 IC24's racing at the 1st Annual Escape BVI Regatta Smugglers Cove, Tortola BVI The 1st Annual Escape BVI Regatta held May 13, 2006 at Smugglers Cove, Tortola was greeted with sunny skies and light winds. Torrential flooding rains and thunderstorms plagued the Territory just days before the event making many wonder if conditions would be too extreme to have the Regatta go on, but nothing could hold the avid sailors back! Four classes competed, the IC 24 one design, Wind Surfer, Laser, and Dinghies with handicap ratings.
The IC 24's sailed two races with a course starting just out in front of Smugglers Cove beach, taking them around Sandy Cay off the East end of Jost Van Dyke, back over to a buoy off Gun Point and finishing at Smugglers Cove.
 Laser's racing at the 1st Annual Escape BVI Regatta
The Windsurfer, Laser and Dinghy classes sailed three races around the buoys triangle course set by Kuralu Charters outside the reef at Smugglers Cove with swirling, shifty winds making the sailing very challenging.
After the racing was completed for the afternoon, the racers were refreshed with Highland Spring Natural Mineral Water, enjoyed live music and tropical drinks at the Smugglers Cove Beach Bar, and a great barbeque offered up by the Jolly Roger Restaurant.
Prize giving was held during lunch, with trophies being given to first and second place finishers of each class.
 Catching some wind at the 1st Annual Escape BVI Regatta
A tie for first place in the IC 24 class needed to be broken, and the Race Committee made a decision that the two teams would have a tug-of-war at the waters edge to settle the tie. Due to some sore knees and backs on the Intact crew, the tug-of-war was canceled, so the decision was made to award the first place trophy to CONCH-QUERER, going by the weight of their crew! The beautiful trophies were picture frames provided by Images Custom Framing, with Yacht Shots photos of the recipients racing, being set into the frames.
 Jim Linskey presents Andrew Waters 1st place for IC 24 class
Special awards presented by Columbian Emeralds International were given to two junior sailors for their great efforts sailing in the adverse wind conditions. Justin Penn was awarded a sailing watch and Dontai Hodge was the recipient of a Swiss Army backpack.
A great crowd of families, swimmers, sunbathers and onlookers gathered on the beach to watch the racing and partake in the shore-side festivities, making the Escape BVI Regatta the largest event ever held at Smugglers Cove, Tortolas number one beach! The Cove was teeming with boats throughout the day taking in the beautiful beach and crystal-clear water.  Lisa Gray of Images Custom Framing presents 3rd place award for the Laser Class to DonTae Hodge  Genny Kung of Columbian Emeralds and Jim Linskey of Escape BVI present a special award
Escape BVI Regatta Race Results:IC 24:1st Andrew Waters 2nd Mark Plaxton 3rd Gary Turpin 4th KATS Sailing Laser:1st Chris Watters 2nd Theo Stoddard 3rd DonTae Hodge 4th Kadeem Romney 5th Jamal Wintz Wind Surfer:1st Owen Waters Dinghy:1st Justin Penn 2nd Elsa Myers 3rd Shavo Mercer 4th Stefon Smith
Congratulations to all of the competitors for their participation in the Regatta. We look forward to seeing you next year at Smugglers Cove and other Regattas hosted by Escape BVI in the future! Many, many thanks go out to the sponsors and participating organizations that pulled together as a community to make the 1st Annual Escape BVI Regatta such a great success:
| Sponsors | Participating Organizations | Escape BVI Smugglers Cove Beach Bar All at Sea Publications Highland Spring Natural Mineral Water Jolly Roger Restaurant and Bar Columbian Emeralds International Images Custom Framing Yacht Shots Kuralu Charters VI Shipwrights | KATS Sailing IC 24 Class BVI Watersports Center Loyal West End Yacht Club Island Surf and Sail Royal BVI Yacht Club Kuralu Charters |
View more photos of the 1st Annual Escape BVI Regatta in our Photo Gallery. |