On Sunday, Bitter End Yacht Club and Resort hosted the inaugural Coconutman triathlon.
BEYC Executive Managing Director Gordon Overing said the race has been a long time coming.
“I have been thinking about it for years,” Mr. Overing said. “I finally decided to pull the trigger.”
The event also served as a fundraiser for Virgin Islands Search and Rescue.
“It is something fun,” Mr. Overing said. “We are a water-based property, so we stuck swimming, paddleboarding and hiking together. It makes for a slightly different Ironman, so we called it the Coconutman.”
The organiser was inspired to host the triathlon, because he has seen a growing interest in sporting activities in the territory.
“Pretty much every other week there is a run, a bike or a triathlon,” Mr. Overing said. “So, I said we should try to get in on that for a lot of reasons.”
Next year, he is considering hosting the Coconutman closer to the date of another event, in hopes of attracting “travelling competitors.”
Earlier this month, VISAR held its annual Swim the Sound fundraiser, which is staged between Saba Rock and Leverick Bay. The event had more than 100 competitors, including a group of swimmers from Australia, who spent two weeks competing in swim events both here and in the USVI.
“If we were able to bookend it so you have one event one weekend and another on the other weekend to tie them all together, it could make a vacation really worthwhile if visitors are travelling all that way,” Mr. Overing said.
“I think if we can get it off the ground and get the buzz going and tweak it — it will grow,” Mr. Overing said. “We tried to grab some of our guests, but I think they were a little intimidated by the swim. We might have to shorten it next year. I just put that in, because I like to swim.”
Mr. Overing was competing on a team with BEYC Water Sports Director Jerome Rand. Mr. Overing was first in the swim.
“It was a little bit of a rematch this morning,” Mr. Overing said, who came in second place to Mark Doig during the recent Swim the Sound.
However, Mr. Doig would finish in first place overall in the Coconutman.
Mr. Rand did the paddleboarding and the hike — two activities he is very familiar with. He helps maintain the BEYC trail and does guided tours for guests at the resort. He said having “local knowledge” of the course helped him pull off the win in the team division.
“I have done the trail about 500 times,” he said. “I know every rock coming down — that kind of saved me.”
Mr. Rand started the paddleboard ahead of everyone else, but it didn’t take long for Mr. Doig to catch him.
“Once we hit the trail, I knew that was my time to shine,” Mr. Rand said.
More than halfway through the trail, Mr. Rand took control of the race and over took Mr. Doig.
“We wanted to do a triathlon, but we also wanted to incorporate a lot of things we do with our guests here, especially the paddleboarding and the hiking,” Mr. Rand said. “Hopefully, it will get bigger and bigger.”
Kim Takeuchi took second place overall. After the race, she was sitting poolside nursing a couple of scratches she received during the hike.
“It happened on the downhill run, I am really just clumsy,” Ms. Takeuchi said.
She added that it is was one of the better-organised events she has competed in and enjoyed the different aspects of the race, like the trail run.
“I also liked the paddleboard element,” Ms. Takeuchi said, who won the SUP event in the women’s division during VISAR’s Swim the Sound. “It is not your traditional triathlon. Not only were the ratios different, but the elements were different. It was really fun and tailored to the BVI.”
After all the competitors finished the race, an award ceremony and barbecue was held poolside.
All the competitors received a plaque and a perpetual trophy in the shape of a wooden mask was awarded to Mr. Doig, which will have his name inscribed on it.
“We have to support these community events,” Ms. Takeuchi said. “People put a lot of time and effort in to these events.”
RESULTS
1. Mark Doig, 48:05”
2. Kim Takeuchi, 59:24”
3. Vaughan Van Oudtshoorn, 1:06.30’
4. Guy Williamson, 1:08.25’
5. Tiffany Houston, 1:11.50’
6. David Welford, 1:20.20’
Team
1. Jerome Rand and Gordon Overing, 47.26”
{fcomment}
{gallery}coco{/gallery}