Captain’s Blog

The BVI Spring Regatta started off in high gear and Team BVI was on the top of their game. The first race was from Nanny Cay to the Bitter End and commenced at 10: 15 am on March 31, 2009. The teams were allotted 6 hours to complete the course of which team BVI only need 3 hours and 20 minutes to dominate the race. The course took the team from Nanny Cay, heading east on the Sir Francis Drake channel and then south between Salt and Peter Island, leaving Salt and Cooper Island to port of the vessel. The course then took us back into the Sir Francis Drake channel and outside The Dogs; from here the team needed only 3 tacks to make it to the finish line. Victory was in plain view and the Bitter End trophy was later awarded to the team for first place.

Team BVI

On day 2, while some teams decided to take a break and head to the beach, team BVI was only too committed to the cause. We competed against some of the largest and fastest boats in the entire regatta in the “round Virgin Gorda” race. To say the least, the team had the best start of the regatta on this day even though it was a fluke, the start was called one minute too early resulting in the team being over the start line one minute early and having to do a 360 degree turn on the start line. This not only put us through the start on a port tack which meant we had to avoid hitting other boats but not needing to make a tack before the first mark meant we were way ahead of the fleet. The winds were a little light on the south side of the island, which made for a very long, hot and tiring downwind run. We finished the race in 5hours and 30 minutes giving us the lead once again in our class.

Team BVI sailing along.

Day 3 and all road leads to Nanny Cay, we knew we had some very strong competition that developed over the previous 2 days hence we were most focused on getting a clean, good and early start. Our wish was granted and we once again had a great start but this time the competition was tight and we could sense it, needless to say not too worried. Our goal was to keep our focus and not make any mistakes. As we left North Sound, it was mayhem through the channel markers. We sailed North West past Mosquito Island leaving it and George Dog to the port of the vessel before heading west down the Sir Francis Drake Channel once again. This entire race was a downwind leg and we were very much aware and reminded that this was not the favorable point of sail for our boat, thus we had no room for error. As we made our way past The Dogs the competition really heated up. At times we found ourselves in second place but we kept our cool and hung in there. The race ended for us 2 hours and 30 minutes later and we were way ahead of our class once again, finishing first in class and second overall.

Team BVI finishing first in class and second overall!

Day 4 marked the beginning of the weekend BVI Spring Regatta races and at this point we could feel the pressure once we arrived on the race course, all eyes were on us as we were being watched and followed and this was clear. With a few added crew members, we needed to make sure everyone was in position and ready to compete. This day we were joined by the CEO of Digicel Mr. Alan Bates and his wife along with other members of the community who contacted us requesting to be a part of the regatta and they were graciously welcomed by everyone. At the end of the day and after 2 races we were sitting in second place with an unfortunate protest which pushed us into 6th place by the end of the day.

Today marked the beginning of the weekend BVI Spring Regatta races.

Day 5 and the 2nd day of the weekend race, the team was encouraged to remain focused on the present day seeing many were somewhat downhearted by the unfair decision that was made against the team the day before. We were still determined and went out with vengeance. There were 2 races this day in fact the 2 same courses as the day before, first one taking us on a reach towards Peter Island, then downwind towards Pock Wood Pond, then back up the channel. The second course took us between Norman Island and the Pelican and rounding Flannigan. The starts were clean and the leads were unbelievable – we were sitting pretty far forward and looking back at the boat getting smaller and smaller as we covered more ground. Everyone knew we were out to make a statement this day and that we did. We took first place in both races thus technically based on scores we are sitting in first place overall but with the protest we managed to work our way back to 4th place. At the end there was no doubt that Team BVI knew what they were about, we were committed to the task at hand and made that clear.

Team BVI making a come back in overall placement

Day 6, the last day of the regatta and we are feeling pretty good about making a come back in overall placement. We were hoping for two races but were only allowed one for the day. The start line on this day became a little clustered but we managed to get out in good timing. We were lagging a bit as a result of the shifty unpredictable winds but we continued to make what we knew to be the right moves. As we sailed toward Peter Island, we had a clear plan which was later disrupted by a small catamaran not sailing in our fleet, resulting in us having to tack unexpectedly, causing us to loose a lot of grounds and falling back a few paces. This was very painful for the team but the situation was totally out of our control and we had to just persevere and that was exactly what we did. By the time we rounded Peter Island, there were at least 5 boats ahead of us with quite a distance to go so we kept sailing. The races ended in the channel and the team managed to regain some ground finishing 2nd over the line.

As a team, Team BVI hung in there held our heads high and promise left the BVI’s team on everyone’s mind as we prepare to once again do this all over again in 2010.

Congratulations Team BVI you made the community proud!
Team BVI ended the regatta with the highest number of wins and scores but had to settle for 4th place overall after that protest on the 4th day. The regatta was an overall success and even though we encountered a few unfortunate setbacks, as a team we hung in there held our heads high and promise left the BVI’s team on everyone’s mind as we prepare to once again do this all over again in 2010.