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| Storm, 2nd from right, at the start of their final race on Sunday. Photo>Dean "The Sportsman" Greenaway |
TORTOLA—After setting the pace on opening day in the Spinnaker A division, Trinidad’s Peter Peake’s Storm, won four of the seven races to walk off with the top prize in the 37th BVI Spring Regatta that wrapped up three days of racing in challenging conditions in the Sir Francis Drakes Channel on Sunday.
“It was very close racing and today especially was very close racing with the boats finishing within seconds of each other on corrected time and it was very good racing. We had a ball,” he said. “We had a fantastic time racing here last year and this time it was the same thing with good winds, good parties and good people. I love the BVI.”
Peake said preparation for the victory began on the drawing board and if you want to win, you start at the beginning and this time they got it right. “Not every time we get it right,” he noted. “But, this time, we got it good.”
Paul Solomon’s bMobile took the driver’s seat from day one, and won five of the nine races, including the finale, to win Spinnaker B.
Clive Llewellyn’s Mad IV—who won the Bitter End Cup—overhauled Malcolm Gefter’s Global Yacht Racing EHO1, to win the Spinnaker C division. Both tied with four firsts, but Llewellyn no thirds, while Gefter got two third place finishes on the last day. Chris Lloyd’s Three Harkoms—in third place on opening day—did not start on Saturday or Sunday—and finished behind Dig van der Slikke’s D-Trip.
Robert Armstrong’s Bad Girl, slipped from third to fourth in Spinnaker D, which was won by Morgan Dales’ Silver, with St. Croix’s Chris Stanton, taking second.
St. Thomas’ Chris Stanton won seven of nine starts to sail his J Walker to the top of Spinnaker E. Kike Gonzales hanged on to second place, but Paul Davis’ Magnificent who was third heading into the final day, slipped to fourth.
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| Dave West's Jurakan, catches a wave on the downwind leg behind Salt Island. Photo>Dean "The Sportsman" Greenaway |
Rick Wesslund had an amazing series after taking the lead he built on opening day in the Racer-Cruiser Class, with an astounding eight bullets. Sergio Sagarasmo’s Lazy Dog, hanged on for a one point edge over former BVI Spring Regatta Committee Chairman Peter Haycraft on Pipe Dream, who dislodged Ian Ross’ Kick ‘em Jenny, to take third by two points.
After opening with a fourth place showing, like his boat’s name Stay Calm, Stuart Robinson stayed claim to tie Peter Snol’s Bad Wine with 7 points each, in the Performance Cruising A. Franco Manni’s Coyote vaulted past Julian Sincock’s Northern Child, to take third place.
BVI Spring Regatta Results:
Spinnaker A (4 Boats): 1. Storm, Peter Peake, 12 points. 2. Oystercather XXVI, Richard Matthews, 17. 3. Equation, Bill Alcott, 21. Bob Swann, Yanni, 28.
Spinnaker B (6 Boats): 1. bMobile Enzyme, Paul Solomon, 15. 2. Caccia Alla Volpe, Carlo Francone, 25. 3. (tie) Minnie The Moocher, Tim Ionides, 27.
Spinnaker C (6 Boats): 1. Mad IV, Clive Llewellyn, 14. 2. Global Yacht Racing EHO1, Malcolm Gefter, 16. 3. D-Trip, Dig van der Slikke, 36.
Spinnaker D (5 Boats): 1.Silver, Morgan Dale, 15. 2. Devil, Chris Stanton, 26. 3. Fritz Bus, 27.
Spinnaker E (8 Boats): 1. J Walker, Chris Thompson, 11. 2. Kosa Loka, Kike Gonzales, 19. 3. Good, Bad and Ugly, John Foster, 31.
Spinnaker F Racer/Cruiser (9 Boats): 1. El Ocaso, Rick Wesslund, 8. 2. Lazy Dog, Sergio Sagarasmo, 28. 3. Pipe Dream, Peter Haycraft, 29.
Performance Cruising A (8 Boats): 1. (tie) Stay Calm, Stuart Robinson, 7. Bad Wine, Peter Snol, 7. 2. Coyote, Franco Manni, 14.
Performance Cruising B (8 Boats): 5. Augustine, Tony Syer, 1. 2. Xpresso, Marc Noordhoek, 10. 3. Nepenthe, Robert Read, 11.
Jib and Main (14 Boats): 1. Hotel California Too, Steve Schmidt, 5, 2. Mary Jane, David Hueter, 7. 3. Clover III, Neal Finnegan, 13.5.
Bareboat A (22 Boats): 1.Justice, Justin Barton, 11. 2. Easy Tiger, 17. 3. Joyce Smith, Tony Mack.
Bareboat B (20 Boats): 1. Acadia Southern Comfort, 4. 2. Chess, Jan Soderberg, 8. 3. 3. Rudy, Mark Thompson, 16.
Multihull (1 Boat): Blew Bayou, Charles McCormick, 4.
IC-24: (12 Boats): 1. Orion, Fraito Lugo, 34. 2. Mio Broadband, Robbie Hirst, 48. 3. bMobile, Colin Rathbun, 59.
Beach Cat: a. Auto World Express, 3. Islandsol.net, 9.
