BVI Spring Regatta
It won’t be hard to miss the quick Nigel Irens-designed 63-foot trimaran Sophia charging on this year’s BVI Spring Regatta racecourse, helmed by new owner Marcus Sirota. The ORMA 60-inspired former Paradox 3 took corrected-time honours in the MOCRA Multihull Class in the 2025 edition of the classic Rolex Fastnet Race and is continuing its successful streak at Sirota’s enthusiastic helm.
The trimaran has enjoyed a successful Caribbean winter season, taking first place in CSA1 and Overall Regatta Winner in the Caribbean Multihull Challenge (CMC); 2nd in the RORC Caribbean 600, 2nd in the RORC Antigua 360, 2nd in the Heineken Regatta, 1st place in Fastest Boat Around the Island at Heineken where she also took home the Island Award: winner of CMC and Heineken in the same year. Sirota is a familiar figure in the CMC fleet, having contested several previous regattas in his Corsair trimaran, Honey Badger.
BVISR will be Sirota’s second time racing in the spectacular waters in and around the Sir Francis Drake Channel. He purchased Sophia in October last year looking for something more performance driven than his 37-foot Corsair. Sophia was built in 2010, so to the elitists among fast multihull racing she’s almost considered old, smiles Sirota, but he is quick to add she is still a very fast boat.
Sirota’s up against solid competition in the Performance Multihull division competing against Gunboats Little Wing (68’), Layla (72’) and Dreadknot (62’); Avel Vaez (ORC 57); and the unique 43’ foiling cat Falcon, but he’s up for the challenge. “Sophia has a good history of racing over the years and we have a really good group of professionals on board; it’s essentially a real racing programme.”
For many editions of BVI Spring Regatta, Tortola local Sam Talbot helmed, often winning, in CSA-3 division on his J/111 Spike. Last year he and his crew took on a new boat in a completely different class – a Rapido 40 trimaran racing in Sport Multihull – called Spike. The boat was fresh out of the box and they had issues on the racecourse from day 1 including the loss of a rudder.
Talbot notes that the BVI is a perfect multihull venue, perhaps the best in the Caribbean, and this year will showcase a diverse range of these fast boats, from Gunboats, the ORCs and Sophia, to the Corsairs, the Diams, Spike, and island favourite, the Kelsall 47 Triple Jack, and finally the racer/cruisers like La Novia (Leopard 50), No Escape (Elba 45), and Little Wing (Perry Antrim 52).
Spinnaker Division
Antolin Velasco from Puerto Rico is hoping to improve on his third-place finish last year on his J105 Kairos, which he’s owned for two years, racing in CSA Spinnaker division, after losing a spinnaker on the first race in the well-chronicled breeze that competitors endured last year.
Bareboat 2
Digging out from a long cold winter in Marblehead, MA, Charlie Garrard, and his Team Merlin are back racing in CSA Bareboat 2 on a Dufour 41. Garrard will be competing with a bunch of friends from his local badminton club Gut N’ Feathers, some of whom have raced with him previously at BVISR and this year a couple of newbies.
Performance Cruising Division
Scott Meyers, who lives on his Jeanneau 45.2’ Dark n’ Stormy at Nanny Cay Marina, is competing for the first time this year on his own boat. From Michigan where he grew up lake sailing and racing, he’s lived in Tortola for 10 years and only ever raced BVI once. He bought Dark n’ Stormy a year ago; she’s not completely set up for racing and while he’s excited to be getting the boat out to the start line, pre-race prep is causing him some anxiety.
Warm Water, Hot Racing & Parties
Join us for Warm Water and Hot Racing at the most fun sailing regatta in the Caribbean, the BVI Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival where the fun dial is full-on, and the racing and parties are the best that the Caribbean has to offer. The Regatta attracts a diverse fleet of boats in addition to a strong bareboat fleet, and whether sailors participate in all five races of the BVI Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival, part or all of the Festival, or the three-day Regatta, there is something for everyone, on the water and shore-side.
The seven-day event starts on Monday March 23 with the Sailing Festival opening day festivities and skipper pack collection. The Sailing Festival, a warmup event, runs Tuesday March 24 and Wednesday March 25, with fun, relaxed racing on the agenda. On March 24, the Scrub Island Invitational will take sailors some 12NM upwind to a fabulous island party hosted by Scrub Island Resort and Marina Cay. The relatively short race to Scrub Island gives sailors plenty of time to enjoy the outstanding Scrub Island hospitality. On March 25, the traditional Round Tortola Race will take sailors on a 37 nautical mile race around the island of Tortola.
On Thursday March 26, a lay day will provide sailors, friends, and families the opportunity to explore the local BVI waters and provides an opportunity for those who are joining just for the BVI Spring Regatta to register and get their racing boats and team ready for the big event: the BVI Spring Regatta, which kicks off on March 27 and runs through March 29, for three days of the Caribbean’s best racing managed by a world-class race management team. The week-long BVI Spring Regatta and Sailing Festival will wrap up with a final party following the awards ceremony on Sunday night, with live entertainment. Let’s get the parties rolling!
