BVI Springregatta 2017

21.02.2017

Tortola, British Virgin Islands – February 21, 2017
Gunboats join the Multihull Class
at the 2017 BVI Spring Regatta
Gunboat Flow at the St Thomas International Regatta © Ingridabery.com

Tortola, British Virgin Islands – February 21, 2017 -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.
The Gunboat fleet has been racing together for over a decade in the Caribbean, Northeast and Mediterranean. Approximately a third of the 30+ Gunboats in circulation, which range from 48′-90′, race competitively, according to Meredith Erickson, Gunboat class co-organizer, and this year the fleet has chosen to participate in the BVI Spring Regatta.

Said Erickson, „I’m very glad Spring Regatta has gotten the traction in the fleet that we hoped it would. We all know this will be an outstanding event and are hopeful that other Gunboats and high-performance multihulls will also decide to join the fun.“
Among the BVI Spring Regatta Gunboat fleet is a diverse range of racing experience as well as boats more optimized than others for racing. Nonetheless, the boats participating see this as a great opportunity to line-up together in optimum conditions for these fast multihulls.

Elvis, owned by Jason Carroll is slated to be the fleet’s top contender having regularly cleaned up the playing field over the past few seasons, while Momentum is literally fresh out of the yard. Said Lucky Mike, Momentum boat captain, „Racing? We’ve only had the main up about half a dozen times…“

Jason Caroll’s Gunboat Elvis at Les Voiles de Saint Barths
Momentum is the first sailboat for owner Frederick Moe who will be racing Spring Regatta for his first time. With barely sea trials under her belt and a short cruise to the Bahamas, boat captain Lucky Mike has expectations in check, commenting. „Momentum is a new boat, we have a new crew and hope that BVI Spring Regatta will give us a chance to test it all and see what she can do…oh, and of course, the fun is really what it’s all about!“

Flow is a four-year old Gunboat which has been owned by Stephen Cucchiaro for the past two, during which time he has modified it for racing. The crew on Flow will also be testing new equipment, according to boat captain Tony Teale, „It’s going to be a big push for us because the new rig is only just now going in, so the boat is very un-tested.“
This past summer they have lined up against other Gunboats, with Elvis consistently leading the pack. „Elvis is the most competitive and is always very well sailed so they generally win, „Teale commented. „In the right conditions, they’ll have her up on a hull sailing her like a small beach cat – it’s exciting!“

Extreme H20 Gunboat 66 Extreme H2O © Ultimate Sailing/Sharon Green

Malcom Park, Extreme H20 project manager has had the pleasure of taking H20 to new levels of development to optimize performance, modifications which have since been adopted by other Gunboats. „We were the first Gunboat to have aft tiller steering, aft main sheet controls, curved daggerboards, T-rudders and the first Gunboat 66/62 to have a rotating wing mast,“ Park said. „We want a light cruising boat which will perform on a race course so we’ve been refining all of those things since the boat launched.“
Park thinks the Gunboat fleet will be very close with much of the outcome coming down to sails and teamwork. „With the right sails for the condition, and the crew who can deploy that sail in time, it’ll come down to sailing the boat,“ Park said. Either way, he’s also betting Elvis will hold the bar at the highest level. „Without a doubt, they’ll be the toughest team we face out there,“ Park said.

Phil Lotz bought Arethusa new just over 18 months ago. She’s the first multihull he’s owned although he’s had smaller boats like a Melges 32 and enjoyed many successes on his Swan 42, including previous BVI Spring Regatta events. Of his new boat, Lotz said, „We decided that the Gunboats were a great cruising platform, fun on a racecourse and importantly, didn’t take a lot of people to do either. As well, they are as fast if not faster than a big mono hull.“

Lotz says he’s still learning the boat and getting up to speed driving, „It seems simple but there’s a lot to it. It’s a very powerful boat so you don’t take anything for granted, but it’s fun and it’s fast!“ Nils Erickson, co-organizer of the Gunboat fleet, is looking forward to having the fleet together in the BVI, „Nanny Cay is constantly improving their facilities and BVI Spring Regatta has just gotten better each year. Between the deeper water channel and now the new marina and villa expansion, the facilities are top notch. Combine that with the world’s best playground for sailing and an unbeatable Regatta Village right on the beach, it makes for a fantastic event.“
For more information go to: https://www.bvispringregatta.org/ Twitter – https://twitter.com/springregatta – Use the hashtag #BVISR @springregatta Like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/bvispringregatta Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bvisr/

ENDS/…. By Michelle Slade

April 1, 2017, Day 2 BVI Spring Regatta
Light air challenges 2017 Spring Regatta fleet

Leaders in Bareboat fleet consolidate positions
BB fleet An impressive bareboat fleet at the 46th BVI Spring Regatta © BVISR/www.ingridabery.com
April 1, 2017, Tortola, British Virgin Islands – Racing started at 1000 in an 8-10 knot easterly on Day 2 of the 2017 BVI Spring Regatta. Race one treated the 28-strong CSA Bareboat fleet to a spectacular course starting off the west end of Peter Island, up through the Sir Francis Drake Channel between Peter and Norman Islands, around Peter to finish off Pelican Island.

