SAD STORY HAS HAPPY ENDING
Molly Thompson, a North
Carolina teenager, has won the hearts of KATS sailors
in the BVI. Molly was visiting the BVI in 2004 with her parents and
brother Sam. Sam was killed in an automobile accident. Upon
returning to the U.S.,
Molly decided to raise money as a memorial for her brother who would have just
celebrated his 13th birthday.
Her
efforts provided for two new Lasers for the BVI KATS program – the
Sam T and the Molly T – both teens enjoyed the “Willy T” while
cruising here. Nels (head of the KATS sailing
program) and Linda Hagenson put on a beautiful
ceremony for the presentation down in West End
in front of the KATS trailer. Molly is also planning to return to
Tortola in the summer of 2006 to become a volunteer
instructor in the program. Talk about a great heroine – Thank you, Molly,
from all of our BVI sailors
BVI CONSERVATION AND
FISHERIES CERTIFY 15 IN THE FLY-FISHING PROGRAM
This was a great program that was facilitated in collaboration
with the BVI Tourist Board in which participants also were certified to
administer first aid and CPR. The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism sent in three
excellent fly-fishing professionals who also worked with Jenel
Lettson, Jamila Vanterpool, Keith Dawson, Shannon Gore and Clayton Turnbull
of the BVI. Bertrand Lettsome, Head of the Fisheries
Dept., stated that, “This certification was an excellent initiative, as
it fulfilled the objectives of empowering the local fisherman with an
opportunity to participate in this potentially lucrative market. Certification
will give us, as environmental guardians, the assurance that those persons
engaging in this aspect of the fishing industry have acquired a standard of
knowledge and proficiency that will promote environmental
sustainability.” Thank you BVI government for this opportunity. The BVI
has some of the best bone fishing sites in the Western
Hemisphere.
MISTRESS QUICKLY WINS THE LATITUDE 18 HALYARD CHALLENGE
The
annual Halyard Challenge is always the first club race of the year for the
Royal BVI Yacht Club. It is sponsored by Latitude 18 – a great sport
clothing shop in Road Town and Sopers Hole, Tortola. This
year, it was the students that took home the honors.
With a team of young sailing
enthusiasts from the BVI Watersports Centre, Guy
Eldridge’s Melges 24, Mistress Quickly, was first over the start and kept the lead during
the entire race. These racers, who are young and unseasoned, had it all
together for this event, never letting the competition in for a minute.
However, the IC24s did give them a run for the money even after a pile-up at
the start.
Mark Plaxton’s
IC-24 was second on corrected time with Andrew Waters’ IC-24 finishing in
3rd place. The race started in Road Harbour with a beat to Fat Hogs Bay. Then, rounding the
mark, there was a downwind leg to Nanny Cay, then around Dead Chest Island on a close hauled leg.
Competitors then headed back to Nanny Cay before reaching into the finish off
of Road Reef and the yacht club. Crew for Mistress
Quickly was – Elsa Meyers, Godfrey Gumbs
and Rayshawn and Raymore Mercer.
Congratulations to these fine junior sailors and to Guy for always
making his Melges available for students who love to
race. It is because of racers like this that we have a very formidable junior
team emerging in the BVI.
