Sailing Blog
BVI Spring Regatta – Day 1 »
April 1, 2011
Similar to the Rolex Regatta in St. Thomas, the BVI Spring Regatta on Tortola has a huge carnival feel to it with the local population taking a big effort to put on a first class event and ensure a great time for sailors from all over the globe. The grounds of the Nanny Cay Marina have been transformed from a few buildings with a nice restaurant and a beach, to big-top tents, a large main stage for bands and awards, food vendor stations, and a very high ratio of Mount Gay Rum to people. When compared to some regattas in the states, the realization sets in these Caribbean events are huge for the local sailing scene and there is a large amount of pride to make this a memorable experience.
Our fleet is the same as it was in St. Thomas and while we have to beat the other Melges 32 head on, we owe the Melges 24s 7 minutes an hour which certainly keeps our attention. Our day began with an hour long sail upwind to the starting line which was near Cooper and Salt Islands. The courses can be anything from windward leeward buoy races, to long races around islands and today we had a good mix of both. Race 1 was a standard W/L course, but races 2 and 3 were some of the most fun courses I have sailed with long upwinds around the outside of Cooper and Salt Islands, than a long downwind back to the starting area.
Once the outside of the islands and out of the Sir Francis Drake Channel, the seas got quite a bit rougher, and after sailing within a 100 yards from breaking waves and volcanic islands that claimed many a pirate ship back in the day, I could not help but get a bit distracted with our racing scenery. Throw in a nice 16-18 ESE trade wind, and today was a very memorable experience. At one stage, we were sailing upwind around the western tip of Salt Island and had to navigate our way through snorkelers and anchored cruising boats trying to enjoy their vacations. I can only imagine the amount of salt water they swallowed when they saw our keel bulb going by at a high rate of speed. Thankfully we were able to sail well, and take a bullet in all three races to grab a nice lead headed into Day 2.
I know our team is very tired as we have left the parties early the last two nights, and we are all very ready to finish on a good note, and get back to our families. Stay tuned. Photos. If you are bored at night, you can watch the live party cam as well.
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