The large bareboat fleet is split in three divisions based on rating and LOA. Division winners today were Subversive-JogFund (6 points), skippered by Warwick Dunnett (USA) in Bareboat 1; Team NAIA-Pinel (4 points) skippered by Bob Beltrano (USA) in Bareboat 2; and Team Merlin-Sohcahtoa (6 points) in Bareboat 3 skippered by Alec Torrie (USA). In Jib and Main, Avanti, the Hanse 43 owned and skippered by Jeremi Jablonski, took two bullets ending the day in first with 7 points.

„It’s great to have such a large bareboat fleet here at Spring Regatta to enjoy our great BVI racing,“ Judy Petz, Regatta Director said. „Walking down the dock this morning I felt like I was in 10 different countries at once, listening to the chatter of the teams in multiple languages preparing their boats, loading gear and greeting other sailors as they passed by. This is one of my favorite parts of the Regatta as it reminds that we are truly an international event. We promote Spring Regatta all year-round to Europe, the UK, Canada and the US during their racing season to let sailors know they can bring a boat, or charter a great racing boat right here in the BVI.“
Spectacular scenic courses for the bareboat fleet on day 2 of the BVI Spring Regatta © BVISR/www.ingridabery.com
Enjoying their first BVI Spring Regatta with a second place in CSA Bareboat 1, Team BYRA is racing on La Bella Vita, a Sunsail 51. The team of 9 sailing friends from Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia, took a second and first to end the day with 12 points, in equal standing with third place Team Crude Yachties on Beer Chaser, a Moorings 51.4. Team BYRA normally race J-24s so are finding their BVI ride quite a step up.
„This boat does not react like a J-24!“ John Fourqueen said of Team BYRA. „We’re really just a bunch of misfits and are definitely the worst dressed crew on the race course, but we’re sharing the fun and changing out skippers for each race so we had two different helmsmen today.“ Fourqueen noted that they’re keeping a wary eye out for rocks around the islands but otherwise their biggest issue was that the store ran out of beer in cans this morning.
Team Crude Yachties, who all work for the local Moorings base on Tortola, are racing their second consecutive BVI Spring Regatta and are hoping to pull out all they have tomorrow to match their win in division last year. Skipper Mike Hill said the team had an appalling first start but picked their game up in race 2 to take a second. „Local knowledge does help as we know how close we can get to islands and rocks, but I have to add that both the boats ahead of us are sailing really well. We’re enjoying playing in the sun and to be able to do this Regatta is fantastic!“
Bella Vita
Sunsail 51, BYRA La Bella Vita, John Fourqurean (VA, USA) © BVISR/www.ingridabery.com

Team Merlin took two line honors today, correcting out as two second places. From Marblehead, Mass., the friends usually sail together in beer can races on a J 105 and are enjoying their 4th BVI Spring Regatta. „We love it here!“ skipper Alec Torrie said. „The first race was a great tactical battle between two islands on a nice beat, then around Norman Island. We lost the start so it was a battle two thirds of the way around when we were able to cross and hold off a couple of very competitive challenges boat for boat. The second race was pretty unique with a downwind start, we got off the line ok but one of our competitors got a great start so we tangled with them all way around the course which was tough in a dying breeze.“

Merlin and Sweet
Team Merlin on the Sunsail 41 Team Merlin-Sohcahtoa is in first place in Bareboat 3 © BVISR/www.ingridabery.com
In the Jib and Main class, Keith LiGreci (BVI), owner skipper of Girasoli, the Jeanneau 40 Sun Odyssey is in second with 10 points. „We had great racing, starting with plenty of breeze of up to 12 knots in race one, dying to 6-8,“ LiGreci said. „We focused on keeping the boat moving and staying clear of all the other boats heading up the channel between Peter and Norman Islands where we got into a very fun tacking duel with Sam of Hamble all the way up. We pretty much sailed our own course, staying to the east side of Peter and hugging the island all the way up to Cay Cay to White Bay. Rounding the west of end of Norman we played the fluky breeze all the way to Pelican on a downwind reach to the finish – the guys really worked their tails off!“

Girasoli
Cheers! Keith LiGreci’s team on Girasoli enjoy a post-race refreshment © BVISR/Michelle Slade

Sunday is the final day of racing for the 2017 BVI Spring Regatta fleet, with the first gun at 1000. The Spring Regatta Awards Ceremony is at 1730, and festivities will continue well into the night with Chef Al & the Hot Sauce Band, sponsored by Absolut.
PROVISIONAL RESULTS FOR ALL CLASSES: https://www.yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative.cfm?eID=2981
For more information, please go to: https://www.bvispringregatta.org/

Provisional Results 2017 BVI Spring Regatta
Place, Yacht Name, Sail, Owner/Skipper, Results, Total Points

