Once again, the Loyal West End Yacht Club of Tortola, BVI
will celebrate the life and times of perhaps the most famous pirate to have
confined his life of crime, sinful excess and ribald infamy within the crystal
waters of the Virgin Islands. The sailing
event will be held on Saturday, December 2nd and the Grand Finale, the
Pirate’s Ball, will be hosted by Louis and Kay Schwartz of the Jolly
Roger Inn that evening.
The Race
Committee and the LWEYC Board have concluded that the racing competition must
naturally follow a course that taxes all of the competitor’s sailing abilities
in the swirling winds and unpredictable counter-currents surrounding the island
hideaway of the roguish Captain Wilmerding; Great Thatch and Little Thatch
Islands. The pursuit race will follow a course designated The Crazy Eights in
recognition of the golden coin that was considered the most treasured booty,
the fabled Piece of Eight.
In order
to encourage close racing from all types of competitors, this year the club
offers three ways to seize the gold. The two classes of entrants will be
separated into; Pirate Class which consists of the full-keel, the
live-aboard, the Classic design (designed before 1980) raffish wooden craft and
those downright piratical ships of undistinguished heritage. Then there will be
the battle of the Revenue Cutters: the race-rigged, the cruiser-racer,
the light air specialists and the downright gift-rated thoroughbreds. We have
not forgotten the Multihulls. They will surely be
encouraged to participate and the skipper may choose the class he believes best
suits their ship, their crew, the course and the prevailing
conditions. All participating skippers are encouraged to prepare original,
humorous and convincing entry form statements to best curry the favor of the
Rating Chairperson for their starting position.
The
winners of each of the two classes will win appropriate Prizes and Booty.
For the
very first time, the Loyal West End Yacht Club will present the “Fine
Ship”, and its boisterous crew, declared the Overall Winner of the race,
the LWEYC Perpetual Gustav Wilmerding Trophy. This fine trophy will be engraved
with the winners’ names and reside on display at the Jolly Roger until it
is won once again, by fair practice and rigorous competition in the next annual
Gustav Wilmerding Regatta.
As usual,
each and every yacht entry will be given rum rations, booty and prizes to
reward their crew’s fighting spirit and playful treachery during this
Regatta.
Since the
Loyal West End Yacht Club must continue to maintain its long reputation as a
fun-loving and spirited group, there is an expectation for all good pirates to
proudly show their original ship’s colors (unique ensign) and crew
costumes. The best of costumes and a prize for the Most Original Ensign will be
judged at the Pirate’s Ball as well as in the categories of Best Overall
Costume, for ladies and men, Most Authentic, for men and women and the Most
(tastefully) Alluring Costume, for the women only. Each of these will also be
awarded coveted Perpetual Trophies that will also be engraved and stored for
one year at the Jolly Roger until the next Annual Gustav Wilmerding Regatta.
Registration will be held from 6:30 PM on Friday the 1st of
December until 8:00PM and again on Saturday December 3rd from 8:00AM
until the beginning of the Skipper’s Meeting at 9:30AM. An Entry Fee of
$25 will be collected at that time. “NO BOOTY, No Entry.” says Dave
Cooper, the Commodore of the LWEYC.
