Fleet Praises BVI Spring Regatta Race Committee on Smart Decisions
Walking the docks post racing, there wasn’t a team who did not mention the quick thinking and smart work that the BVI Race Committee put in today, day two of BVI Spring Regatta, to ensure great racing in very changeable conditions. The first race of the day started in very light breeze – 5-8 knots – nonetheless the starts were solid and especially exciting in the bareboat fleets.
Race committee called a short postponement between races as a squall blew through bringing rain and more breeze for the second start making for a nice first windward leg before the breeze dropped again and benefiting those who made bank on that breeze. Performance and Sport Multihulls and Performance Cruising classes enjoyed robust breeze on their courses which took those boats further out around Dead Chest.
Lead changes in CSA Spinnaker saw Don Nicholson’s J121 Apollo finish the day first with 12 points, followed closely in second with 13 points by the J105 Kairos owned and helmed by Antolin Velasco, and in third with 13.5 points sits Lady M, the Club Swan 42 owned and helmed by Joan Rodriguez.
“It was a really weird weather day – we started with a short windward leeward course, 8 miles long, which reminded me of a few years ago when we had endless windward leewards because of the light wind and we didn’t do well,” Nicholson smiles.
“But that was in the boat’s previous configuration and now she really works well in light air so we no longer fear light air! When the squall came in the breeze totally rotated northward; the race committee did a remarkable job of quickly resetting a really interesting course which made for a really interesting race. Lady M got ahead of us there – I think we could have gotten them but we broke a spin sheet and lost the kite, and by the time we got it back, we gave up the one minute 40 seconds or whatever it was that they beat us by. It’ll make for interesting racing tomorrow because the field is tight. As you can imagine we’re pretty happy but it’s a field where everybody’s really fighting for the bullet!”
Lady M is also looking forward to exciting racing on the final day of racing on Sunday, says Rodriguez. “Today the race committee did a really good job sending us out on interesting courses even though it was light and tricky with all the shifts. Still, it was good, it’s pretty tight so tomorrow will be interesting. We don’t have any secrets to pull out; we’ll just try to sail clean and I think we’ll do well. We’re really having fun.”
The stunning Gunboat 72 Layla, racing in Performance Multihull delivered two bullets today in her best performance over the past two days as renowned ocean racer Brian Thompson who is calling tactics notes. Both Layla and the TF10 Thunder and Lightning have 7 points each, with Layla in first.
“Today’s been our best day – it was a very up and down day because of the big squall that came through right at the end of the first race which really jumbled up the order; we just got the right timing on it which really helped us. From Dead Chest we crossed past the channel marker to the Tortola side which is when the wind shift came. We rounded there and didn’t have to jibe; we just headed straight to the finish. The boats who were a little earlier had to jibe out so for us today was about being in the right place; it was a bit of luck but we’ll take that – it made it quite an emphatic victory in the first race! The second race was really a nice race; the race committee waited a little while for the squall to go through and for the wind to settle down, then they set the nice course which was almost a reverse to the first course. But because the wind was so different it was like a whole new challenging race in itself. Race committee did a great job; it was a really good course and a close finish; we’re happy with that.”
In CSA Bareboat 1, Colm Crilly sailing with Team RiteWay on a Sunsail 46 are leading in class with six points; breathing down the necks of these locals are the Canadian all-women team Salish Sisters, a Moorings 46 helmed by Kelly Wharton, also with six points. Dan McGanty on Roaz is in third with 7 points; day 3 racing will be thrilling in this class.
“It was dramatic changes in the sailing today with the first race pretty slow but we managed all the transitions we needed to, and the course was a nice length for that kind of wind; the race committee did an awesome job on that. As the wind shifted during the last part of that race, it gusted up to 20 knots, we all had to adjust quickly. We had great racing conditions and the geography of the islands is just great; I love the fixed marks going around Pelican, Flanagan, or Norman, it’s marvellous. We’re sailing the boat as perfectly and as fast as we can; we don’t have local knowledge so we don’t know where exactly to go but we read the wind as best we can and we did cover Shore Thing for a while!”
