Final Sprint around Virgin Gorda: Race Day 4
Though grey skies hung overhead, the spirits were high as the crews set off for the final day of racing - a challenging 34-nm coastal race around the island of Virgin Gorda.
With the leaderboard tight at the top heading into Race Day 4, and four different race winners throughout the Regatta, it was anyone’s game. Just before the start, the sun broke through, the breeze picked up, and the fleet was off to a thrilling finish.
Bullitt claimed victory in the final race of the regatta, but it was V who emerged victorious overall, on corrected time and were crowned the first-ever North Sound Maxi Regatta Champions.
Overall results after six races //
1st: V
2nd: Balthasar
3rd: Bullitt
4th: Deep Blue
5th: Galateia
6th Leopard 3
6th: Lucky
Full results here: maxiregatta.com/#results
Ken Read, North Sails President and Tactician onboard overall winners, V said: “Mother Nature threw plenty of curve balls at us today. Big huge squalls, tons of breeze at times, rain showers and big big shifts. We had our work cut out for us and to pull this off and I think as a group today was our best day. There’s no other way to put it, we were on top of all the little details today and as a 29-person crew that’s all you can ask for. It doesn’t get any better than that.”
Bouwe Bekking, tactician onboard Balthasar on their second place:“I think first of all, it was one of the best races we’ve done so far with this boat. Because we had everything, we had a big squall, 30-35 knots of breeze, wind shifts of 40 degrees and a lot of manoeuvres so it was a really fun race. There was a lot going on. Then congratulations to V for winning the Regatta overall. They sailed an excellent race, had a good start, great boat speed and tactics and good crew work. So, kudos to them. For us, with second place, we are still happy with that. It was really really tight, as we saw today. Deep Blue was only 10 seconds ahead and then Galateia only five seconds ahead so you can really see just how close it was here this week. You had to fight for every second.
"The North Sound is a fantastic place to sail, crystal clear blue water, white beaches and great accommodation and facilities here at the Bitter End Yacht Club. We really have to thank the organisers for bringing this all together. There’s not many events that are so well organised, it’s just been incredible and it’s one of the best organised events we’ve ever sailed at.'
Karel Komark, Owner / Driver of V: “First of all it was a great race today. So, we really enjoyed it. It was so difficult but then at the end if you win, it’s a really great feeling. We are happy that everybody has it enjoyed it, and we are more than happy winning this regatta too obviously.”
