All At Sea has just published an interesting article on how Caribbean regattas have evolved over the years from round-the-island racing to course racing and back to round-island racing.
These evolutions really follow how the rest of the world is developing boats and how they are raced. We moved with the times. In the early 2000s, windward-leeward course racing was what everyone wanted and so we obliged with ‘sausages and triangles’ in the Sir Francis Drake Channel.
How has the BVI Spring Regatta evolved over time?
Discover the evolution of the BVI Spring Regatta—from channel course racing to island distance courses—and how Caribbean yacht racing continues to adapt.
Caribbean Ocean Racing Triangle
This was also the heyday of the Caribbean Ocean Racing Triangle (CORT) which saw small predominantly Caribbean-based boats battling it out for bragging rights at the St. Croix International Regatta, Puerto Rico Heineken Regatta and the BVI Spring Regatta.
CORT saw a number of now historic Caribbean boats racing year after year in the first series to join these regattas together: The racing fleet doing this popular circuit included: Lost Horizon II, Olson 30, owned/skippered by Jamie Dobbs; Magnificent 7, J/27, owned/skippered by John Foster; Rushin’ Rowlette, Olson 30, owned/skippered by Kevin Rowlette; Rhumb Squall, Antrim 27; Sun Bum II, J/80, owned/skippered by Angel Ayala; Cold Beer, Tartan 10, owned/skippered by John Schultheiss; Pipe Dream, Sirena 38, owned/skippered by Peter Haycraft.
The often gruelling deliveries from island to island were enough destination sailing for the skippers and crew. Sheltered course racing was what they wanted at the regattas.
CORT Lives On…
CORT lives on through the Caribbean Sailing Association (CSA) Traveller’s Trophy. The purpose of the Trophy is to award Effort (in travelling to away regattas) and Excellence (doing well) in Caribbean events. To qualify, a boat must do a minimum of three regattas of which at least one must be in an away region and at least one major event.
The CSA Traveller’s Trophy has been awarded for more than 20 years and was based loosely on the old Caribbean Ocean Racing Triangle. [Learn more about the CSA Traveller’s Trophy]
The Rise Of Round Island and Destination Racing
However, that didn’t suit everybody, particularly the bareboat, and non-spinnaker cruising yachts, so in 2003 we introduced the Sailing Festival to add variety and destination island racing to the event without impacting the main three days of the Spring Regatta. This saw the addition of the ever-popular Round Tortola Race, elevated from an annual club regatta, and the Scrub Island Invitational race.
But then as the boats evolved and tastes changed, once again we introduced more round-the-island racing to the main event. The BVI is unique. We have so many islands to race off just to the south of Tortola, and the Sir Francis Drake Channel allows us to set windward/leeward courses in sheltered water. Add to this two separate courses and race management teams, we are able to split the fleets and divisions and really adjust the racing for the conditions and the boats. The large ocean-going multihulls may be sent round Virgin Gorda, the bareboat fleet around Peter Island, and then a visiting fleet of VX Ones or IC24s may just spend three days doing short, sharp course racing in the Channel off Regatta host Nanny Cay.
In the All At Sea article, Carol Bareuther wrote: “Looking ahead, few, if any, organizers frame the discussion as a choice between distance racing and round-the-buoys racing. The reality is layered. Smaller one-designs and youth fleets thrive on short courses that reward precision and repetition. Larger offshore-capable yachts and modern multihulls are built to sustain speed over hours, not minutes. As Chris Haycraft, chairman of the BVI Spring Regatta, puts it, “You can’t put a MOD70 on a sport-boat course and expect magic.”
Read the All At Sea article to see how major Caribbean regattas like Antigua Sailing Week and St. Maarten’s Heineken Regatta have evolved, and how new events like the Caribbean 600, Caribbean Multihull Challenge, and Antigua Racing Cup have responded to the ever-changing needs of the racing yacht owner.
