Sailing in the Caribbean: Party in the trade winds - The Spring Regatta in the British Virgin Islands

Word has got around that the British Virgin Islands (BVIs) are a true sailing paradise. Warm and constant trade winds, fantastic beaches and a multitude of beautiful anchor bays make this archipelago of volcanic origin a cruising paradise. YACHT travel editor Andreas Fritsch summarises it like this: "The BVIs are the ideal area for all sailors who want to gain their first Caribbean experience. The charter bases are large, the boats are in good condition and the distances between the 60 or so islands are so short that the archipelago can be easily explored within a week without stress."

• The British Virgin Islands - the Caribbean bestseller
• The most beautiful harbours and bays in the British Virgin Islands

BVI Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival

Added to this is the relaxed Caribbean lifestyle, which promptly and sustainably dispels everyday stress. For all sailors who want more than just a leisurely cruise from palm island to palm island, there are a number of fun regattas where like-minded people compete on the course. One of the most popular events is the BVI Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival, which took place for the 51st time this year and attracted 61 boats from 13 countries to the Nanny Cay Marina on Tortola. The event on the largest of the British Virgin Islands combines a varied shore programme with several regattas, whereby the sporting standard can be freely selected depending on the class. The fun of racing is the top priority - in keeping with the term "fun regatta".

The BVIs are the ideal area for all sailors who want to gain their first experience of the Caribbean. The islands can be explored in a week without stress"

Every day of the Spring Regatta ends with a party

The actual Spring Regatta lasts three days. For the European sailors who have travelled from afar, two other coastal races have been established beforehand, which are also held in the protected Sir Francis Drake Channel between the islands and are 35 and twelve nautical miles long. Each regatta day ends with a rum and Heineken-fuelled party with live music on the event site in the Nanny Quay Marina.

The Scrub Island Invitational race on day two remains an exception and is considered one of the highlights of the festival. The twelve nautical mile race takes the participants from the five classes Racing, Cruising, Bareboat, Cruising Multihull and Racing Multihull to Scrub Island in the north, where the mooring lines fly over the bollards at the resort of the same name and an exuberant beach and pool party follows for all crews.

The third day is designed as a rest day for good reason and gives the participants the opportunity to return to the starting harbour of Nanny Quay in peace and quiet before the main races off the south coast of Tortola begin the next day. The three following regatta days usually include two races of different lengths, depending on wind strength and direction.

Participation in the Spring Regatta as a bareboat charter or berth charter

This year, the trade winds weakened and only guaranteed excellent conditions with winds of around 20 knots on two of the five race days. During the actual Spring Regatta, leeward trim was more important than sitting on the windward edge, and with temperatures of 35 degrees and more, some of the light wind courses felt like a sauna session.

If you would like to take part in the Spring Regatta, you have two options: Bareboat charter or - particularly interesting for individual bookers - berth charter on a regatta boat from providers such as Sail Racing Academy, Ocean Racers or Sail Race Crew. In order to explore the various options for participation, we tried out the two variants, which are quite easy to organise, and supported the crews of two yachts during the regatta days.

If you fancy gaining some Caribbean sailing experience on your own, you're in good hands with the English Sail Racing Academy. The company manages two yachts, the Harmony 52 "Sao Jorge" from 2007 and the Beneteau First 40.7 "Escapado", which was delivered in 2008 and has clocked up more miles on the salt flats than almost any other production boat. "Our annual regatta calendar is full to bursting, we are out and about 365 days a year," says 41-year-old "Escapado" skipper Germaine Williams in the cockpit of the performance cruiser, whose hard work is clear to see. "Anyone can book in and sail with us, whether it's the Middle Sea Race, ARC, RORC Carribean 600, Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez or relaxed events like the Spring Regatta," says the experienced professional skipper, who has to deal with sailors of very different skill levels and backgrounds on board.

Three years of sailing experience in six weeks

The offer is attractive. Participation in the BVI event costs around 1080 euros (one day of training, five days of regatta). Those who cross the Atlantic with the ARC pay 4800 euros. "Most sailors stay on board for several events and are very interested in gaining as much sailing and regatta experience as possible." This is also the case for 66-year-old Canadian Lance McQueen, who discovered the fun of sailing on a lake "in the middle of the Canadian prairies near Saskatoon" after a career as a teacher and now wants to become a sailing instructor. "I've already been on board for a month and I'm thrilled. Here I get three years of sailing experience in six weeks!"

The biggest challenge is not the cramped conditions on board the fully booked boat, but rather the character of individual crew members, says Lance. Nevertheless, heated discussions or arguments between crew members are rare. "Fortunately, these are exceptions," says Seán Bergin. The 26-year-old Irishman took part in the Atlantic crossing as part of the ARC on board "Escapado" and has been completing an internship as a deckhand on board "Escapado" for two months.

"Board and lodging on board are free for me, and I'm paid in sailing experience. It doesn't get any better than that!" he says enthusiastically. The motley crew is completed by Ben Newman, 22, who recently finished his physics degree at Cambridge and is now taking a break from sailing, and John Gorton, 69, a former consultant from the USA, who is brushing up on his sailing experience on board the performance cruiser. As the oldest person on board, he cuts a fine figure at the winches and doesn't shy away from any sporting challenge.

Heat test at 30 degrees and light wind

The second day of the Spring Regatta on board the Beneteau First 40.7 is a heat test for the sailors who have only recently flown in from the European winter. At well over 30 degrees in the shade and just six to eight knots of wind, every manoeuvre becomes a physical challenge. Due to the wind forecast, only two short ten-nautical-mile races are scheduled for the day, which take place in triangles off Pelican Island, Peter Island and around Flannagan Island.

