The beauty of racing in and around the BVI is that the plethora of stunning islands offer natural marks and turning points which ease the load on the race committee when course changes are required. Lighter than forecasted winds for the majority of the day prompted the BVI Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival Race Committee to modify courses for the fleet setting out this morning on the Round Tortola Race for the Nanny Cay Cup.
All starts and finishes were off Nanny Cay; CSA Multihull kept to the traditional Round Tortola course, while Cruising Multihull and Bareboat classes sailed to Dead Chest, Peter Island, and Flanagan Island, and the Non-Spinnaker / Performance Cruising boats sailed to Dead Chest and Little Thatch.
The grand prize for the day – the Nanny Cay Cup – was awarded to both the J121 Apollo owned and helmed by Don Nicholson racing in the CSA Racing Spinnaker (monohull) class, and to local Tortola sailor Barney Crook who sailed his Corsair 31-1D Airgasm to first place in CSA Sport Multihull.
Following their Scrub Island win, the team on Apollo relished the tight competition with the top three in their class today. On corrected time, Apollo finished just two minutes and nine seconds ahead of Panacea X, while the Club Swan 42 Lady M secured third position. Nicholson’s J121 missed last year’s BVI Spring Regatta due to a previous collision. After extensive repairs and modifications, the crew is getting accustomed to the new setup which has improved performance during the race.
“The modifications really paid off for us, and we had a great time out there,” Nicholson said. He described the phenomenal conditions and the exhilarating match race they had with Lady M to the finish.
In the CSA Non-Spinnaker / Performance Cruising class, the local crew on Libertas, a Beneteau First 40, took first while Harry Bowerman achieved a remarkable second on a chartered IC24 with his family, all first-time sailing together.
Among the Cruising Multihulls, the Leopard 50 La Novia clinched the top spot, while in the Bareboat fleet, Topaz led a fiercely competitive race, finishing just ahead of Mistral and Stingray.
Despite equipment failures affecting some competitors like Jim Gibson on his foiling trimaran Thunder & Lighting, who had to retire, the excitement and camaraderie among sailors remain high. The Round Tortola has undoubtedly become a classic BVI race cherished by local sailors.
Looking ahead, the 53rd BVI Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival begins in earnest with more racing yet to come.
For more information and to follow the regatta, March 23 to 29, 2026, please go to: https://bvispringregatta.org/.
Michelle Slade/BVISR
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