Don’t be mistaken by Bernie Evan-Wong’s soft spoken and unassuming manner; this sailboat racer from Antigua has had many racing adventures in his lifetime on a lively range of boats, more so than most. Growing up sailing as a young kid in British Guyana (now Guyana) as the youngest of six, Evan-Wong learned to sail with his dad in Snipe dinghies he built himself on the Demerara River, which is very tidal, muddy and with just a few sharks, he recalls good-humouredly. As it turned out, competitive yacht racing was in his blood: his dad and two sisters represented Guyana at the 1957 Pan American Games in the Snipe class.
When he was about 8 years old, his family moved to the UK where Evan-Wong found the cold difficult to deal with; sailing was side-lined for a while and instead he delved into competitive indoor swimming. He later sailed dinghies on British lakes and reservoirs, and occasionally on the UK’s south coast but it wasn’t until he moved to Trinidad after studying in Manchester to become a dentist that he got back into racing.
“I went to Trinidad for Carnival and stayed 8 years,” Evan-Wong smiles. “There I raced dinghies like the Laser, Sunfish, and the GP14. I also started crewing on keel boats racing in the Gulf of Paria, a shallow inland sea located between the island of Trinidad and the east coast of Venezuela although the breeze was often very light there.”
He also started racing at regional regattas in Grenada, Petit St Vincent, and Antigua Sailing Week, initially crewing for others in cruiser racer types before he bought Huey Too, a Cal 40, in 1982, which he lived on for several years when he moved to Antigua in 1984.
“I bought Huey Too from Dougie Myers who was a true sailing enthusiast and I still own her,” Evan-Wong notes. “I’ve won more silverware with that boat than you can imagine!”
Evan-Wong has also owned and raced other race boats including Solan Goose, a 30ft Humphries design which he raced in St Thomas and the BVI in the late 80s; he recalls that back then BVI Spring Regatta (BVISR) offered a fourth-place prize which he won. After Solan Goose he raced Deputy, an Evelyn 32, a Beneteau 8M, a Melges 24 called Huey, and High Tension, his Mumm 36 which he will race this coming season, and his most fun boat, the RP37 carbon beast Taz.
Among the first lessons Evan-Wong learned about putting a team together, finding the right boat to race, and doing well on the racecourse was that racing must always be fun.
“The key word is FUN! If you are not having fun it’s not for you,” he says. “My goals in racing are to 1) have fun, 2) be safe and come home in one piece, and 3) win races if you can as that’s more fun! The ideal dream team are 8-9 people that are like your boat family who you get on with socially really well, you look out for each other, and each one has something to offer to the team. Many times, you have to live in cramped wet uncomfortable conditions for long periods so a crew with the right social disposition is important. It only takes one crew that is a bad fit to spoil the whole vibe. As a skipper you need to earn respect and build a reputation for being a good leader yet a tolerant one; a quiet boat is a fast boat.”
Over the years Evan-Wong has managed to curate a good core crew that he trusts with his life. This enables him to then take on newcomers and give them a chance to either fit in or, in rare cases, not.
“I am happy to teach the crew the sailing skills as we go along,” he explains. “We don’t practice much, mostly when we are racing and the odd day of two before big events.”
He first raced BVI Spring Regatta in 1986 and while he’s unsure how many times he’s competed, the 200-mile beat home to Antigua often makes him think twice about returning, he jokes, nonetheless he wouldn’t miss it and he’s already signed up for the 2026 edition.
“Over the years we’ve had a few good podium results but it’s always been a lot of fun and we keep coming back for more!” Evan-Wong notes. “I love the venue with the great regatta village and great showers at Nanny Cay marina, and of course, the racing round islands and dealing with wind shadows, currents and all the tactical challenges.”
Evan-Wong has a few salient tips for first timers racing BVISR including the importance of booking dock space early. About the racecourse he offers the following advice:
“If you’re not leading in a race, follow the more experienced racers as there is a lot of local knowledge needed to do well in the BVI!”
