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Sailing
Spring Regatta to Give 'Ride of Their Lives'
By Dean Greenaway
Apr 4, 2008, 06:38

Sun Sail's Steve Evans helps a client install a new Jib ahead of today's BVI Spring Regatta. Photo>Dean "The Sportsman" Greenaway

TORTOLA—Late Thursday afternoon, BVI Spring Regatta Chairman Bob Phillips walked through regatta village at Nanny Cay, with a smile on his face. He was greeting old friends and meeting new ones. With more than favorable weather, Phillips could not contain his excitement ahead of the 37^th edition of the event that kicks off at 10 a.m. this morning on three courses in the Sir Francis Drakes Channel.

“As hard as it is blowing, there will be a lot of people having the ride of their lives,” Phillips said. “It’s blowing harder than we’ve had it in years. It looks like we’ll have a 20 knot day on Friday, picking up on Saturday to about 23, back down again to about 18-20 on Sunday. Everybody will be sailing at their peak it will be hard, tough, sailing conditions.”

Phillips said sailing in the Sir Francis Drakes Channel, is as good as it gets because the seas never gets huge. He said there’ll be great breeze and lots of sunshine for today’s event.  “You can get anything better than that,” he said.

Just before the close of registration where 129 boats had registered for today’s event, crews were busy making last minute adjustments to sails and pinning on signs and placing numbers on boats. Steve Evans from Sun Sail was helping the crew of Sokai, a Benetau 47 with their Jib. “We had a damaged loft so we gave them some speed and power, so that means they have an advantage,” he said. “They should have a good time in the regatta.”

Crews complete last minute work on their craft. Photo>Dean "The Sportsman" Greenaway

Some of the hottest competition will be among U.S. and British Virgin Islands sailors along with those from Puerto Rico, on the IC-24 course, just off Nanny Cay. Phillips said the cream will rise to the top. He said the boats will be switching back and forth between spinnakers as the breeze goes up and down. “When the spinnakers come out in the big breeze, it makes it tough for the boats that aren’t as well prepared,” he explained. “The good ones will always be on top.”

The racing course, with boats plying the Sir Francis Drakes Channel between Peter and Cooper Island, will be doing a mix of windward and leeward courses and going around some of the outer islands, Phillips explained, adding that they envisage doing between 2-3 windward-leeward courses and having the boats back at the dock by 3 p.m. “It is going to be tough racing,” he noted. “We don’t want to keep them out there too long, but they’ll have a tremendous amount of fun.”

Phillips said Bill Alcott’s Equation, an Andrews 68, is the top of the A Class in the racing division. He expects Bob Swan’s Marten 49, Yanni, Rachard Matthew’s Oystercather XXVI and Storm, a Reighel Pugh 44 from Trinidad, is also in the class. “They’ll be head knocking, although Equation will be leading them around the course,” he said.  

BVI Spring Regatta press officer Linda Phillips said the 129 entries are down from what they expected after attracting 148 last year and said it’s because of the weather.  “Some of the boats just couldn’t get here because the weather was so rough,” she noted. “That’s unfortunate, but it’s not much we can do about it.”