On the starting line of class B of the performance cruisers, in which "Escapado" is also competing, it is surprisingly close and ambitious with ten boats. Not an inch is spared here and tactical action is taken at a surprisingly high level. Perfectly executed gennaker manoeuvres are crucial on this low-wind day - a shortcoming of our less experienced crew. In particular, hoisting the gennaker with three men takes a lot of energy in the heat. The hardest hit was Seán, who was sorting and preparing the gennaker in the saloon at what felt like 50 degrees Celsius for the next space shot. He emerges in the companionway ten minutes later, head red and drenched in sweat, gasping for fresh air.

Caribbean sailing at its best

The beautiful course around the micro-island of Flannagan delights the crew: Caribbean sailing at its best. After two races and a bravely fought seventh place, it's four nautical miles back to the Nanny Cay Marina, where skipper Germaine swears the crew in for the next day's race. Then it's off to the party with the whole crew at the event's open-air venue.

In particular, hoisting the gennaker with three men takes a lot of energy in the heat. The sweat runs in streams

What sets the fun regatta apart from other race formats is not only the less dogged sporting aspect, but also the socialising on the jetties. Although there is sometimes an ambitious battle for positions during the races, everyone helps everyone else on land, even if it's just with an ice-cold Heineken to sip from the jetty.

One week cruising, one week regatta

For sailors travelling with family or friends, it is possible to take part in a charter ship in the bareboat class. This option has the advantage that the sailing holiday can be split into two parts: a week of the finest cruising along the BVI's tourist highlights and getting to know the charter boat in a relaxed manner plus seven days of a sociable and varied spring regatta programme. There is a large selection of charter providers in the region, with the top dogs around Tortola clearly being the charter professionals from Moorings and Sunsail, who operate their own marina with several hundred monohulls and cats in Road Town, the capital of the British Virgin Islands.

The costs for charter yachts vary depending on size and type. For example, the website lists a Sunsail 41.3 for eight guests and seven nights for around 4970 euros. Those who rent for a week longer pay 10,300 euros. For those who prefer more space, a multihull is recommended. A Mooring 4500L catamaran for ten guests costs 11,546 euros for the same period, while those travelling for seven days longer pay 20,169 euros (prices as of 18 October 2024). If you take part in a fun regatta, you will also need to take out race insurance, which costs around 830 euros. It is worth asking the providers for special offers for the Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival.

The main aim of the Spring Regatta: to have a good time

One crew that has gone down this path is the crew led by skipper Colm Crilly, who are travelling the regatta course with a different crew every day on board their chartered brand new Moorings 46.1 "Sea Esta". "Come on board and have a good time," the captain welcomes his guests in a relaxed manner with a huge bag of ice cubes in his arms, which he has just dragged in from the marina supermarket. Ice cubes are part of the basic equipment on board the "Sea Esta", just like platters of lunch canapés. "We want to have a good time and invite employees and customers every day to experience the Spring Regatta with us," says Crilly, a Brit who emigrated to the BVIs six months ago and joined the BVI supermarket chain Riteway as Director of Operations. As a sponsor of the Spring Regatta, it was a logical step to be at the start with his own boat, he says.

Regatta sailing as a customer and employee incentive was a great idea. We'll be back next year!"

"Regatta sailing as a customer and employee incentive was a great idea from our skipper Colm. We'll be at the start again next year," enthuses Riteway Managing Director Neil Hayes, who is also on board every day. It goes without saying that the participants in the bareboat class cruise to the starting line with less ambition. Most of the twelve charter boat skippers are less experienced in regattas and the focus is on having fun sailing.

Regatta with a large crew and a full fridge

This is also the case on race day three of the Spring Regatta, which doesn't promise any breathtaking racing action with a balmy breeze of around five to ten knots. The twelve mostly heavy charter boats with large crews and full fridges tack back and forth in slow motion in front of the starting line until the gun finally fires. The atmosphere on the boats is relaxed, people wave to each other and cheer each other on during tight manoeuvres. Our "Sea Esta", a voluminous Beneteau Oceanis 46.1, is trimmed for comfort. The self-tacking jib hardly needs any attention, there is no mainsheet traveller or backstays, which leaves plenty of time for chatting and enjoyable sailing.

"Most of our crew members are not sailors, so it's good that two of us can handle the boat comfortably," says Colm Crilly. The race drags on in two force winds, and in the end "Sea Esta" crosses the finish line in fourth place. Race two is cancelled by the race committee due to a calm, leaving the afternoon for swimming and snorkelling, for which skipper Crilly manoeuvres us into the dream bay of Little Harbour on Peter Island and drops the anchor. Thus ends a regatta day of a somewhat different and extremely relaxed kind.

Scenic highlights and Robinson feeling

There are very good reasons why many Spring Regatta participants are loyal repeat bookers and dock at Nanny Quay Marina year after year. The party in the trade winds and the winter in the warmth are well worth the trip! We can only advise sailors who have already toyed with the idea of exploring the BVIs on a charter keel or as a crew on a racer to do so. Scenic highlights such as The Baths on Virgin Gorda, Cooper and Scrub Island are actually even more beautiful than on any postcard. However, our secret favourite remains the micro-island of Fallen Jerusalem, which we had almost entirely to ourselves away from the Spring Regatta and with only two mooring buoys available. Robinson Crusoe sends his regards.

Of course, a stop at the Bitter End Yacht Club is also part of the must-do programme. The resort in the North Sound was completely destroyed by Hurricane Irma and has been attracting visitors for two years in its new splendour - beach bar with hammocks and ice-cold BVI national drink Painkiller included. The cocktail made from rum, pineapple and orange juice, coconut milk and nutmeg simply tastes best with your feet in the sand and under palm trees. Cheers!