Sweethearts of the Caribbean Regatta
Tortola, British Virgin Islands

Feburary 11th & 12th on Tortola, British Virgin Islands, was another great sailing day for the twenty-eighth annual Sweethearts of the Caribbean Yacht race. The event was co-sponsored by the "Loyal" West Yacht Club and the Jolly Roger Restaurant and Inn, at the West End of Tortola, and was attended by hundreds of yacht racers and " yacht racer chasers".

Over 35 Yachts from thirteen feet to eighty three feet from the surrounding Caribbean islands and local British Virgin Islands, competed in several types of classes, with everyone going away a winner as the Yacht Club, in its long standing tradition and motto lived on as usual, "no one goes home empty handed when it comes to awards!" Another great sailing event, including late night parties and live bands, at the "heart beat" of Tortola, the West End.

Read the full article at:
28th Annual Sweethearts of the Caribbean Regatta
For more photos go to:
Escape BVI Photo Gallery

Duane Smith

By - Nancy Terrell

Duane Smith, President of the Virgin Islands Power Boat Association carries the Queen's Baton for the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Australia on Youth Instructor, with her new mast, in the Queen's Water Parade

Jason Holmes, below with the tree for the new mast, is from Bosham, UK, where he apprenticed with Combes Boatyard for 5 years in wooden boatbuilding. He has been a Shipwright for 13 years and specializes with wooden masts. He was the Foreman for the 80' mast on White Wings, a famous Alden classic sloop featured on the cover of Classic Yachts. "Youth Instructor is a well built boat and now has a mast to suit the boat. They shouldn’t have any trouble with the rigging. I enjoyed doing it and lost 2 stone in the making. It was nice to do - something that I haven't done in a long time - the "Zen" of woodworking - very therapeutic."

Jason Holmes

Tortola Sloops are a large part of the culture of the British Virgin Islands. Youth Instructor, a Tortola Sloop built in the 1990's by Osmond Davies of East End, has for various reasons gone through three masts since her original launching. After the third mast broke, the day before Foxy's Wooden Boat Regatta this year, Gov. Macan met with Dave Cooper, Commodore of the WEYC - organizers of the races under which the Island Sloops sail, and expressed a desire to have a proper mast made for Youth Instructor. The governor wanted to make sure that the boat was ready for the Island Sloop Shoot-Out during the BVI Festival. Jason (below) looks at the job before him. Cooper went to Mike Andrews, General Manager of Yacht Restoration at Nanny Cay, and asked him for a quote on the job. The results were viewed as Youth Instructor raced against Moonbeam two months later.

Builder of the Sailing sloop Youth Instructor
Osmond Davies and his wife

The Tortola Sloops are fractional rigged boats - the foresail stops six feet from the 32.6’ masthead. The process of making this mast is quite interesting. Jason Holmes was in charge of the project and his excellence as a shipwright is seen in the finished product. The 40' long & 12" diameter log, from which the mast was made, was de-barked and treated before arriving in the BVI. Because the center growth ring is usually never in the center of the tree the first thing Jason had to do was center the trunk. "I set up a round disc that was to be the size of the finished mast and centered it on the rings. The more centered the trunk is the more stability it will have as a mast. I squared the log on the center growth ring to begin the project, which would make each of the four sides between 7" and 8". At this time I also put the taper in so that it is smaller at the masthead than at the heel. (Youth Instructor's masthead is 3.5" in diameter and her heel is 6.5".) I began "sizing", which is a geometric way of making something round out of a square. The process is complicated as I size and taper at the same time. During this process you can't walk away from it because you lose your eye, or your "feel", for it. That mast was in my dreams for two weeks."

Sailing sloop Youth Instructor

The mast was transferred to four chocks and planed, with the grain, from the heel to the masthead. This process took 8 hours a day for seven solid days. Once the chocks are level and straight you work one side at a time. Jason started with the worst side first, to get it centered, and then planed from there. It is then turned 180 degrees and the process is repeated with each rotation - planing, sizing, until it is round and of the size required. It is sanded, primed and painted - Jason used a hand planer at the end for a proper finish.

This is the first mast, out of the four that Youth Instructor has had, that was made out of a solid tree. The others were "glued up" with pressure treated pine of 2 x 6's. The first mast broke under sail due to too many knots in the wood. It was repaired quickly in order to sail in a regatta. It then broke again as some other knots were too flexible for the boat. Another mast was made, similar to the first and it too was too weak and delaminated at the glue joints. The third mast was donated by a wooden boat owner who's boat had been given to Neptune - a conversion was tried which failed when the mast was stepped, the day before Foxy's.

Sailing sloop Youth Instructor

Governor Macan races on the Tortola Sloops each year and has had a true concern for the fate of the Island Sloops since arriving in the BVI. He tells me, "Sloops were a cornerstone of the economy of the Virgin Islands, and it is vital that we keep examples afloat and in working order so that today's kids can understand their history. I am delighted that that, with this new mast, Youth Instructor's, continued success can be guaranteed".

As lovers of these classics we all thank him for coming to the rescue - and also to Jason for having the talent to sculpt a mast truly worthy of a Tortola Sloop.

A special fund raising event is being held at the Governor's on Feb. 28th 2006 - open to everyone with tickets at $20 each.

