The Moorings, yacht charter specialists, proudly opened the new Moorings Village at the end of January as part of their $15 million expansion of their flagship base in Road Town, Tortola in the BVI. Their commitment to the environment and preserving the cruising grounds they operate in show extensively with this expansion. From a desalination plant, which provides 60,000 gallons of water daily, to a laundry operation that recycles treated water to save 12,000 gallons on a daily basis and a pump-assisted flow through breakwater in the new marina that can circulate over 50 million gallons of water weekly. They have already greatly improved water quality in the Road Town harbor.

The new Moorings Village is nothing short of a luxurious treat. The staff greets you and takes your bags directly to your yacht while you're welcomed in the reception area with a tasty island drink. Venture into the plaza where you will be delighted to find island pastries, ice cream and gourmet coffee. A full service spa for the latest relaxing treatments, business center and free WI-FI internet access rounds out your vacation experience.

For more information see www.moorings.com

The Cruising Rally Association has just announced that Nanny Cay Resort and Marina, BVI's flagship marina, will be the Caribbean Host Marina for its sailing events. Cruising Rally Association's first event to be hosted by Nanny Cay will be the Atlantic Cup Rally on May 3, 2009. The rally will be departing from the Nanny Cay Marina on Tortola, and finishing in Bermuda 4-5 days later. The Atlantic Cup Rally is the companion to November's Caribbean 1500. Pre-start festivities and skipper briefings will begin on May 1 at Nanny Cay.

In response to becoming the Caribbean Host Marina for the Cruising Rally Association, Miles Sutherland-Pilch, general manager of Nanny Cay said, "We are very pleased to be part of the Cruising Rally Association events. The fact that we are attracting high quality events shows that we are creating a world-class marina here in the British Virgin Islands. We're extremely well suited to attend to the needs of the skippers, crew and guests associated with these events."

"Nanny Cay, with its marina, hotel and boatyard offers a broad range of facilities, services and amenities that will be popular with our Atlantic Cup and Caribbean 1500 participants. This will be the 20th year of the Caribbean 1500 and we believe that Nanny Cay will be a particularly fine place to celebrate," said Steve Black.

Located between Road Town and West End on Tortola, Nanny Cay Resort and Marina is a fully equipped marina and boat repair facility which has berths for 180 motor cruisers and yachts and two boatlifts of 50 and 70 tons capacity. Also included is a 40-room hotel and new waterfront townhouses for purchase and rental, two restaurants, a chandlery, a small supermarket, shops and boutiques, a dive shop, a water sports center, free WiFi service, a gym and spa.

For full information on future Cruising Rally Association events, visit www.carib1500.com.

VI Raceweek, three events back to back, the St. Thomas International Rolex Regatta, BVI Sailing Festival, and BVI Spring Regatta, are being held March 27 - April 5, 2009 all within twelve miles of each other in the Caribbean. Enticing sailors from all over the world to join in to the mix of racing and partying in the tropics. Adding to the temptation are the prizes: for winning the IRC division - a week's holiday on St. Thomas at the Frenchman's Cove Resort, and the CSA division - an all inclusive week's stay at the Bitter End Yacht Club in the British Virgin Islands.

The St. Thomas International Rolex Regatta kicks off VI Raceweek beginning Friday, March 27 through Sunday, March 29. The International Rolex Regatta is one of the most popular of several Caribbean sailing events which mixes long course sailing with windward/leeward formats.

On Monday, March 30, the BVI Sailing Festival begins at the Nanny Cay Marina in the British Virgin Islands. More relaxed and laid-back than the other two regattas, boats race to Bitter End for the Bitter End Cup and entertainment including cocktail parties, limbo contests and layday activities. The Sailing Festival ends on Thursday with the Nanny Cay Cup which takes the racers back from Bitter End to Nanny Cay.

The BVI Spring Regatta kicks off on Friday, April 3 and caters to a large spectrum of sailing enthusiasts. Choices abound in this regatta from racing IC 24s (modified J24s), Lasers and Beach Cats to traditional keel boat racers.

Boats registered in the St. Thomas International Rolex Regatta and the BVI Spring Regatta and Sailing Festival are automatically registered for VI Raceweek.

For more information go to VI Raceweek, St. Thomas International Rolex Regatta and the BVI Spring Regatta and Sailing Festival.

Premier Ralph O'Neal, OBE announced on Tuesday that the Cabinet has decided to defer indefinitely the implementation of harbor fees for vessels entering or remaining in territorial waters or those using BVI Ports Authority facilities. The new fee structure would have taken effect on July 1st but was subsequently deferred until July 15th. The new fees would have made the BVI one of the most expensive sailing destinations in the world.

"It must be remembered that the yachting industry contributes to the economy of the Territory and the yachtsmen enjoy our waters from Anegada to Jost Van Dyke," the Premier stated. In the prepared statement issued on Tuesday, he added that "Cabinet has therefore decided that implementation of the fee structure should be deferred indefinitely."

The decision was taken to defer the introduction of fees in an attempt to protect the Territory's competitive edge as a yachting destination.

BBQ at the Loose Mongoose, Beef Island BVI

The Dark and Stormy race from Trellis Bay, Beef Island to Anegada got off to a record breaking start with the entries totaling thirty-two yachts. The great pre-race BBQ at the Loose Mongoose on the evening of March 9th saw people lined up at the Loyal West End Yacht Club's registration table with a skipper's meeting held the next morning of race day. Commodore and race chairman Martin Van Houten was ecstatic with the turnout saying, "The regatta has steadily grown over the years, and we have six entries more this year than last year"! Martin handed out the course charts and made sure that everyone was well aware that the Dogs were part of the course and "all the little doggy bits" were to be taken to port before cracking off for the race to the finish at the entrance to Neptune's Treasure, in Anegada.

On a reach to Anegada
Dark And Stormy Regatta 2007

I had the pleasure of racing on the catamaran Kuralu who has made every Dark and Stormy Race since its inception ten years ago. Along with a crew of eleven, plus two rather large dogs, we were set to race once again with Captain Robin Pinfold at the helm who enjoys his racing, but also likes to have fun and have a good time! Race day was perfect with winds coming out of the east at about 15 to 18 knots with a slight chop. The fleet had been split into half to accommodate the boats on the starting line with the under forty footers taking off first and the larger boats to follow five minutes later. We found that short tacking around Scrub Island and all the Dogs paid off for us, keeping out of the current in Drakes channel as best we could. The wind lightened up to about two knots trying to get around the last Dog, as there was a shift to the south that filled in nicely once getting past Seal Dog. After the rounding, the breeze piped up again and made for a great close reach to the finish.

Relaxing at the Beach
Cows Wreck Country Club, Anegada

Once ashore at Neptune's Treasure, all were warmly greeted by the Soares family who were the hosts and one of the sponsors for this great race. Bars were set up with snacks served up, not to mention the smoked fish dip provided by Marty of the yacht Ruffian who was one of the early pioneers of the race. The setting sun brought the band out who played well into the night and could be heard all throughout the anchorage.

Sunday morning came quickly with a big day ahead of the racers with the hotly contested horseshoe tournament, sand castle building contest for the kids, and the ever-popular dinghy race held in the shallows of the anchorage. From there, the crowd split up, some going to the Big Banana for a late lunch at Loblolly Bay, and then filtered down to Cow Wreck Beach to finish off a glorious afternoon swimming in the tranquil waters.

Preparing for Dinner
Neptunes Treasure, Anegada

Once back at the race headquarters, dinner was served with lobster and all of the fresh fish that the Soares family takes pride in catching and serving. Another note that day was the meeting of three old friends that had molded businesses back in the early sixties in the BVI. Vern Soares, Foxy from Jost Van Dyke, and Tony Snell from the Last Resort in Trellis Bay sat for hours and chatted about the old days and the not so distant past.

