New Format & Dates For BVI Regatta

The organizers of the annual BVI Sailing Regatta & Sailing Festival hosted by Nanny Cay have announced changes to both the format and the dates for 2013.  First, the dates have been changed to March 25-31, so mark your calendars.

Second, the Festival program will now include a race around Tortola for the Nanny Cay Cup, a race to Norman Island with beach time planned at Pirates Bar in The Bight, and then a fun day on and off the water at Nanny Cay, followed by the traditional Mt. Gay Rum Welcome Party for the Regatta. 

More than 125 yachts are expected to compete, and there are two classes just for bareboat charters.  The regatta website has a long list of charter companies providing bareboats suitable for racing, but get your reservations in early!

And, if you can beat the 4hr 15min ‘round Tortola record for monohulls, you’ll win a jeroboam of champagne, dinner for 15 at Peg Legs Restaurant, and pretty cool bragging rights.

The regatta website is www.bvispringregatta.org  

Sunsail Goes Racing On San Francisco Bay!

We mentioned earlier that Sunsail was opening a base in Sausalito on San Francisco Bay, and the first eight of the Sunsail First 40s have just arrived. 

What is particularly appealing about these Beneteau-built 40s is that they are Farr-designed, performance-oriented yachts that are fully equipped with spinnaker gear and triple-spreader rigs so that local sailors can charter them for the many regattas on San Francisco Bay. 

The First 40, which has been adapted to Sunsail specifications, has built an envious record for a production boat: winner of the 2010 Rolex Sydney-Hobart race, winner of Cowes Week, winner of Spi Ouest France, and winner of the Voiles de Saint-Tropez.  If you don’t take home silverware with this Sunsail charter, well, it’s not the boat’s fault.

The Sunsail First 40 is a three-cabin layout with a generous sail plan and niceties such as a chartplotter, autopilot and a heated interior that is perfect for Bay sailing.

Details from Sunsail, www.sunsail.com/sanfrancisco or 800-797-5907.

BVI Spring Regatta Date Change

In case you’re thinking about heading to the BVIs for one of the best regattas for bareboat charter sailors, then take note that the Caribbean Sailing Assn (CSA) has changed the dates to a week earlier than normal.  The dates for the 2013 Spring Regatta and Sailing Festival will be from March 25^th to the 31^st.

The BVI Spring Regatta, now 40 years old, not only has classes just for bareboat charter boats, but works with local charter companies to encourage racing packages for the regatta.  This year, the regatta attracted over 700 sailors from 13 different countries aboard 125 yachts, who enjoyed seven days of racing and partying around the BVIs. 

Charter companies whose boats won in the 2012 regatta include MarineMax Vacations, The Moorings, Sunsail, Rob Swain Sailing School, and BVI Yacht Charters.  Click on the company names for details of their racing packages.

Race information is available at www.bvispringregatta.org.

Sunsail Opens In San Francisco!

Sunsail has opened its first U.S. West Coast charter base on San Francisco Bay, with a fleet of brand-new matched Sunsail First 40s.  In addition to bareboat vacations, the boats can be used for racing in the many events in the bay area and they are also available for corporate hospitality, team building and incentive programs. Sunsail will also have an ASA-approved sailing school. 

The charter base will be at Sausalito Yacht Harbor, just across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco.  This is a central location for sailing the bay or for exploring the wine country of nearby Napa Valley.  The boats can also be taken into the Sacramento Delta, which is the warm playground for San Francisco sailors.  The new base will open in June.

The First 40s are built by Beneteau and designed by Farr Yacht Design as performance racers, and they took first and second overall in the 2009 Sydney-Hobart Race.  Each has a 3-cabin/1-head layout and a spacious cockpit with large wheel.  For racing, the boats will be available with asymmetrical spinnakers and bowsprits as well as amenities such as chartplotters, autopilots, electric heads and sure-to-be-appreciated heating.

Bareboat Racing

"Bareboat" and "Racing" don't seem like terms that go together, but the Spring Regatta is a tradition in the British Virgin Islands, and the most recent edition, which ran March 30-April 1, had a strong turnout in the two Bareboat classes.

These classes are for bareboats from local charter companies, racing without spinnakers, and the only real concession to “performance” is that they all remove or furl the Bimini tops to minimize the windage.  Other than that, these are everyday charter boats.

Which isn’t to say that the racing is weak by any means.  Winning Bareboat 2 was Burt Keenan and Neil Harvey: Keenan is a long-time competitor and Southern Ocean Racing Circuit winner aboard his Acadia, Harvey an equally talented racer employed by Harken.  Pushing them hard was Bill Petersen, a sailmaker and former America’s Cup sailor. 

If you’re considering a bareboat race charter for next year, taking a look at what won this year isn’t a bad idea.  Clearly the highest placing yachts were the two Dufours from MarineMax Vacations, with Keenan’s 433 and Petersen’s 413 easily taking first and second in Bareboat 2.

In Bareboat 1, the first five places went to a Beneteau Oceanis 50 (Moorings), Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 44i (Sunsail), Beneteau Oceanis 50f (Moorings), Beneteau Oceanis 473 (BVI Yacht Charters) and another Beneteau Oceanis 473 (Rob Swain Sailing School).

Finishing behind the Dufours in Bareboat 2 were a Beneteau Oceanis 361 (Rob Swain School), a Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 409 (Sunsail) and a Beneteau Oceanis 40 (Moorings). 

Now’s the time to start thinking about the BVI Spring Regatta for next year.  Contact the charter companies to see what packages they are offering.