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.
The competition in the Optimist Championship Fleet was dominated by Teddy Nicolosi from St. Thomas, who won all but one of the eight races. “I had great boat speed,” said the 12-year-old sailor.
Top VI Optimist sailor Jason Putley scored an impressive second overall in the very challenging championship fleet and took top honours in the Optimist Red Fleet. His strong second-place finish in the final race secured his victory over Scott McKenzie from St. Thomas.
Rayne Duff put in an equally impressive effort to win the White Fleet and scored fourth overall. Duff claimed the distinction as the only sailor to beat the champion Nicolosi in a race.
“I got a good start on the last race, and tried to read each shift upwind always looking for clear wind and I focused hard to make sure I kept ahead of Teddy,” said Duff. “This wasn’t easy as he had won every other race, so I was nervous and focused. It felt great to get one race off of him. Teddy and I sail a lot all over the place and he is a great competitor and really fun to sail against.”
Thad Lettsome finished third in the Optimist Blue fleet and 10th overall.
Other top VI finishes were posted by Sam Morrell who came eighth overall; Sam Childs in 13th and James Dawson and James Rajic-Knight in 20th and 21st, respectively.
In the Laser Radial Class, Matt Oliver finished second to Rhone Findlay of St. Maarten. Oliver, who has had several Radial Class wins this year, was beaten by just two points by Findlay, who is one of the best junior Laser sailors in the region.
;)
Also scoring impressively in the Laser Fleet was Chris Brockbank who took second in the Standard Class.
In the Optimist Green Fleet, which is the proving ground for the more advanced Championship Fleet, Tortola sailor Nathan Haycraft posted a third-place finish. Haycraft scored equal points with Terra Ehrhart from St. John, but he had to settle for third place based on the tie-break formula.
Kyle Roose from Tortola was just two points behind Haycraft in fourth overall.
Green Fleet winner was St. Thomas sailor Victoria Flately, who won with an impressive run of consistent finishes.
The three-boat IC-24 Fleet was won by Colin Rathbun with Jon Charleton and crew in second and Chris Haycraft in third.
The annual BVI Dinghy Championships attracts racers from across the region with teams participating from all the Virgin Islands, plus Antigua and St. Maarten. The two-day event saw light conditions with variable wind directions. Winds never exceeded seven knots and were much less during many races.
“It was challenging for the racers,” said Principle Race Officer Bill Canfield. “Light wind exacts strong concentration and a lot of focus.”
All racing took place off Nanny Cay Marina which served as the perfect host venue, according to organisers.
Races for the Optimist Championship, Laser and IC24 fleets averaged 30 minutes. The course involved a long upwind leg followed by a downwind run, then the same upwind leg again before a run to the finish. Race officials re-configured the course if the wind shifted.
“Running races is definitely a lot of work,” Mr. Canfield said.
The Optimist portion of the event was the final leg of the VI Triple Crown, which saw sailors combining their scorers from three events: St. Croix, the VIODA Championships in St. John and the BVI Dinghy Championships.
St. Thomas racers took the top three spots, while VI sailors led by Rayne Duff in fourth took the next three positions.
The events were sailed on consecutive weekends in varying conditions.
The BVI Dinghy Championships was organised by the Royal BVI Yacht Club.
;)
