—Continued from previous page The Caribbean Artisan Network also showcased their crafts. Schoolchildren of St. Barths were given tours of the LUCY TULLOCH
JUNE 2013
CARIBBEAN COMPASS
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boats and the Artisanal Village. The youngsters were eager to learn about boats and inter-island trade, particularly enjoying tours of Tradition and Jambalaya, and the chocolate samples! For the three races, winds were light, which made for some tight contests. Summer Cloud won all three races, hotly pursued by Zemi and Savvy. In the evening the Artisanal Village was in full swing with music and dancing. The organizers send a big thank-you to sponsors Club UNESCO de St. Barthelemy, Port de Gustavia, the Office d’Tourism St. Barths, and all friends and supporters. BVI Dinghy Champs and Triple Crown Winner The 2013 BVI Dinghy Championships, organized by the Royal BVI Yacht Club, attracted racers from all the Virgin Islands, plus Antigua and St. Maarten. The May 4th and 5th event saw light and variable winds that never exceeded seven knots. “It was challenging for the racers,” said Principal Race Officer Bill Canfield. “Light wind exacts strong concentration and a lot of focus.” Races run off Nanny Cay Marina for the Optimist Championship, Laser and IC24 fleets averaged 30 minutes. The course involved a long upwind leg followed by a downwind run, then the same upwind leg again before a run to the finish. Race officials reconfigured the course if the wind shifted.
The Optimist Championship Fleet was dominated by 12-year-old Teddy Nicolosi from St. Thomas, who won all but one of eight races. Tortolan Jason Putley took top honours in the Optimist Red Fleet. Rayne Duff, the only sailor to beat Nicolosi in a race, won the White Fleet and scored fourth overall. In the Opti Green Fleet, winner was St. Thomas sailor Victoria Flately. The Laser Radial Class was won by Rhone Findlay of St. Maarten, one of the best junior Laser sailors in the region. The three-boat IC-24 fleet winners were Colin Rathbun and crew. The Optimist portion of the event was the final leg of the VI Triple Crown, which saw sailors combining their scores from the Cruzan Open, the VIODA Championships and the BVI Dinghy Championships. Chris Murphy fended off stiff competition at the BVI event to snag the Crown. Scott McKenzie finished second, only one point behind Chris. Teddy Nicolosi, a dark horse in the series with an eighth-place finish in the Cruzan Open, put himself back in the game with a hard-earned second at the VIODA Championship Regatta and a phenomenal first place finish at the BVI Dinghy Champs. Teddy finished third in the series. Paige Clarke earned the VI Triple Crown trophy for Top Girl, finishing eighth overall out of 27 sailors scored for the series. Chris, Scott, Teddy and Paige all train with Coach Santiago “Tino” Galán in VIODA’s Advanced Opti Racing Program. ARC Europe and Atlantic Cup Depart On May 4th, 37 yachts hailing from 12 different nations departed from Nanny Cay, Tortola with the ARC Europe and Atlantic Cup sailing rallies organized by World Cruising Club. This marked the first time that both the US-bound fleet and the Europe-bound fleet took the same start line. Both fleets sail together to Bermuda, and then continue to their homeports on either side of the Atlantic. Prior to the start, seminars and festivities was held in Nanny Cay Marina, including safety checks, the Farewell Supper and Skippers’ Briefing. The programme provided plenty of opportunities for the crews to create the unique family atmosphere that is the hallmark of World Cruising Club rallies. For this year’s start, the wind was light out of the southwest, an odd occurrence this time of year, thanks to a weak low-pressure system centered just to the northwest of the islands. Mad Fish, a familycrewed Moody S38, and veterans of last year’s Atlantic Rally for Cruisers, led the way across the start
line, followed by Peter von Danzig and La Capitana, both also ARC 2012 veterans. In fact, of the 37 yachts entered in the two events, 32 have participated in previous World Cruising Club rallies. A first for 2013 is the Atlantic Cup’s Old Bahama Channel route option. Seven yachts, all veterans of last year’s Caribbean 1500 rally, took the start with the rest of the fleet but will turn northwest once clear of the BVI and aim for Ft. Lauderdale. The route will see the yachts sailing close to the north shores of Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and Cuba, sheltered from the Atlantic swells by the Turks & Caicos and the Bahamas. The Old Bahama Channel fleet will rendezvous in Ft. Lauderdale for a final farewell dinner before setting off again to their homeports on the US East Coast. For more information visit www.worldcruising.com/ arc_Europe and www.worldcruising.com/atlantic_cup. 21st Int’l Opti Regatta Set for June Dates for the International Optimist Regatta (IOR) and kick-off Sea Star Clinic and Sea Star Team Race are June 17th to 23rd. Nearly 100 eight- to 15-year-old junior sailors are expected to attend this St. Thomas Yacht Club- and Virgin Island Sailing Association-hosted and Caribbean Sailing Association-sanctioned regatta. Sailors already registered represent Puerto Rico, the British Virgin Islands, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Grand Cayman, St. Maarten/St. Martin, Curaçao, Mexico, all three US Virgin Islands and the US mainland. Registration is already closed for the Sea Star Clinic, June 17th through 19th. The Sea Star Team Racing event is scheduled for June 20th; registration closes at 5:00PM on June 19th. The International Optimist Regatta presented by Glacial Energy starts on June 21st, with final registration on the 20th. Shoreside activities include an opening Parade of Nations, a Welcome Party and Caribbean-themed night with fire dancers. The fun culminates with a beachside brunch and Awards Ceremony on June 23rd. Trophies will be awarded to the top five sailors in each fleet and top three overall. The Sea Star Perpetual Trophy will be inscribed with the names of the sailors on the winning racing team. This year’s event will follow an eco-friendly theme. Sailors will be urged to recycle all plastic water bottles, use the reusable water bottle in the goodie bag throughout the regatta, keep all lunch bags and wrapping out of the water, pick up any trash on shore, and accept only drinks without straws. For more information visit www.styc.net.