Beautiful Virgin Islands

Saturday, Oct 18, 2025

Four national champions crowned in competitive BVI Dinghy Championships

Four national champions crowned in competitive BVI Dinghy Championships

Four were crowned National Champions on Saturday, when the BVI Dinghy Championships were held in the waters of the Sir Francis Drakes Channel across from Nanny Cay.

The annual event was making a comeback after the Covid-19 pandemic cancelled the 2020 edition and attracted 18 sailors in four divisions.

“It was a tricky day on the water for everyone,” noted Public Relations Officer Tamsin Rand of the event that had a record 76 participants in 2016 and 53 in 2017. “As squalls danced their way down the channel, the mark boat team were kept busy shifting the marks to keep the race track stable and the sailors were kept on their toes to make the best tactical decisions.”

Sailing instructor Rob Lind, told Island Sun Sports they were looking at getting people out sailing again as it’s been a while since last August’s dinghy event and it was good to get the boats back out.

“There was a lot of competitiveness, it was pretty good,” Lind noted. “Everyone was competing for the starts and some good mark rounding. We only had two Opti’s out today, but one had never raced before so it was good to see him get out on the water and get that kind of experience, so when Megan (Woodman) and I were watching him, we noticed that each race he was getting better and better and there was less that we had to tell him to do. So it’s a bit of experience and they grow from that. ”

After losing the first RS Feva Class race to Eddie and Ashley Brockbank, Kael Chalwell and Nici Haycraft snagged the next three to claim the division with eight points. Victoria Rowlette and Savion James clinched the final two races.

“It wasn’t really windy today so being the heaviest sailors in the Fevas, it was kind of hard but the winds picked up and then we pulled through and got the win,” Chalwell told Island Sun Sports, after they had spinnaker issues in the last race. “The sheet of the spinnaker got tangled with the halyard and caused the spinnaker to fall in the water. It didn’t affect us because we already had three wins. It feels good winning the division.”

Haycraft, who like Chalwell plays football, told Island Sun Sports that sailing is new to him despite coming from a sailing lineage. “I go out with my father sometimes, but I’m sticking to football,” he pointed out, noting that it got stressful a few times on the course. “We just think each other is wrong, so we have arguments sometimes, but at that the same time, we came through in the clutch and got first place. KO’s Victoria’s (Rowlette) winning streak of three years.”

Rowlette told Island Sun Sports that it was a good day, a good competition and she had sailed with James a few times in practice. “We had some issues with the spinnaker but we figured it out and it worked out in the end,” she said. “We definitely learnt strategies about how we wanted to sail and what we were doing right or wrong. We definitely improved throughout the day.”

Like Rowlette, James agreed it was a good day and learning opportunity. He said they had lots of issues with the spinnaker on the downwind leg. “Sometimes you have to be careful with the spinnaker on the downwind because it gets tangled up,” he said. “It was a little difficult but we pushed through.”

In the Laser Radial class, Max Reshetiloff claimed a clean sweep of first place finishes to take his first title in the class. In second place was Dwayne Palmer and in third place, competing at her first ever regatta, Marentia de Villiers.

The Optimist fleet was unfortunately just two boats. Jake Richardson, who began learning to sail less than a year ago, was competing in his first ever regatta. Sailing instructor Lind, said the youngster improved as the race day went on. The overall winner was Zaed Chalwell. Chalwell said he learnt that he’s not good in light winds and hase to work on his light wind skills.

Colin Ratbun, who took the bullet in four of the six races, won the Lasers division with seven points.

BVI Dinghy Championships Results. Laser: 1. Colin Rathbun , 7 points. 2. Sam Talbot, 13. 3. Ollie Alsop, 15. 4. Mike Hirst, 16. 5. Graham Stanton, 23. 6. Samuel Allen, 24. 7. Chris Haycraft, 29.

Laser Radial: 1. Max Reshetiloff, 5. 2. Dwayne Palmer, 11. 3. Marentia de Villiers, 14.

RS Feva: 1. Kael Chalwell & Nici Haycraft, 8. 2. Eddie & Ashley Brockbank, 9. 3. Victoria Rowlette & Savion James, 11.

Optimist: 1. Zaed Chalwell. 2. Jake Richardson.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
China’s lesson for the US: it takes more than chips to win the AI race
Australia Faces Demographic Risk as Fertility Falls to Record Low
California County Reinstates Mask Mandate in Health Facilities as Respiratory Illness Risk Rises
Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Trump-Brokered Gaza Truce, Hostages to Be Freed
French Political Turmoil Elevates Marine Le Pen as Rassemblement National Poised for Power
China Unveils Sweeping Rare Earth Export Controls to Shield ‘National Security’
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
×