Tuesday, April 1, 2014

BVI Spring Regatta Preview

J/120 sailing Caribbean regattasWarm Racing- Cool Parties- Hot Music
(Tortola, BVI)- The BVI Spring Regatta and Sailing Festival, the regatta known for “warm water and hot racing”, is now upping the ante with its “cool parties”.  Join them April 3rd to 6th in the Regatta Village and dance in the sands of the beach at Nanny Cay to the sounds of different music genres melding with the warm breezes and the swaying palms.  Join hundreds of local sailors, family and friends as you relax after a day of world-class racing around the green islands of the BVI.  Reward yourself with an ice-cold Corona or toast a successful maneuver with a frosty flute of Veuve Clicquot as you watch the sun sink into the turquoise waters.

The fun starts with a Mount Gay Welcome Party on Thursday evening. Before the band begins, an Aerial Performer will dance above the sands as Aragorn’s Fireballs light the night sky.  Then the strains of music from Final Faze will fill the village.

Friday, after a full day of some of the best racing in the Caribbean, the boats will be welcomed back to Nanny Cay by the steel pan band, Shooting Stars.  That should get everyone into the Caribbean groove and start their night under the stars. Absolut will present the Singing Chef, Al Broderick, and the Last Resort Band.

BVI Fashion showSaturday will be another perfect race day.  The evening will commence with the always-popular swimwear fashion show.  This will showcase the designs of Kristin Frazer, born and raised on the beautiful island of Tortola. Her “Trèfle” brand celebrates the beauty of a global culture and shows luxury swimwear for men, women and children.  Then spend the night with internationally acclaimed artist, Quito and the Edge known as the “heart and soul of the BVI” and enjoy Quito’s unique spin on reggae music.

Sunday wraps up the racing and allows participants to celebrate after three days of fun, but competitive sailing.  The Moko Jumbies will dance and play with the young (and young at heart), as visitors and participants gather for the award ceremony.  The sailors will enjoy the final night entertainment by Showtime presented by Heineken.  Join the Heineken Team as they provide special activities under the Heineken tent in the village.

With all this, and more, going on, why would you want to be anywhere else?  Go to Nanny Cay and enjoy the warm water, hot racing and cool parties!  Can’t imagine why anyone experiencing one of the coldest winters on record in the northern hemisphere would rather be driving a boat than a desk at this moment!

The 43rd edition of “the BVI” has a truly international cast participating in the fleet of 87 yachts. There are competitors from all over the world including: Australia, Antigua, Canada, Curacao, Germany, Great Britain, Holland, Monaco, Puerto Rico, Russia, St.Lucia, St.Maarten, Switzerland, USA and the US Virgin Islands.

BVI regatta party on beachUniquely, the BVI Spring Regatta race course takes place in the Atlantic Ocean, the Sir Francis Drake Channel and the Caribbean Sea. “The regatta is really spoiled for choices when it comes to course design,” commented Bob Phillips, Chairman of the BVI Spring Regatta. “We can provide short sharp windward leeward for one-design and race tracks for performance cruisers and production yachts. The BVI Spring Regatta really can provide racing that suits just about anybody, all in an outstanding location.”

Joining the fleet are ten J’s covering the spectrum of the fleets, many of whom will have seen great sailing (and practice) at the previous St Thomas Regatta.  The CSA Spinnaker Racing class has 5 J’s in a fleet of 18 boats.  Leading the charge should be Rick Wesslund’s J/122 EL OCASO, followed by Steve McManus J/120 SUNSET CHILD (ex- El OCASO), Jordan Mindich’s J/105 SOLSTICE, Robert Armstrong’s J/100 BAD GIRL and Paul Davis’s J/27 MAGNIFICENT 7.  How they all stack up on a handicap basis will be an interesting story in contrasts based on the type of courses and wind/ sea conditions.

The CSA Performance Cruising sees 4 J’s in a fleet of 11.  Joining Stanford Joines’s J/36 PALADIN from St Croix, USVI and Tom Mullen’s J/95 SHAMROCK VII from the St Thomas Regatta will be Cynthia & Eduardo Ross-Luaces’s J/30 J.DOE from Miami, FL and Henry Van Melle’s J/46 JENT from Breskens, The Netherlands.

Finally, the CSA Jib & Main (white sails) division has the custom J/120 JAGUAR with Ben Jelic from St Maarten as the sole J in an eighteen boat fleet.  For more BVI Spring Regatta sailing information