CSA – Racing 1 (CSA – 10 Boats)
1. Blitz, USA52915, Peter Corr – 1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 ; 6 2. Summer Storm, USA61915, Andrew Berdon – 3 -3 -3 -3 -2 -4 ; 18 3. El Ocaso, USA52902, Chris Body – 2 -4 -2 -2 -6 -6 ; 22

CSA – Racing 2 (CSA – 10 Boats)
1. Team McFly ~ Joanna, GBR4147L, Tony Mack – 1 -1 -1 -3 -3.5 -6 ; 15.5 2. LIPTON ~ Sonadio, FRA28918, Philippe Charret – 3 -2 -5 -6 -1 -1 ; 18 3. Pipedream, IVB14, Christopher Haycraft – 4 -5 -3 -1 -2 -5 ; 20

Offshore Multihulls (One Design – 7 Boats)
1. ELVIS, USA6204, Jason Carroll – 1 -1 ; 2 2. Flow, USA61002, Stephen Cucchiaro – 2 -3 ; 5 3. NALA, USA6603, Jim Vos – 4 -2 ; 6

C&C 30 (One Design – 4 Boats)
1. Don’t Panic, USA30026, Julian Mann – 1 -1 -1 -3 -3 -3 ; 12 2. Nemesis and the Hooligans, USA30018, Trey Sheehan – 2 -2 -2 -1 -4 -2 ; 13 3. Themis, USA30015, Walt Thirion – 3 -4 -3 -2 -2 -1 ; 15

CSA – Bareboat 1 (CSA – 11 Boats)
1. Subvers!ve ~ JogFund, , Warwick Dunnett – 1 -1 -1 -3 ; 6 2. BYRA ~ La Bella Vita, , John Fourqurean – 2 -7 -2 -1 ; 12 3. Team Crude Yachties ~ Beer Chaser, , Mike Hill – 3 -3 -4 -2 ; 12

CSA – Bareboat 2 (CSA – 10 Boats)
1. Team NAIA ~ Pinel, , Bob Beltrano – 1 -1 -1 -1 ; 4 2. Team Sunsail ~ Bageal, , Presley King – 2 -2 -2 -2 ; 8 3. Sail Experts ~ Dauntless Five, , Petr Kochnev – 3 -3 -4 -4 ; 14

CSA – Bareboat 3 (CSA – 7 Boats)
1. Team Merlin ~ Sohcahtoa, , Charlie Garrard – 1 -1 -2 -2 ; 6 2. Team Horizon ~ Jitterbug, , Frank Rowsell – 3 -2 -1 -1 ; 7 3. Tortola Moon, , Alberto Borin – 2 -4 -3 -3 ; 12

CSA – Jib and Main (CSA – 14 Boats)
1. Avanti, USA52906, Jeremi Jablonski – 3 -2 -1 -1 ; 7 2. Girasoli, IVB123, Keith LiGreci – 1 -3 -3 -3 ; 10 3. Sam of Hamble, GBR8396, Peter Hopps & Serena Alexander – 2 -1 -4 -6 ; 13

CSA – Multihull (CSA – 6 Boats)
1. Piglet, USA3, Joseph San Martin – 1 -1 -1 -1 ; 4 2. Wildfire, , John Hayes – 3 -2 -3 -2 ; 10 3. Little Wing, USAR18, Ron Boehm – 2 -3 -2 -3 ; 10

IC 24 (One Design – 5 Boats)
1. Aeropost.com, IVB35, Colin Rathbun – 1 -3 -2 -2 -2 -1 -1 -1 -2 ; 15 2. Island Water World Racing, ISV40, Frits Bus & Chuck Pessler – 2 -2 -1 -1 -1 -2 -2 -2 -5 ; 18 3. One Love, ISV21, William McConnell – 3 -1 -3 -3 -3 -3 -4 -3 -3 ; 26

Highlights from Day 1 Racing BVI Spring Regatta – All the latest video can be found at: https://www.bvispringregatta.org/video/
IMAGES FROM ACROSS THE FLEET:
Avanti Jeremy Jablonski’s Hanse, Avanti lead Jib & Main © BVISR/www.ingridabery.com
Godspeed Godspeed, X41 from Austria © BVISR/www.ingridabery.com
Action on the C&C 30 course © BVISR/www.ingridabery.com

A great way to spend April Fools‘ Day! Out on the water with the BVI Spring Regatta – Action on the C&C 30 course © BVISR/www.ingridabery.com
Warm Water – Hot Racing – Cool Parties, perfect sailing in the BVI Spring Regatta © BVISR/www.ingridabery.com

Website: The BVI Spring Regatta and Sailing Festival is hosted by Nanny Cay Resort and Marina. https://www.bvispringregatta.org/
Follow us on social media:
Twitter – https://twitter.com/springregatta Use the hashtag #BVISR @springregatta Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bvispringregatta Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bvisr/

Schedule of Events:
https://www.bvispringregatta.org/schedule/

HOST SPONSOR: Nanny Cay Resort and Marina https://www.nannycay.com