That’s the big question. The Hirst Brothers have handily won the last two NCNC’s. Last year they scored nothing worse than a third place after 14 races. John Holmberg, whose USVI team was just one of the 13 national teams beaten by the unstoppable Hirsts, was overheard muttering that he would be getting his brother Peter in to ‘sort those Hirst boys out’.
We know that Peter Holmberg will be at the BEYC ‘ProAm’ at the end of October so could it be possible? All will be revealed so watch this space.
The NCNC is sponsored by Nanny Cay Marina. "This event fits Nanny Cay’s profile nicely," comments Miles Sutherland-Pilch. "We have supported the BVI IC24 fleet since the get go and enjoy teaming up with Racing In Paradise to host a quality international regatta."
Richard Wooldridge and Chris Haycraft of Racing In Paradise manage the event. They set up a regatta village with marquees and a mobile bar affectionately known as ‘the protest room’. Food and drinks are served by RBVIYC staff, Chris works the race course whilst Richard delivers a lively commentary on the racing action and orchestrates the rotations.
At any time during the regatta half the teams are ashore waiting for their next rotation. "they sit around watching the racing, eat, drink or jump in the pool," laughs Richard, "there’s never a dull moment, I can usually get them on the mike to talk about the one that got away".
Up to 12 IC24’s will be used each with identical sets of fully battened event sails. Chris notes "the new event sails mean that the IC24’s are as closely matched as possible. No team can say ‘it was the boat’, they never sail the same boat twice…it really is an even playing field".
This year Nanny Cay have increased their sponsorship which has allowed a reduction in the entry fee. It’s now only $500 to enter a team. This includes charter of the IC24’s and up to five of the sought-after event T shirts. Nanny Cay also offer rooms at a discounted rate> "We have gone out of our way to make this year's event affordable," added Miles. "We are hoping to see 24 teams entered to battle it out, I’ve heard that we will have three St. Martin teams and at least three from Puerto Rico. We would like to see St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, St Croix, Grenada…to name a few…there’s no excuse!"
The entry requirement is that all team members must carry the same passport, but in the case of smaller islands we will accept sailors who have ISAF eligibility to represent their country.
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