"All At Sea"

Has anybody picked up the latest issue of "All at Sea" magazine distributed  free all through the BVI's? Lots of coverage of the BVI's, Sailing reports, Racing, Cruising, Events etc. A great cover photo on the January issue - Mount Gay rum should get some mileage for advertising from the skipper helming the island sloop with one of their shirts on! Every cover shot is awesome.

I just went to the redesigned web site for "All at Sea" www.allatsea.net, very nicely done, easy to navigate, and very informative. The events calender is great, you can pick most water sports events at different island locations, and the links to the sponsors are right there.

I put an add in the classified section which came out this month and have had great response from it, and the add is free! Can't beat the quality of the magazine, coverage all over the Caribbean, and how well it is laid out. Looking forward to  next months issue.

"A Vuilliard Reference in the BVI"
By Susanne Yardley Mason

We at Escape-BVI.com are proud to announce the addition of our new "Artists and Arts of the British Virgin Islands" section to our web site! The BVI's are a melting pot of different artists, some born here, others bringing in their own style and culture from down island, many artists from all parts of the world, bringing their artistic talents to the British Virgin Islands. Probably one of the most beautiful places in the world to depict in their artwork, and the beauty of nature that surrounds the artists.

Many galleries and small art studios of local artwork are displayed, all through the British Virgin Islands. The islands of Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Jost Van Dyke, Beef Island, and Anegada all have artist’s renderings on display at different locations. Many restaurants, government offices, and markets, display the local artist's works on their walls depicting all the different artists and techniques of painting, pottery sculpting, palm frond weaving and much more. On Tortola David Thrasher's "Caribbean Landscapes Gallery" in West End, Lisa Muddiman Gray's "The Gallery" in Road Town and Aragons's Studio" on Beef Island just to name a few.

Every artist is so different from each other in their artwork, sometimes bringing out their own personalities in their work making them very unique. Some very stunning computer graphic artwork comes from Susanne Yardley Mason of West End, Tortola. Every year there are several art shows in the British Virgin Islands, and the BVI Tourist Board has a showing of local artwork from various artists in the BVI's on display at their London office, a gesture of pride in the people of the BVI's, keeping the heritage and culture of the British Virgin Islands alive around the world.

Sam T and Molly T

   A few weeks ago I attended an event / commemoration for a young boy who had been tragically killed here in Tortola, while on vacation, in an automobile accident about a year and a half ago. At the time of the accident, passers by came to the aid of the injured family of four. Among those that helped were members of Rotary Club of Tortola and the KATS program. A devastating blow to the family to lose their son, who was 11 years old and loved the sea and sailing. Apon returning back to the states, the family sent out thank you notes to all that helped during a very stressful time, not to mention the police, EMT's and doctors. Sam's sister, Molly, came up with a fund raising program after the family returned home to bury Sam, to raise money for the KAT'S program, to somehow show them the family's gratitude. Molly raised over $ 10, 000 so that the KATS program could buy two brand new Laser sailboats which they train on. The ceremony was both a celebration of Sam's short life, but also a heart felt thank you from the KATS sailing program.

Two boats were purchased with the funds, fully race rigged,with shore dollies. The KATS program held the event to Cristen the boats and unveiled the names painted on the hulls, "Sam T" and "Molly T". Truly a kind gesture on the part of the family who was here to vacation in the BVI's, who faced a tragedy in there lives, but still returned to the BVI's to thank the people of the BVI's once again.

This type of generosity is what keeps the program alive and thriving, teaching the kids a love of the sea as Sam had. Over the past 15 years, there have been many personal donations but this one from Sam's family will never be forgotten.

The KATS Kids

Kids And The Sea is a water sports program developed in 1987, on the Island of St. John, USVI. The program in the British Virgin Islands was started in 1990, mainly backed by the Rotary Club of Tortola. The KATS program has many types off classes offered to anyone that wants to participate. The program does have some parameters that must be met before a child can move on from one class to the next.

Number one is that the child must first take a swimming course, successfully pass, and then can move onto the rowing / boat handling course where knot tying is also taught. The next level is sailing courses, in which there are three levels. Level one is for the complete beginner who is given course books to read and is tested on, on the water sailing with either a volunteer instructor or a level two or three-student as their on board coach.

From there, a student moves to level two, which means that they are qualified to sail the boats on their own. They are taught to capsize the boat, re right the boat and continue on sailing, and having fun! The third level of students are kids that have started out in the program when they are eight years old and can continue on in the program until they reach their eighteenth birthday.

These are the very advanced kids that race our fleet of Lasers here in Tortola, and also compete all through the Caribbean. Another boat that the KATS program is very proud to own and race is the IC 24, which is a newly founded fleet of old J24's that have had major modifications made to the cockpit and down below bulkhead layouts. The company that does the conversions takes a J24 in nearly any condition and makes it into virtually a new yacht.

The grand finally of the KATS sailing season, which starts in January, is the coveted Chief Ministers Regatta, held here in the British Virgin Islands, and consists of up to ten teams from all over the Caribbean, for three days of really exciting sailboat racing. The regatta is also when all KATS sailors receive their certificates of achievement for the past year.

Enough cannot be said about the all volunteer instructors, The Rotary Club of Tortola and all of the donations, personal and corporate, that are made to the KATS program, to keep our kids safe on the water, have great fun and meet kids from other parts of the Caribbean for friendships that last a life time. Truly a program that keeps the community of the British Virgins Islands a shining star in the whole of the Caribbean.