The Royal BVI Yacht Club: Blue Blazers and Flip Flops
By Paul Carrell
A sailing club with a long history, the Royal BVI Yacht Club counts some of the islands’ top sailors as members, and sponsors the BVI’s most prestigious race, the BVI Spring Regatta.
The formation of the British Virgin Islands Yacht Club on July 25, 1973, enabled seventy-six rock clinging dirt dwellers the ability to have access to an initial fleet of four Sunfish sailing dinghies and a few SQUIBs and venture out into the pristine Sir Francis Drakes Channel.
The occasion, with Commodore Peter Wright at the helm, was designed to promote and develop sailing for everyone, young and old. Their goal was to teach young sailors the necessary skills required to compete, work or play in and on the waters they call home.
The original club house was located on the bulkhead of waterfront apartments in Road Town. They soon became too small to accommodate the growing membership and a larger accommodation was sought.
When word went out that a club house was needed, Charlie and Ginny Cary, who had just started The Moorings, one of the BVI’s first bareboat charter companies, came to the rescue. The recreation room at Fort Burt became the clubhouse for the fledgling yacht club. Word was out that you could not only drink but sail, so the membership continued to prosper.
Over the years some of these young sailors went on to compete on the world sailing stage, distinguishing the BVI as the smallest country to be represented in the Olympics’ in sailing in 1984, ’88, ’92, and the 2024 Pan American games.
The yacht club archives state that Peter Haycraft OBE (SV Pipe Dream) was elected commadore eleven times from 1974, culminating in 2000. In his final term as commodore the club eventually became a member of the Royal Yachting Association and the West Indies Yachting Association. This enabled the fledgling club to prosper and draw more and more talented sailors into their midst. It also allowed them to put the distinguished word “Royal” at the beginning of their name.
The club is fortunate to have a variety of options at its disposal for young people to become familiar with basic, intermediate and advanced yachting skills at the RBVIYC.
The club offers the “after-school club” during the school year which provides sail training for youngsters that may be interested in the fundamentals of sailing. In addition to this, there are also Easter and Summer camps available for the kids to get their feet wet, so to speak, and get a feel for the sailing experience.
The yacht club also offers three types of additional programs and opportunities for sailing classes.
•The White Cedar Fund for BVI Endeavors, which supports young sailors to attend the regular sailing classes.
•The Turtle Dove Fund for Overseas Endeavors, which supports young sailors and enables them to compete on the international circuit.
•KATS ((Kids and the Sea) summer program and KATS “Captains in training” which is a more advanced program.
Though, not actually affiliated with the yacht club, the KATS program which was founded in 1986, has been patronized by the club since its inception and relies on this organization to lay the ground work for local children to learn to swim, boating rudiments and enjoy and respect the sea around us.
The RBVIYC is an icon to the sailing community here in the British Virgin Islands. Through its history of race management and sailing programs for the children and adults in our community it provides the fundamental ingredients to nurture a well-respected sailing community here and throughout the international racing circuit.
The coaches and instructors that are affiliated with the club provide the skills required to become indoctrinated to sailing and boat handling and prepare the next generation of sailors for what may be lifelong professions or valuable skillsets to be used in their adult lives.
Teamwork, tenacity, preparation and leadership all contribute to successful social or career paths. Crossing the finish line first or last prepares the participants for a lifetime of memories and learning experiences which can influence one’s life in countless ways.
Go to the Royal BVI Yacht Club website to learn more about the club and its events.
For more about the BVI Spring Regatta to to:
For more about the Spring Regatta and other BVI races go to:
