Nanny Cay Nations Cup 05
By 9:30am Saturday morning it was it was our turn to race. We all jumped in our boat, raised the sails and were on our way. We sailed out into the Sir Frances Drake Channel and joined the other boats. As the start of the race drew near, you could feel the excitement in the air. The committee boat sounded the three minute warning and each boat jockeyed for position at the start line. I used a timer to count down the seconds so our captain could get the boat into the best position to start the race. The two minute warning sounded, then the one minute, and the boats cut back and fourth scrambling to get a good position. I counted down the final ten seconds and the race started with the final horn. We had a great start and a quick lead.
The races were short, and made up of two laps and the excitement was high as we held onto our lead. We held it right up until the final leg of the race but we could not hold onto first, in the end. Throughout the day we found ourselves battling from the back of the fleet to end up near the front as we crossed the finish line. We did a total of six races on the first day, and thanks to consistent finishes we managed to end the day in second spot overall.
Day two started with high winds at times over 25 knots, which was about double the strength of the prior days’ wind. We watched the first set of races and set out a plan for the day. With high winds and large rolling waves it was very important to work as a team and help each other out. Half way through the day, the race organizers had a meeting to shorten the length of the race due to some damage that the small IC24s were taking. Each race ended with crews stepping of their boats soaking wet, and we were no exception.
High winds made for some challenging races.
We were set to race in the final race with the first place team. We had a narrow hold on second place, but a bad finish in this race could send us into third overall. The race started fast, and we were immediately in bad position. Be battled to move up and after the first lap we were in third place with two boats right on our tail. It was uncertain if we would be able to hold off the other teams at this point and we all were getting worried. In a true battle we barely finished ahead of the nearest boat and secured second place overall. We cheered and congratulated ourselves as we headed back to the marina. My lovely girlfriend Gillian was kind enough to take some photos of our team excepting our trophy and bottle of champagne as well as a few photos of in our boat near shore.
Sean, Elsa, Ollie, Clive and Colin - 2nd Place overall
Sailing is really something you need to participate in to understand the beauty and the challenge of the sport. I am glad I had the opportunity to race and represent the British Virgin Islands. I look forward to being able to sail again as soon as possible.
Both BVI teams
Final Results:
Team BVI, Mike and Robby Hirst - 16 points
Team BVI, Colin Rathbun - 21 points
Team Annapolis, USA - 24 points
Orion Sailing Team, PR, Fraito Lugo - 25 points
Team Netherlands, Frits Bus - 29 points
The Blighters, England, George Lane - 31 points
Team Ireland, Clair Burke - 33 points
Team North England, Andrew Waters - 33 points
Ex-Mero Motu, Puerto Rico - 39 points
Team HIHO USA, Andy Morrell - 40 points
Team Canada, Mark Plaxton - 42 points
Team PUR#1, Puerto Rico, Jose Fullana - 54 points
Team Seattle, USA, Linda Nelson - 55 points
Team Jolly Roger, USA, Thorpe Leeson - 61 points
Thankyou to the person(s) on the committee boat for the photos of the action at sea.
More photos at racinginparadise.com
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