Spring Regatta

Caribbean Racing's Alaistair Abrehart provides more details on next year's event in the BVI

Big boats will be docking together and competitors will be partying with sand between their toes at next year's BVI Spring Regatta. Regatta host and presenting sponsor Nanny Cay Marina is dredging the marina and creating a new beachfront for the regatta village for the thirty-second outing of the Caribbean's fastest growing regatta.

Dredging to give the entire marina a controlled depth of 14ft started today and will be completed by mid-January. The deeper access will allow many, if not all, of the big boats expected the ability to dock at the heart of the regatta's shoreside activities.

BVI Spring Regatta chairman, Bob Phillips, expects a very positive impact on the week-long event: "With more depth in the channel, all of our large visiting racing boats can come into Nanny Cay and not need to worry about securing dockage outside the regatta site. This will be much more convenient for everyone and also hopefully encourage some of the big boats that don't always come to our regatta to give us a try."

The sand taken from the dredging will be used to expand the beach between the swimming pool and the breakwater creating an area larger than the existing regatta village site 'further inland'. This additional space will provide an ample 'dinghy park' for the beach cats and enough room for a new and improved regatta village.

Nanny Cay has a two-year plan to develop the premiere event facility in the British Virgin Islands which includes creating permanent booths for vendors, bars and restaurants, running power throughout the area and building a permanent sound stage. Although all the initiatives will not be in place for the 2004 event, competitors will see a marked improvement of the infrastructure over previous years together with the beach frontage.

"I want to make it a sand between your toes kind of venue that is first class and comfortable. We have a master planning architect working on the project and from the preliminary drawings and plans I've seen, I'm confident that we're going to have a venue that is not only the best in the BVI but also the Caribbean," said Cameron McColl, owner of Nanny Cay Marina.

The 2004 Sailing Festival - a low-pressure, three-day warm up for the regatta - starts on Monday, 29 March with a welcome party at Nanny Cay. Three days of destination cruising, racing and Layday fun including the Nation's Challenge Cup, lead up to the main three-day BVI Spring Regatta starting on Friday, 2 April. The expanded seven-day format has turned the traditional three days of racing action into a week-long sailing festival that takes participants throughout the British Virgin Islands. The inaugural Sailing Festival introduced this year saw 38 boats.

The three-day regatta takes place on the south side of Tortola in the Sir Francis Drake Channel on three different courses. The largest ever BVI Spring Regatta concluded this year with 138 boats.

Visitors can fly to the British Virgin Islands through San Juan, Puerto Rico with American Airlines, Caribbean Sun and Cape Air. Air 2000 has direct flights into nearby St Thomas; a scenic 40-minute ferry journey across to Tortola completes the journey. Flights are also available through Antigua and Barbados on Virgin Atlantic and British Airways and BWIA.

The BVI Spring Regatta is jointly owned by the Royal BVI Yacht Club and the BVI Chamber of Commerce and Hotel Association. The 2004 BVI Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival is presented by Nanny Cay Marina. The Moorings is a gold sponsor.