Round Tortola Yacht Race offers up new twist
Four classes, racing, performance cruising, cruising and multihull, will compete in the 37-mile race and experience a course change, giving competitors more tactical choices to make.
The course takes the fleet anti-clockwise around Tortola as usual. The first warning for the start will be at 9:00 A.M. in the Sir Francis Drake Channel off Nanny Cay. The fleet then sails east up the Sir Francis Drake Channel, and takes Beef Island to port, where the course twist has been added. The course change gives crews the tactical decision of sailing between Beef Island and Tortola and Great Camanoe and Guana islands, or heading further out, sailing outside Great Camanoe. Then, as in previous races, the fleet heads to West End where, after a quick wiggle through Soper’s Hole, it will be a beat back to the finish line off Nanny Cay.
“We thought this would spice the race up a bit,” said Eddie Brockbank, Captain of Sailing at the RBVIYC. “It becomes a more tactical race, rather than a drag race for the bigger boats. It will be interesting to see what the crews choose to do and how it affects the results of the race.”
Only boats rounding Great Camanoe and Guana Island to port will be eligible for the Nanny Cay Challenge.
Registration for this year’s event will be held at the Beach Bar at Nanny Cay from 6:00 P.M to 8:00 P.M. on Friday. The prize giving will take place at Nanny Cay’s Beach Bar at 5:00 P.M. on Saturday and include a haul-out and launch, chandlery items, free dockage, free hotel rooms and the Round Tortola trophy for the overall winner.
Last Year, Boomorang, skippered by Doug Stewart, claimed overall victory in the 2015 Peg Legs Round Tortola Race after a long and tricky day on the water, whilst Line honours went to multihull Triple Jack who posted a finish time of 5 hours and 34 minutes to also win the multihull class.
Keith LiGreci and the crew of Girasoli came home in first place in the Cruising Class, the finish time of the race having been extended to accommodate the light conditions.
Nanny Cay Challenge
TP52 SPOOKIE broke the Monohull Nanny Cay Challenge record in the Round Tortola Race at this year’s BVI Spring Regatta.
An elapsed time of 3:08:43, took a whopping 21 minutes off the previous record of 03:29:44, set in March 2013 by Peter Corr’s Aiyana, an Alia 82.
Trimaran Triple Jack holds the outright and multihull Round Tortola Record of 2 hours, 33 minutes and 40 seconds.
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