Nanny Cay Nations Cup 05
It was roughly 3:25pm on Friday when I got the call. Team British Virgin Islands needed another person to complete their five person sailing team, and I was invited- even though I’d never sailed in my life. I got to the dock at 4:00pm and after a few words of advice, we launched our IC24. We headed out into the Sir Francis Drake channel and my sailing lesson began. We had only a couple of hours to practice and then first thing on Saturday morning we would be competing in the first annual Nanny Cay Nations Cup.
Having never been part of a sailing team, I was very excited to be asked to help represent my birthplace as one of two BVI teams. Luckily my job was simple and any real knowledge of sailing was not necessary. My job was to be extra weight, and after a quick weigh-in after our practice I was barely even that. I was certain my weight was between 150 and 155 pounds, but the scales told a different story. I was an abysmal 139 pounds- 15 pounds lighter then I was when I arrived in the BVI less than three months ago.
The flag of the British Virgin Islands
Our team, led by captain Colin Rathbun, arrived early Saturday to talk strategy. Consistency is key in sailing, I was told, and to win this event you did not need to place first every race, you just had to make sure you never placed last.
The boats we raced where IC24s, which are modified J24s and are the fastest growing one-design class in the Caribbean with fleets in the US and British Virgin Islands. In total there were 14 teams representing seven countries. Age and skill levels varied from boat to boat, some crews had been together for more then ten years, but in a quick race like this, anything could happen. The regatta was open to teams of up to five people holding the same passport and weighing a total of between 700 and 850 pounds. We came in around 825 pounds and our youngest team member was 13 years old and was responsible for the jib.
One of the great things about this race is that teams did not have to bring their own boats, which meant there were representatives from all around the world. Half of the teams raced in two races at a time, while the other teams watched from shore creating a lively beach front atmosphere. Teams rotated to new boats to make sure the event was fair for everyone.
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