2007 MOORINGS INTERLINE REGATTA
Oceans Seven on Peter Island was the venue for the opening Welcome Back Mingle and Casino Beach Party. The view from Tortola showed a harbor absolutely full of yachts, and the party lights on board worthy of a parade of lights.
The Jump Up & Jiggle at The Jolly Roger in Soper’s Hole was well attended and lively. The later the hour the livelier, as old rivalries were resurrected and new contenders sized up.
The skipper’s meeting was quite orderly, with familiar voices raising familiar issues. Steel pan music accompanied the Launch Celebration & Dinner at the Mariner Inn, where crews showed their colors. The docks were busy well into the wee hours of the morning as the racers continued the spirited discussions.
Friday – Race 1 – Road Town to Marina Cay
Friday morning found us at the starting line with a lovely eighteen knots of breeze and white caps breaking off two to four foot seas. The three classes rolled off the starting line in good order except for a single OCS, who quickly cleared. The race was won (and lost) at the second mark, where the leading pair chose to head back out across the channel toward the third mark and the eventual winner stayed in the lee of Beef Island to catch both a lift and the quieter water. The 494 Makin’ Smiles (Sterling) finished more than a minute and a half ahead of the rest of the fleet, followed by a tight pack of five boats finishing in a thirty second span. This group included the winner of the 515 class, Steer It Up (Sterling), giving two firsts to the Sterling team. The winning 44.3 was Life Of Reilly (FedEx), who led the rest of her class by more than ten minutes. One racer retired with equipment failure, another valiantly sailed the course under a jury rig. Although several voices were raised in protest over the course of the race, all were withdrawn in the end.
Pusser’s Beach Side at Marina Cay hosted the Pirates of the Caribbean Party. The cover of darkness was broken by piratical cries as crews chose swagger over stealth in taking the beach. A sudden squall in the wee hours of the morning had several crews on the foredecks adjusting lines, and rather unsteadily at that.
Saturday – Race 2 – Marina Cay to Anegada
Saturday morning provided another glorious racing day, nineteen knots out of the southeast and quite a few whitecaps in the channel. The starts were much more aggressive, with close encounters between two 494’s and seemingly half the 515 fleet causing groans on the committee boat almost as loud as the shouts of the crews involved. The fleet streamed out along the southern cays and up to Anegada in good time, giving the committee boat quite a run for her money to get on station in time. The entire fleet finished in less than twenty five minutes, with several clusters of boats separated by mere seconds. The 494 Easy Tiger (Nippon Cargo) handily – and vocally – took fleet and class honors, followed by the winning 44.3 Sea Breeze (Sterling). The 51.5 class was led in by her team mate Steer It Up (Sterling), taking first in fleet for the second time.
The glorious afternoon was followed by the Evening Party at the Anegada Reef Hotel. The band warmed up as the racers ate and then began to crowd the dance floor and surrounding sand.
Sunday – Lay Day – Anegada to Virgin Gorda
Lighter breezes and clear skies were the order of the day. While a couple of boats left the anchorage at eight, no signs of life were observed on the vast majority until well into the morning.
The Dinner at the Bitter End Yacht Club followed a glorious lay day with dinner and dancing well into the night; the dance floor flowed into the street and down the docks – in at least one instance migrating onto the foredeck of a catamaran.
Monday – Race 3 – Windward Leward
The traditional windward leeward course was set off the mouth of North Sound, with the windward mark just below Necker Island. The claws came out for the third race, with all boats finishing in less than twenty minutes and cluster after cluster separated by just a few seconds. Two 51.5s finished exactly together. The 44.3 Life of Reilly (Fed Ex) led the fleet in across the finish; the 494 class was led by Sea’Duction (Finnair); and the 51.5 class followed Ayla (Easy Jet) across the line.
Monday – Race 4 – North Sound to Cane Garden Bay
After a quick adjustment to the windward mark, all three classes were started again for the long downwind sail along the north coast of Tortola. Again, the finish was tight – all racers finished within a half hour time span, there was a tie between two boats, and numerous vessels finished within seconds of each other. The 44.3 Sea Breeze (Sterling), 494 Sea’Duction (Finnair) and 51.5 Prosecutor (Fed Ex) took class honors.
The Fancy Dress Party at Myett’s – well, it was a real floor show. The crew of Next Adventure outdid themselves, and stayed in character the entire evening. There were a large number of knickers on display, some more on display than others, but no one would have mistaken the venue for Victoria’s Secret. Marilyn Monroe and Olive Oyl both made an appearance. The dance floor was crowded early and stayed that way, four in the morning found the die hards on their way home.
Tuesday – Race 5 – Cane Garden Bay to Road Town
Glorious conditions with thirteen knots of wind for the start, after a slight course change to permit the windward mark to lie actually upwind from the start. The fleet streamed down the north coast of Tortola, around Little Thatch and up to the finish off Road Town. The 494 Sea’Duction (Finnair) led the fleet across the line, followed by the 51.5 Steer It Up (Sterling); the 44.3 class was handily won by her team mate Sea Breeze (Sterling).
The Awards Ceremony Dinner at The Moorings Mariner Inn was enjoyed by all crews in their team colors. The band played on into the night, with as many dancers in the pool as on the dance floor.
While many crews had to catch the early flights back to work, the lucky ones slept in and then sailed off to enjoy the Unwind Day at Cooper Island.
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