Thursday 29 March, 2012
LOCAL FAVOURITE WINS IN NANNY CAY
GILL BVI INTERNATIONAL MATCH RACING CHAMPIONSHIP
Colin Rathbun and team (Tortola, British Virgin Islands) win the Gill BVI International
Match Racing Championship today at the BVI Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival Credit:
Todd vanSickle
Today marked the final day of racing in the Gill BVI Match Racing Championship and
the overnight leader, local favourite Colin Rathbun (Tortola, British Virgin Islands)
had a real fight on his hands, losing the first two races to set up a fascinating
finale with Guy Mossman (South Carolina, USA). The breeze blowing down the channel
was gusting up to eighteen knots producing foaming and at times confused seas. It
was a day where boat handling was key and Rathbun held his nerve to take an unassailable
two-race margin in the final to win the Gill BVI Match Racing Championship.
Denise Holmberg provided riveting commentary throughout the regatta: "Today the
wind was just as shifty as the first day but with big breeze it was a lot more exciting
for the spectators at Nanny Cay." Commented Denise. "It was a long day today and
the racing was extremely close, the level of all the teams was pretty even and
we didn't know who was going to come in the top five let alone win. I have to say
that I have been really impressed with Nikki Barnes (St Thomas, US Virgin Islands)
because she came from behind several times to win races and it takes a lot to catch
a boat on these tight courses but she had good boat speed and the confidence to
do something different to win."
Nikki Barnes placed third but at just eighteen years of age, she is one of the St.
Thomas' hottest prospects. "My coach is Peter Holmberg, I love my parents but he
is like a second father to me and he is so inspirational. Colin Rathbun is a very
skilled match racer and I have never been able to beat him, even though I have managed
to beat top rated sailors at least once, Colin seems unbeatable! We don't get to
race so much in the Virgin Islands, so for me this is a really special event."
Colin Rathbun had a real fight on his hands to win the championship with Guy Mossman,
especially as Guy won the first Round Robin of the day undefeated, so Mossman went
into the final round very confident and in good shape and riding high but Rathbun
had not been having such a good day. However, the Tortolan managed to regroup and
win the final with two wins a row and the prize giving party on Nanny Cay Beach
erupted with cheers as Colin and his team went up to take a bow.
"We had two very different days, the first day was a light and shifty but we had
to change the gears a lot today with a stiff breeze coming down the channel out
of the east," commented Colin. "Things started hard for us and we lost a little
ground and today was all about winning the start, because there were no big shifts,
the start determined the race. This is definitely a team game and the crew today
were just great; Henry Leonnig, Jason Putley, Nick Cunha are my friends and I love
to go racing with them and we all live here, so it was a pretty emotional win really.
Today the tough stuff was the crew work and we were up against some really good
sailors, even though we had a few hairy moments we managed to recover and all credit
to the guys, there boat handling won us this regatta."
Colin Rathbun and his winning team from Tortola, BVI - Gill BVI International Match
Racing Champions 2012
Credit: Todd vanSickle
Chris Haycraft officiated at the Prize Giving and thanked Bill Canfield and the
race team, as well as all of the team who put on the event. David Pritchard, President
of Gill North American spoke before the prizes were awarded: "Gill are delighted
with the organization of the event and would like to thank all the competitors
as well, especially those that have traveled so far to get here for the event. It
was hard work out there especially today and congratulations to all of you on such
a great event, which Gill have been very proud to sponsor."
ENDS/..
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