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BVI
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| LIME leads the IC24 class after the first day of racing. |
Tight racing, great Caribbean weather and excellent race management characterized the first day of the 2009 BVI Spring Regatta. After a day of wind ranging from 11 - 15 knots, with a few zinger wind shifts and incredible sunshine, the mood in the Festival Village was festively mellow. Everyone seemed relaxed and had positive things to say about their day on the water. Results in many of the twelve classes are indicative of very tight competition among well matched boats.
In Division A, Jim Mitchell's Vincitore, the Reichel Pugh 52, has three firsts and a second but Arethusa, Phillip Lotz's Swan 42 is not far behind with three seconds and a first.
In Division B, Three Harkoms has a five point lead over Jamie Dobbs and Lost Horizon II. Alfred Koolen, from St. Maartin, sailing on Lost Horizon II said, "We've been to five regattas this year and won all five of them. We're not going to win this one; we screwed up." He went on to relate how in a short two mile race, they started late, hit the weather mark and finished a minute behind everyone else. Then he added, "If you want a quote, the quote is, "˜This regatta has the best sailing instructions in the Caribbean and everything else. Everything is done properly.'"
In Racing Class C, Dave West, on Jurakan, a Melges 32, currently second behind Robert Armstrong's J 100, Bad Girl, said, "It was a gorgeous day." When asked what the plan was for tomorrow, he replied, "Sail faster."
Kevin Rowette, after making a Herculean effort to replace his mast after losing it for the second time in four weeks last weekend during the International Rolex Regatta, is currently in second place with Rushin Rowlette behind Johnny Foster and Bill McConnell's, Kirby 25, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.
After the today's racing, Top Gun is uncharacteristically leading the Racer/Cruiser division. Skipper Laurence Aqui was all smiles at the bar after his day on the water. "The winds and the flat sea favored us in a lighter boat. We've been sailing together all season, and we are sailing much better than we did last year and I feel its because we are jelling together as a team. It's very competitive out there and the person who wins is the person who makes the least mistakes on the race course."
Bomba, a Beneteau First 45, sailed by Karel Boersma, led Performance Cruising A, while it was another Beneteau, Bonne Chance, that took the lead in Performance Cruising B. "It's the old Balaju team on Bonne Chance. Good crew and good crew work," says Puerto Rican skipper, Jose Sanchez, who was grinning from ear to ear as he raced through the regatta village to get cold brew for his loyal crew. Meanwhile, St. Croix's Tony Sanpere, helming his J/36, Cayennita Grande, would have loved to have more crew. "No one was beating me, I was beating myself," says Sanpere, who ended the day in a respectable third. "Spinnaker sets. Jibe sets. We messed them all up. We only had five crew today. Tomorrow, I'm doing foredeck and letting someone else steer."
It was a battle of the nations in the Bareboat A class, with teams representing Puerto Rico, Italy, North America, Europe, the UK, Holland and the BVI, all sponsored by the BVI Tourist Board. "This is a great concept," says Puerto Rico's Pedrin Colon, who skippered Puerto Rico I to a sixth in class. Colon is usually helming a much smaller boat, a Hobie 16. "It's definitely different," he says of the big boat experience. "In a beach cat, you sheet in and you rocket from 1 to 15 knots. Sheet in in a monohull and you go from 1 knot to maybe 1.5 knots. You need to have two different hats on."
Sailing every BVI Spring Regatta since the start, the BVI's Dr. Robin Tattersall, skippering his sleek and beautiful Modified 30 Square Meter, Diva, easily aced the Jib & Main Class with two bullets. "The wind was good today," says Tattersall, of the 8 to 9 knots in the morning building to 12 to 13 knots by afternoon. "Although as a sailor, you always want there to be more breeze." Tattersall and lone crew, the USVI's Pat Bailey, do double duty. Both are ISAF Judges, racing by day and settling protests by night.
Currently leading the pack is Colin Rathbun, the skipper on the IC24 LIME. With a crew that has been sailing together for a couple years, Colin has recently become a force to contend with out on the water. "What a wonderful day. We started out with two bullets. We were really happy. We had one bad race where there was a big shift left and we played the right side. We did not play it very smart." He continued, "I hope we can hold it together. We started out the same way in Rolex and I'm feeling pretty good about it."
St. Croix's Joe San Martin, sailing his Newick 23 Teagull, Piglet, in the Large Multihull Class, says, "It's a good class and good competition." The BVI Spring Regatta boasts the biggest large multihull fleet of any northern Caribbean regatta. Looking ahead to tomorrow, San Martin adds, "Those other two guys better watch out. No more Mr. Nice Guy!"
Tonight, it's food, drink and music by Emphasis before the it's back to the races.
Complete results and photos are available at http://bvispringregatta.org
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seriously dry dry-bag. Throw it in and swim ashore with it |
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