Local boats win out

Alaistair Abrehart reports on the inaugural Nanny Cay Nations Cup in Tortola, BVI

14 teams representing seven countries and comprising 70 sailors competed in the inaugural Nanny Cay Nations Cup held in the British Virgin Islands this weekend (November 12/13). Crews rotated through seven one-design IC24s in 10 flights giving a total of 18 races for the weekend with each team competing in nine races.

Winning six of their nine races, the BVI's Mike and Robby Hirst won the event with 16 points. Colin Rathbun, also representing the BVI, was second (21 points) and Scott Nixon from Annapolis, USA, was third (24 points). Despite their six bullets, the Hirst brothers went into the last race with only a three-point lead over Rathbun; a bad race could have led to Rathbun, or even Nixon, taking top honours for this inaugural regatta.

"The competition was good but I think we got a few lucky breaks in the beginning [with the draw]," said Mike Hirst skipper of the winning Team BVI. "We didn't get to race the Annapolis boys as much as we would have liked. We were hoping to sail against them a little more and see what happened. We sailed against them in the last race, had a little bit of a weight advantage in the big breeze and ground them down. Consistency was the key as it is with every regatta."

First day of racing saw a moderate 12 knot breeze and gentle seas in the Sir Francis Drake Channel and the race committee got 12 races under their belts. Second day, winds kicked in at 25 knots and five-foot rolling seas for the remaining eight races. Minor damage to boats resulted in longer turnarounds and eroded into race time forcing the race committee to shorten the last two flights to one race each instead of two.

The two-day event saw some upset with teams headed by IC24 owners - such as Canada and North England - buried in the pack by less experienced IC24 skippers including Team Ireland skippered by Christian Kavanagh, Team Netherland skippered by the accomplished Melges 24 sailor Frits Bus and The Blighters skippered by George Lane. Scott Nixon, J/22 North American champion, managed to hold Puerto Rico's top sailor, Fraito Lugo from the third place slot by a scant one point. Team HIHO USA skippered by Andy Morrell also showed unexpected form but a disqualification from one race and a bad last race produced a final score that did not fully reflect the team's solid performance on the water.

Nixon was impressed by the competition: "It was unbelievable. It was the best venue I've ever been to all over the world," he stated. "This is just unbelievable - the perfect beach, the perfect breeze, great boats, great people - it was just awesome. We've had a great time."

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