The BVI Spring Regatta and Sailing Festival wrapped up on Sunday evening as hundreds of sailors gathered around the stage for an award ceremony at Nanny Cay.
Racing started on Tuesday with the BVI Sailing Festival, but due to light winds the race around Tortola was scratched and the course was modified. Instead, about 30 boats raced around Ginger Island and finished in front of Nanny Cay in the Sir Francis Drake Channel.
Highland Fling XII, a 52-foot high-performance boat skippered by Olympic silver medalist Peter Holmberg, took line honours, but it was Tonnerre de Breskens 3 that was awarded the win on corrected time.
On the following day, conditions were even lighter as a pursuit race to Norman Island was held. Sailors enjoyed a lay day on the sister island, before registration started for the BVI Spring Regatta on the following day.
On Thursday, the Tortola Sloop Spring Challenge was held in honour of Maritime Heritage Day between three of H. Lavity Stoutt Community College’s wooden sloops.
Although Intrepid took line honours, the winner was Youth Instructor on corrected time skippered by Andrew Waters.
By Friday, the wind had picked up and several squalls passed through the area for most of the day.
“It was very trying conditions,” BVISR Chairman Bob Phillips said.
Throughout the rest of the regatta, the wind continued to increase, blowing at a consistent 19 knots on Sunday. Due to the high winds, the race committee did not allow the IC24s to fly spinnakers on the final day.
The weather conditions caused several boats to broach and two boats dismasted during the regatta. However, the BVISR chairman was not surprised by the damages that the boats suffered.
“It was three hard days of racing,” Mr. Phillips said. “Sailors find things that should have been better maintained on their boats. There was a lot of exciting sailing.”
This year’s Best BVI Boat award went to Colin Rathbun competing on team Tortola Express in the IC24 division. It was a tight race between his team and INTAC skippered by Jason Putley.
Mr. Rathbun had taken a couple of years off from competing on the IC24s, but was happy to be back in the one-design division.
“I really missed the one-design aspect of it,” he said. “When you finish you know where you are.”
Going into the final day of the regatta, Mr. Rathbun was one point ahead of INTAC.
However, Mr. Putley took a bullet in the first race to tie Tortola Express.
“Mark (Plaxton) is on the boat and he is a very good sailor and Jason (Putley)is really coming up in the ranks — he is a fast sailor,” Mr. Rathbun said.
But Mr. Rathbun would secure victory by winning the last two races, while INTAC took third and fourth place in the final two races of the regatta.
“I got to give Jason Putley a huge shout out. I have been sailing these boats for the past 10 years. He has done it twice,” Mr. Rathbun said, adding that Mr. Putley is always close behind.
Next year, organisers are expecting to have more boats in the one-design category, especially the Melges and J70s.
“The IC24s went into a bit of a slump in the BVI,” Mr. Rathbun said. “A couple of owners have bigger boats, so when it comes to the bigger regattas they want to go on their bigger boats.”
The Jib and Main I Division also had a close finish between two VI teams. Keith LiGreci skippered Girasoli to first place over Jon Charlton of Reba. During the past three years, the two sailors have developed a friendly rivalry with each one exchanging wins at the BVISR.
It was Mr. LiGreci’s second win at the regatta, while Mr. Charlton took first last year.
Here in the VI, Mr. LiGreci makes an effort to compete in most regattas hosted by local yacht clubs. Earlier this year, he won the Dark and Stormy Regatta. However, his work schedule prevents him from doing other regional events.
“I can’t take the time off to run around the Caribbean doing all the big regattas,” Mr. LiGreci said.
During the award ceremony on Sunday, Mr. LiGreci got choked up as he thanked his crew, who he has mostly sailed with during the past three years.
“I am very proud of my crew,” he said. “We fought right to the finish line. From Flanagan Island, I didn’t think we would beat Jon (Charlton), but the crew just got together and worked and worked. We got ’em by five seconds.”
The regatta featured three racecourses, which incorporated both windward/leeward and around-the-islands racing.
“I love it all,” Mr. LiGreci said. “You got to take what they give you.”
Around 7 a.m. on Monday, BVISR Director Judy Petz was already planning for next year’s event.
“In the last three weeks Ihave had more e-mails asking when the 2015 regatta is going to be held,” Ms. Petz said.
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