The return race on Monday was slated to have winds out of the northeast but alas; they never materialized, causing the race committee to abandon the race about two hours after the start. The deadline for the finish at five o'clock wasn't going to be made by anyone even with a shortened course at Sandy Cay. So off it was to the awards at the Jolly Roger where there were of course more festivities with food and live music. Many racers that have done the Dark and Stormy Race over the years applauded the organizers and sponsors for such a well-organized and fun event. See you next year!

Results
First – Rainbow Maker U.S.V.I.
Second - Hotel California BVI
Third – Apsara
Fourth – Wildfire BVI
Fifth – Moab BVI

BVI Spring Regatta and Sailing Festival

The BVI Spring Regatta and Sailing Festival kicks off on the evening of March 26th with the registration for the regatta at the Nanny Cay Marina. The following day is the ever-favorite Sailing Festival up to the Bitter End Yacht Club in Gorda Sound, Virgin Gorda.
 
March 27th is the lay day beach fun at Bitter End Yacht Club. Compete in the morning and afternoon dinghy regattas in the Laser and Hobie Wave fleets, and represent your country in the fifth-annual Nations' Challenge Cup.  Water sports activities include snorkel trips, a windsurfing rally, and an excursion to Anegada. Those that just want to lay back for the day; you will be able to relax on Bitter End's beaches or by the pool. Awards for dinghy regattas and Nations' Challenge Cup will be presented in the evening with a cookout and party at the Quarterdeck Club & Pub.
 
March 28 marks the end of the Sailing Festival with the course starting at Gorda Sound, and finishing at Nanny Cay. The winner takes home the Nanny Cay Cup. Registration and welcome party takes place in the evening, and then the real fun begins the following day with the start of the 34th Annual Spring Regatta. Three different courses are going to be utilized for the Regatta. Norman Island courses will include the non-spinnaker classes, along with the charter boat classes. Further, up Drakes Channel, the courses will be laid out for the big boats carrying spinnakers near Cooper Island. The inshore classes will be sailing just to the east of Nanny Cay, near Sea Cows Bay.

The Regatta Village will be open every day from 4pm till midnight starting on March 30th and closing the evening of April 1st, with the awards being given out to the winners and runners up in each class. At the Regatta Village, the racers and racer chasers can enjoy live music, the food tents, and a very large bar!

For more information on go to BVI Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival 2007.

Foxy's Bar hosts the
Jost Van Dyke Music Festival

Once again, it's that time of the year for Jost Van Dykes Music Festival, hosted at Foxy's Bar. On the agenda for the three-day event are artists from all over the BVI. This year there is also an open mic with Foxy's in-house musicians. The ferry from Sopers Hole will also be running a special schedule all three days. The usual BBQ will be going on for food, and there's plenty of beer from the microbrewery to be had. Below is the fantastic schedule of who's playing but you have to give the times a little room as we are on island time here. Come on over to Jost Van Dyke and have a ball!

Friday, March 16th
6:30 PM – The K.I. Nicholas Blues Review Acoustic and Electric Blues
8:30 PM – Third Dimension Island Dance Music

Saturday, March 17th
2:00 PM – Quito Rhymer and the Edge (Legendary BVI Reggae Artist)
4:30 PM – Open Mic with K.I. and our House Musicians
6:30 PM – Reuben Chinnery (Jost Van Dyke 12 String Blues Artist)
8:30 PM – Out of the Dessert (Roots Reggae Dance Music)

Sunday, March 18th
2:00 PM – The Lashing Dogs (True Tortola Fungi Music)
4:30 PM – Ras Rio (Acoustic Raggae/Folk Music)
6:30 PM – Open Mic with K.I. and our House Musicians
8:30 PM – Faze 2, with special guest, Virgin Gorda Calypso Legend Morris Mark (Island Dance Music)