7 Gunboats rally at the 2019 BVI Spring Regatta

Seven Gunboats gathered for the BVI Spring Regatta this year to take on all of the racing and festivities that came their way – with 6 boats racing and the 7th joining for the rally! This marked our 3rd annual gathering here at Nanny Cay, where the Gunboat dock becomes a close-knit community within a close-knit community.

Around the Island

The best breeze of the event came on Tuesday for the ’round Tortola race! Gunboat 62 MACH SCHNELL finished with an elapsed time of 0:02:00:39, beating Triple Jack’s 2015 race record around Tortola, and taking first place in the multihull class! This is especially impressive for a new crew and owner to accomplish after recently purchasing the boat!

Day 1 – Mount Gay Race Day

Racing in light 8-12 kt winds may seem relatively slow but lacked nothing in strategy, execution and close results – and scenery. The race day sent the fleet looping around Salt, Cooper and Ginger Islands.

Day 2 – Layday, Racing Cancelled

No wind no racing. No problem for a fleet that is ready to flip the switch into cruising mode! Watersports, quiet anchorages, and not-so-quiet anchorages. The fleet ventured to check out some spots that make the BVI a world-class cruising destination. And what a sight to see 5 of the carbon-cruising-club tucked up in Great Harbour near Willy-T’s!

Wakeboarding behind Gunboats, diving off trampolines, swimming, snorkeling, napping, rafting up…it was all on the table.

To top off the day, the multihull fleet reconvened at our 3rd annual sunset beach party at Peg Legs Beach Bar and Grill at Nanny Cay, with live music by Oren Davis, food and festivities into the night.

Day 3 – Final Race Day

Lighter than Day 1 with 6-9 knots of wind for the final two races, the teams faced challenging tactical conditions with all they had, and some Gunboat humor. Navigators took on additional roles like tacking the fruit bowl from side to side, and crews had plenty of quality time for long chats while piled forward on the trampoline “hiking”. Nevertheless, the boats are still relatively fast and technical in any conditions, and the teams left it all out there.

Congratulation to Gunboat 60 FLOW for winning the Multihull Class and Gunboat 60 ARETHUSA for the 2019 Gunboat fleet trophy!