Racing In Paradise

The last leg of the last race decides the 2007 NCNC

It's hard to imagine how it could have been closer. The 20th and final race of the weekend saw b.mobile Team BVI two points behind Team 'Holmberg BEYC'. The BVI team needed to finish the final race with two boats between them for a tie or three for a win. This was not very likely with the super consistent Holmbergs scoring nothing worse than a third so far...

The Holmbergs are on top after 12 races...

After waiting for the wind to stabilize race officer Chris Haycraft got the 2007 Nanny Cay Nations Cup underway just after 9.00am this morning. The wind stayed light but consistent all day, never quite reaching the forecasted 12-14 knots. The Holmbergs' 'Bitter End Yacht Club' team consisted of Peter, Denise, John, Diane and Kai...most definitely a real family affair.

Third Annual Nanny Cay Nations Cup Takes Place This Weekend

The third annual Nanny Cay Nations Cup will be taking place off Nanny Cay Marina this weekend (November 17/18).  Robbie Hirst, sailing for the British Virgin Islands, will be defending his two-time title in this hard-fought regatta where the simple requirement for entry is that all crew members carry the same passport.

Sailed in an identical fleet of IC24s, event organisers Racing In Paradise are expecting stiff competition as teams jostle to knock the Hirst powerhouse from their perch. John Holmberg from the USVI has enlisted brother Peter to his team. Peter recently returned to the Virgin Islands after an America's Cup stint with the winning Alinghi team.

 

However, the defending BVI team isn't leaving anything to chance. Robbie has teamed up with youth sailor Alec Anderson and Colin Rathbun to form a strong BVI team. Alec recently stunned several of the more experienced local IC24 'rockstars' by placing second in the Pete Sheals Memorial Match Race. Colin placed second to the Hirsts in the inaugural Nanny Cay Nations Cup and was a member of the winning Hirst team last year.

Bitter End ProAm 2007 - Video Highlights

Video from the 2007 Bitter End ProAm.  The IC24s were a big hit for the second year.  Ken Read, multiple J24 world champion, was at home in the ICs, winning by seven points over second placer, Peter Holmberg.  Ed Baird, the recent recipient of the ISAF Rolex World Sailor Award was third, three points adrift of Holmberg.

For the video, click on...

The "Holmbergs" - A Few Words

We grab a few words on video with the "Holmbergs" - Peter & John - at the Bitter End Yacht Club's Pro-Am. John is Bitter End's watersports director while Peter is freshly back to the Caribbean after his America's Cup duties with Alinghi.  They will be racing together at the Nanny Cay Nations Cup on November 17/18.

Ken Read and his crew top the IC24 fleet racing at the 2007 BEYC ProAm

The Pro-Am took on a different format this year. The Am's asked for more fleet racing in the IC24s instead of match racing and team racing...they got it...16 races in all with no discards. In the final analysis Ken Read did enough to hold off Team Homberg and Team Baird.

If you start a series with 4 bullets and then place no worse than 3rd for nine of the following 12 races you have a pretty good chance of winning the regatta. That is precisely what Ken Read and his crew pulled off. It was enough to beat Peter Holmberg who counted five bullets and five second places and Ed Baird with four bullets and five second places.

Peter Holmberg is snapping at Ken Read's heels...

Thursday morning saw more classic North Sound conditions at the 2007 BEYC Pro-Am with 14-18 knots blowing straight down the Sound...gorgeous flat turquoise water and sunshine.

Race Officer Bob Phillips wasted no time serving up four two-lap races. Ken Read, who is sporting a bit more hair than last year, went into the proceedings with a handy six point lead over Peter Holmberg. Further down the field by quite a good margin we have Ed Baird, Keith Musto and Ben Ainslie et al.

Ken Read Charges to The Top In The Bitter End Pro-Am

Although the Volvo Round the World Race is currently Ken Read's primary focus, on Tuesday he convincingly demonstrated that his small boat racing skills were still very much in place. Racing IC 24s - a modified J/24 with a luxuriously large cockpit - the former six-time World Champion jumped into a six point lead over Peter Holmberg after the first eight fleet races of the Bitter End Yacht Club's Pro-Am Regatta.