Photo courtesy of VINO
BY VINO
The final race of the regatta, sailed inside the Hamilton Harbour with very light wind and powerboat wakes, turned out the worst result of the regatta for Duff, a 23rd space, causing him to slip one more place to finish in 4th overall; still very impressive indeed considering the level of sailors present and the challenging conditions.
Teammate Mia Nicolosi had a great final race with a final result of 2nd overall, meaning in the last two days the pair of Virgin Islanders had swapped their positions, but left an impressive mark on the rest of the international field- that VI Sailors are not to be underestimated!
After two days and eight races, Virgin Islands’ sailor Rayne Duff had moved up to second overall and the third day in Bermuda brought very light winds for two races, then a more consistent pressure for race three, which led to Rayne falling one place into third overall, just one point behind second.
Although the weather made for challenging races, Duff felt the waters were colder than his home of the [British] Virgin Islands and that the level of competition also impressed him.
“There are a lot of countries represented with a lot of competitive sailors. It feels like I’m at the Worlds Championships – the top of the pack is the same level of talent.”
Twelve races were scheduled from Thursday October 8 through Sunday October 11, 2015, mostly in the Great Sound. The final race was sailed in Hamilton Harbour on the Argo Group Gold Cup course just prior to the finals in front of the large spectator fleet.
RenaissanceRe has sponsored the event for the last twelve years, providing financial support to assist with airfares for the invited international sailors, providing them with charter boats, on-the-water coaching and equipment required for competition. The visiting sailors stay with local sailing families, another important aspect of this unique experience.
