Sailing Regattas British Virgin Islands

T he British Virgin Islands        have their own yachts based in     is the Mecca for sailing        the British Virgin Islands, the    which lends to the              opportunity to compete in the      assemblage of some of the largest     fabulous venue, with steady trade  sailboat racing fleets for            winds and warm waters. The IC 24   sailing regattas in the               class, which is built here on      Caribbean. The diversity of           Tortola, also assembles a large    organized sailboat regattas in        sailing fleet with an              the BVI is one thing that makes       international blend of sailors.    sailing here in the BVI so            This upcoming year will be the     unique. Regattas of all types         twenty-ninth running of the        spanning from a "whatever floats      Sweethearts of the Caribbean       race," where crews bring their        Regatta, that has a diverse fleet  "boats" to the regatta, assemble      of the "oldies but goodies"        them, and set off racing, to high     wooden boats and also gives the    level international match racing      vintage fiberglass yachts of       regattas.                             decades back an opportunity to                                           test their skills against each     The BVI Spring Regatta, held on       other on a more even playing       the waters off the capital island     field.                             of the British Virgin Islands,                                           Tortola, attracts about two           On nearly every weekend during     hundred fifty yachts annually for     the season, which starts in        the event. All types of racing        October and goes through the end   classes are spread out on five        of July, one can find all types    separate racing courses, from         of regattas being held - from      beach catamarans to eighty-foot       groups of junior sailors in small  maxi racers. The charter boat         prams to the larger fully crewed   fleets also have a large racing       keelboats. Several organizations   class, giving those that don't        in the British Virgin Islands      also hold racing clinics              given a chance to sail with and    throughout the year for both          against these well-known sailing   juniors and adults to hone in on      personalities.                     their racing skills. One of the                                          better-known sailing clinics in       Based in Tortola is the Royal      the British Virgin Islands for        British Virgin Islands Yacht Club  teaching sailing and sailboat         that among being the sponsor of    racing for the children of the        the BVI Spring Regatta, hosts a    BVI is the Kids and the Sea           plethora of regattas during the    (KATS) program, which are in          year from dinghy races to          their sixteenth year of               keelboat regattas. Loyal West End  operation.                            Yacht Club holds many "fun" type                                         regattas that attract many of      In the British Virgin Islands,        those racers that love to          there are three main yacht clubs      compete, but also to have loads    that maintain a busy regatta          of fun doing it, with great        calendar during the year. The         parties and prizes for all that    yacht clubs based in Tortola and      sail.                              Virgin Gorda sponsor the majority                                        of the regattas in the BVI. The       If you are one that likes          water sports oriented resort          sailboat racing, whether watching  Bitter End Yacht Club of Virgin       from a spectator boat or actually  Gorda, hosts a variety of             joining in with a crew, the        regattas held during the year on      British Virgin Islands is truly    the Gorda Sound. The Bitter End       one of the finest places to        also sponsors a Pro-Am regatta        participate in a sailing regatta   that attracts some of the world's     in the world. For more             best sailboat racers from the top     information on regattas in the     tier America's Cup teams along        British Virgin Islands, please     with amateur sailors that are         visit                              http://www.escape-bvi.com/Regatta     s.                                 About the Author: Jim Linskey of Escape BVI. For more information on vacation and travel in the British Virgin Islands visit http://www.escape-bvi.com. Published At: www.Isnare.com