A new outright record was set in the Nanny Cay Challenge by Fujin, Greg Slyngstad and his crew on the Bieker 53 catamaran after completing the Round Tortola Race in an elapsed time of 1h 57mins 16mins. Photo: BVISR/Michelle Slade

E1 at the start of the Round Tortola Race + The crew of E1 Volvo 70 skippered by Rafal Sawicki celebrate at the awards ceremony at Nanny Cay in the Regatta Village. Photo: BVISR/Alastair Abrehart

“A perfect day for record-setting at the BVI Sailing Festival saw Fujin, the Bieker 53 catamaran owned and skippered by Greg Slyngstad, win the Nanny Cay Challenge with the fastest elapsed time of 1:57:16, breaking the standing record set in 2015 by the trimaran Triple Jack of 2:33:40,” a release on March 27, 2019, from the BVI Spring Regatta noted.

Great Racing

According to the information, the monohull record was also overturned by E1, the Volvo 70 skippered by Rafal Sawicki in an elapsed time of 2:53:08, beating the previous record set in 2016 by the TP52 Spookie of 3:08:43.

Sailing with the same crew of eight who recently won the Caribbean 600, Fujin owner/skipper Greg Slyngstad commented, “Today’s race was one of the reasons we came out – the weather conditions looked good to try for the record,” he said.

According to the Skipper, “Mach Schnell was pushing us hard, it was a lot of fun, and we’ve raced against Triple Jack in the past and in lighter air they’ve beaten us. Conditions were really excellent, we saw over 25 knots but it was steady at 19-21 most of the race, with big puffs and lulls coming over the island on the north side – we’re getting the boat figured out!”

More Records Broken

Further, the docks in Nanny Cay came alive as boats returned after close racing in all classes. Gunboat 62 Mach Schnell, owned and skippered by Kent Haeger broke Triple Jack’s 2015 record in 2:00:39, taking first in the multihull class on corrected time and the Rapido 60 trimaran owned and skippered by Steve Bourne also broke the 2015 record finishing in 2:19:54.

As the event progresses, Virgin Islands News Online (VINO) will bring more information and details on the races. The BVI Spring Regatta is said to have something for everyone whether you race, cruise, practice or just come to party, the weeklong Festival takes you throughout the beautiful Virgin Islands with great sailing and atmosphere.