The weather was really windy but great, the chili cook-off was tremendously successful and the racing was outstanding for the 12th Annual Firecracker Regatta over July 4th weekend at the Jolly Roger, Restaurant & Bar, home of the West End Yacht Club.

Held in a pursuit format, the weather was something else for the event, – winds were out of the east with a hefty 16 – 26 knots. as the seas were unusually rough several of the signed up racers cancelled at the last minute. Vice-commodore of the RBVIYC,Chris Haycraft, easily won the event, even after a three-minute penalty for being over the line early. Haycraft’s IC-24, Crowley, is a converted J-24 and really spun around the course showing all of the great new changes to the boat.

2nd place was captured by Andrew “Tubes” Thompson on his Melges –24. Tubes has a great crew who really know how to operate this machine. Racing on their J-24, CCT Boatphone, KATS student Kyle Benjamine helmed his crew into 3rd place just three minutes behind Haycraft’s 1st place. All of the KATS (Kids & the Sea) students turned out for the event and really raced well - we are truly proud of them and judging by their racing it looks like Tortola will have some fine racers during the next few decades. Considering the weather and that all of these kids are under 16, they really handled their boats well.

Martin Van Houton was Race Chairman for the July 5th event, sponsored by TICO’S, and reported that some $550 was raised for the BVI KATS Program. The money came from the proceeds of Lou’s infamous Chili Cook-Off, an annual event that is always quite a success. Twelve chilis were contributed. WEYC Board members Di Kirk and Neil Bailes just happened to share a tie vote for the #1 position. Organizer and owner of the Jolly Roger, Lou Schwartz is a KATS instructor and presented KATS coordinator Lianne LeTendre with a check for $550 from the proceeds of the cook-off as well as a percentage of his bar profits. Instructors Jim Linskey and Mike Kirk were also there as adult supervisors and Chief Minister's Cup Chairman John Lewis came along taking great photos and cheering the teams on.

One of the brightest moments of the event was when James Buchanan, owner of BVI Shipwrights, and Scott Hustins presented WEYC Vice Commodore and one of the Firecracker Regatta founders, Robin Pinfold, with a gorgeous handcrafted plaque featuring a brightly polished porthole, stating, “To A Most Excellent West Endian - Robin Pinfold IN APPRECIATION FOR HIS ENDLESS ENTHUSIASM, TIRELESS COMMITMENT, AND MANY SELFLESS CONTRIBUTIONS TO OUR LOYAL FAMILY THANK YOU FROM VI SHIPWRIGHTS AND WEST ENDIANS AROUND THE GLOBE PRESENTED JULY 5, 2003”

BVI Governor Tom Macan was racing with us again crewing for Dr. Robin Tattersall on DIVA. Our good governor hasn’t missed a WEYC race all year – it’s a tribute to have him on board and to know that he is a strong supporter of all WEYC events.

The Jolly Roger pulled out all of the stops during the weekend with almost all of the 16 captains and crew showing up for registration, partying and dancing to Focus on the 4th. Lisa Bailes sold T-shirts while Di Kirk sold memberships. Alf Oliver did a great job computing the results with Sara Sommers as Race Assistant. Considering that the WEYC does not have a clubhouse, or a mortgage for that matter, we are mighty proud of our 100+ members!

Top positions were as follows:

Boat Name Captain start elapsed finish

1st Crowley C. Haycraft 10:18:54 3:09:00 13:28:05

2nd Crew Clothing A. Thompson 10:47:15 2:42:07 13:29:22

3rd CCT Boatphone K. Benjamin 10:13:13 3:18:24 13:31:37

4th Mistress Quickly G. Eldridge 10:47:15 2:46:43 13:33:58

5th Diva R. Tattersall 10:33:04 3:01:02 13:34:06

Following the Chili Cook-off Race Chairman Van Houton gave out the many prizes associated with the event. As always, each entry took home prizes worth more than the price of the entry fee with a great Ditty Bag thrown in. Maureen Gray, of TICO’s made sure that the bags were full of “sailor’s delights” along with a roll of toilet tissue and a bottle of Pepto-Bismol in case the chili was just too much.