channel as turning marks for the first race. The wind speed and direction oscillated somewhat to deliver shifty conditions and tactical racing. Later in the day, a heavy rainsquall caused an early end to proceedings due to unstable wind conditions.
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