29.03.2007
Sailors Battle the Elements and the Time Limit for the Nanny Cay Cup
Battling the elements of light air and rain, sailors beat their way back to Nanny Cay in the last leg of the BVI Sailing Festival. Although given the prevailing breeze, my money would have been for the fleet to coast downhill from Bitter End to Nanny Cay, instead, what little wind there was, shifted from the north east to the south west. Bob Phillips, Chairman of the BVI Sailing Festival remarked, “This year the boats beat up to Bitter End and back. It was only two years ago when we had just he opposite situation, and boats sailed downwind up and then downwind back to Nanny Cay. I guess that makes us even now.”
Although the race committee was able to start the Nanny Cay Cup in 5 knots of breeze, there were some wicked holes on the course. Only one boat finished within the time limit and that was Tuesday’s Bitter End Cup winner, Dark and Steamy. Everyone else in the Racing class was awarded second place. In the Bareboat and Cruising divisions, no one finished before the time limit expired.
Weather is on everyone’s mind. At this point, predictions call for more wind Friday, 11 – 15 knots, with some rain. Even more wind and less rain are predicted for Saturday and Sunday.
With registration now closed, organizers can safely give a relatively accurate number of participating boats. With a total of 146 entries, there are 40 sailing on the Cooper Course, ranging in size from the notable Volvo Ocean racing champ, ABN ARNO, to J 24’s. The Norman Course has six classes with a total of 70 boats. The One Design Course has 34 total between the Laser, IC 24 and Beachcat classes.
Today ABN AMRO ONE, winner of the 2005–6 Volvo Ocean Race could be seen out training in Sir Francis Drake Channel in preparation for the 2007 BVI Spring Regatta. Skipper Brad Jackson commented: “We’re really looking forward to competing in the BVI Spring Regatta this weekend. It’s a fantastic sailing venue and hopefully, with the right weather conditions, we can show everyone here what this boat can do. The fastest speed ABN AMRO ONE recorded during the Volvo Ocean Race was 42.6 knots, sailing across the Atlantic just near the end of the race. I’m not sure we’ll reach that here in the Caribbean but if we get some good breeze, the racing should be great.”
One of the biggest areas of growth for the regatta is the Laser class. This year, there is a Trinidadian contingent of five young men, ages 14 – 17, who have traveled with their coach for the regatta. They were so wet when they arrived to Nanny Cay in the pouring rain yesterday that it was joked that they swam here. When it was clearly too wet that evening for their tents to be pitched, Nanny Cay, the event host, provided rooms for the night.
Sailors have come from throughout the world to participate in this event, hailing ports are from throughout the Caribbean, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and North America. Given that this is the year that ISAF, the International Sailing Federation, is celebrating its 100th anniversary, the BVI Spring Regatta and Sailing Festival joins with countless other sailing organizations and events from throughout the world to mark this momentous occasion.
Tomorrow, the fleet of 146 boats will be on three different courses in the Sir Frances Drake Channel. The Norman course will provide Bareboat A and B, Jib and index, Performance Cruising A and B, and large Mulihull classes round the islands/ tour racing. On the Cooper course, the race officer will have the choice to send the five Racing classes round the buoys or around the islands. The one design course will be the closest to shore and will host the IC24s, Lasers, and Beachcats sailing as many as eight races a day.
BVI Spring Regatta and Sailing Festival encompass two great events. The 2007 Sailing Festival - a low-pressure, three-day warm up for the regatta - started on Monday, March 26 with a welcome party at Nanny Cay. Three days of destination cruising, racing and layday fun, including the Nation's Challenge Cup, led up to the index three-day BVI Spring Regatta starting on Friday, March 30. The expanded seven-day format has turned the traditional three days of racing action into a weeklong sailing festival that takes participants throughout the British Virgin Islands.
Held annually on the first weekend of April, the BVI Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival is celebrating its 36th anniversary. It is now a seven-day event with two events back-to-back attracting an average of 150 yachts per year with eighty percent of the competitors from overseas. The BVI Spring Regatta is presented by Nanny Cay Resort and Marina; the BVI Tourist Board is a Platinum sponsor; gold sponsors are Bitter End Yacht Club, CCT Global Communications, First Caribbean International Bank, Heineken, The Moorings, Mount Gay, and SOL.
Visitors can fly to the British Virgin Islands through San Juan, Puerto Rico with American Airlines, Cape Air and LIAT. Flights are also available through Antigua and Barbados on Virgin Atlantic, British Airways and BWIA.
For full details on the BVI Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival including daily news, photos and complete results from the 2007 event, visit the official web site: http://www.bvispringregatta.org. For more information on the British Virgin Islands visit: http://www.bvitourism.com. For more information on Nanny Cay Marina visit: http://www.nannycay.com.
The BVI Spring Regatta is jointly owned by the Royal BVI Yacht Club and the BVI Chamber of Commerce and Hotel Association.
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