The two teams duking it out at the top of CSA Bareboat 2 class are neck and neck with five points each. Topaz sailed by Charlie Garrard and his team are in first having scored two bullets over the past two days of racing leaving Steve DeNure and his team on Mistral in second. Both teams are racing Dufour 41s and each scored a bullet each today.
“We’ve had a great couple of days of racing and we did better today than yesterday,” DeNure says. “For all of us it’s great to be sailing on similar boats – there are a bunch of Dufour 41s like ours so there are good competitors in the Bareboat class. Terry McGloughlin’s leadership was great today and the long-time experience that he and his team, who includes Rod Wilmer, Sandy Andrews and Dr. Ian McCrossen, a very accomplished sailor from Australia who has joined us for the first time, Liz, Ally, and Amanda is paying off. We had a little bit of everything with light winds at the start then the surprise wind pushed by the squall which made everyone sit and pay attention. The competition is tough so we’ll have to keep our eye on the trim and tactics tomorrow.”
Barney Crook continues to dominate the Sport Multihull class on his Corsair 31-1D Airgasm with a strong lead five points ahead of Chris Haycraft on his Corsair F 31 Ting-A-Ling II. Four points behind his dad, Nathan Haycraft on Ting-A-Ling, a Corsair F 27 is battling to keep up with the old guys.
“It’s been quite tricky for us with the competition we’re racing against because we’re a smaller boat – Eddie Brockbank on Lucky 7 is probably the closest boat in boat speed and pointing to us – so it’s been tough to get any sort of ground on dad and Barney. They just take off and we’re playing catch up; it’s hard to think tactically in a situation like that because all you’re trying to do is just sail your best and that’s all you really can do. But, honestly, dad and Barney are racing a great event; they’re leading the fleet, beating a Rapido 40 and smoking the Diams. It’s impressive to see the Corsair 31 doing so well. It kind of pains me to say it, but Barney’s looking good!”
The IC24 RIP helmed by Harry Bowerman leads by one point over Mike Feierabend who is racing Bravissimo his newly converted IC24, previously a J24, in fun, tight racing.
“The first race was light, but it was really nice racing. We’re very tight with the guys on Bravissimo again,” Bowerman says. “In most races, we’ve finished within a couple boat lengths of each other, it’s been so fun. On the second race we had a good start and there were many options on the course; it was a really great race. Tomorrow we’ll lose our very skilled sailor, my brother Owen who is a very good sailor who used to race Olympic classes so we’ll see if we can still sail the boat without him!”
The Beneteau First 40 Libertas helmed by Kevin Wrigley and his crew of locals is hands-down dominating CSA Non-Spinnaker having amassed three bullets; local knowledge is a benefit especially in tricky conditions as crew Doug Stewart notes.
“It was close racing; we were actually behind the J39 Crystal but they owe us time; we were behind them by 30 to 45 seconds each race. I think our crew work and local knowledge helps; we get closer to the islands more than the boats visiting probably do! Today, at one point we were five feet away from a rock with the J 39 on the outside of us; that made all the difference in the world. I’d like to give a shout out to Dick Neville, he did a great job today on race committee. It’s not easy but he’s a very patient man and perfect for down here. I have to thank Walter Keenan, Libertas’ owner, and our amazing crew, it’s a really good crowd, everyone is so knowledgeable and we have a blast.”
Lead changes in Cruising Multihull saw La Novia move back to her usual position leading the pack, finishing the day with four points followed closely by the ORC 57 Avel Vaez who finished with five points. Long-time BVI Spring Regatta competitor Little Wing, a Perry Antrim 52 owned and helmed by Ron Boehm, is in third with nine points.
“The racing in the cruising catamaran class in the BVI Spring Regatta is teaching us a great deal about how well the CSA rating rule works for different catamarans!” Boehm notes. “We always expect to be following La Novia as we can’t beat their rating, and the ORC 57 is well sailed and always has the advantage of being clear of the fleet. In each race Little Wing and La Novia usually slow each other down as we’re always so close to each other – we’re giving each other bad air when we can’t tack away, sailing higher than course to prevent the other from passing to weather.”
Sunday marks the final day of racing for the 53rd BVI Spring Regatta and Sailing Festival