(Roadtown, Tortola, BVI)- Sailors from all over the world have gathered
at Nanny Cay Marina for the three-day BVI Sailing Festival (Mar 30-Apr
1), the pre-cursor to the BVI Spring Regatta which offers the
international fleet the opportunity of tune-up races for the main event.
The Festival courses are designed to showcase the stunning tropical
islands and feature fabulous parties along the route.The weather forecast for the BVI Sailing Festival is promising a delight for the participants. Trade winds are due to veer to the south east giving a gentle start to racing, but should also provide shifty conditions to keep the tacticians on their toes. Racing starts on Tuesday 31st March with the Round Tortola Race for the Nanny Cay Cup. The Veuve Clicquot Island Invitational is scheduled for Wednesday 1st April and racing at the Festival concludes with the VP Bank Tortola Sloop Spring Challenge on Thursday 2nd April.
“There are so many wonderful places in the BVI and the Sailing Festival is a great opportunity to not only see the islands, but also to visit them,” commented BVI Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival Race Director, Judy Petz. “This year, the Veuve Clicquot Island Invitational will be a pursuit race to Jost Van Dyke, which will be a fantastic experience. The course will pass Sandy Cay, one of the most photographed locations in the Caribbean. After racing, the famous Foxy’s Beach Bar on Jost Van Dyke will be the venue for fun and games with music and a beach barbeque.”
Nearly
a dozen J’s are participating in this wonderful sailing “festival”.
Not surprisingly, the ten boat CSA Racing 2 class is loaded with talent
and a number of excellent teams are participating. The two J/122s will
be at it again towing each other around the picturesque islands of the
Virgin Islands. The previous regatta, the St Thomas International
Regatta, the two boats were nearly inseparable around the race track.
Expect more of the same, but this time Rupert & Jan Thouron’s DUNDER
will be facing a new team on EL OCASO- Team McFly led by Tony Mack’s
top-rated J/111 team from Royal Southern YC in the United Kingdom. Both
boats again face the J/111 SPIKE sailed by Sam Talbot, the local talent
from Roadtown hoping to have a better showing in local waters. Joining
them will be Marcus Cholerton-Brown’s J/120 SUNSET CHILD from New York.The eight boat CSA Racing 3 class has a cast of characters racing the division. The local knowledge in this group is Pat Nolan’s J/33 BOOMERANG. Their main competition may be the J/105 SOLSTICE sailed by Jordan Mindich of Huntington, New York- a top J/105 sailor from the famous Long Island Sound fleet. Expecting to ratchet up their game several notches will be Paul Davis’ J/27 MAGNIFICENT 7; though not happy with their St Thomas performance, they know the BVI side well.
The “kids” will be sailing the J/36 PALADIN with the help of “adult supervision” in the form of owner Stanford Joines from St Croix YC in the USVI. Yet another StCYC member, Dave Tomlinson, will be sailing his “classic” J/24 EL SHADDAI II. Speaking of J/24s, the IC-24 modders will be racing as a fleet, with 8 teams showing up for this event. Sailing photo credits- Christine Thompson For more BVI Spring Regatta sailing information.
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