15-year anniversary at the sailing paradise
The Skippers Cup, organized by Skippers magazine together with Voile Evasion, brings together Swiss sailors every two years for a week-long sailing rally. After Croatia and Greece, this year it returned to the British Virgin Islands, where it celebrated its premiere on November 11, 2011 to mark the magazine’s tenth anniversary.
This year, eight boats cruised the islands around Tortola from May 2 to 9. Around forty people took part on board 41-foot unit yachts from the Moorings and Sunsail fleets. The organizing committee accompanied them on a spacious Moorings 463 Leopard catamaran, laid out the buoys, filmed the launches and welcomed the skippers to the daily briefing or the morning yoga session.
Fantastic conditions and gorgeous islands
The British Virgin Islands, BVI for short, consist of around sixty islands whose names sound as much like pirates as the marinas sound like tax havens. Norman Island, Jost van Dyke, Virgin Gorda, Guana Island and Anegada recall legendary skirmishes. We sailed to the islands under almost perfect conditions. In bright sunshine and 10 to 18 knots of wind, we glided across the turquoise sea and were accompanied by colorful fish and sea turtles that curiously poked their heads out of the water. With the exception of the flat island of Anegada, known for its flamingos, lobsters and lagoon, the green BVIs tend to be hilly to mountainous. Small settlements are scattered randomly across the lushly forested islands. On the shore, rugged rocky coasts alternate with white sandy beaches lined with coconut palms, rivaling the beauty of the offshore islets, which are often home to little more than a few palm trees.
Embedded in this blue-green harmony, the islands surprise with their versatility. Some are privately owned by billionaires who are as addicted to the tropical idyll as we are. Virgin Gorda is particularly spectacular with The Baths Nature Park, whose huge granite blocks between land and sea are reminiscent of the Seychelles. Caves and idyllic natural pools are dotted between the rocks. A stop was naturally part of the program. The longer the trip lasted, the more we were torn between the desire to stay a little longer in these magical places and the desire to discover new things and show our colors in the constant wind during the next race.
Tough, but heartfelt
The idea behind the Skippers Cup was to bring the Swiss sailing community together and introduce participants to a new sailing area in a fun and safe way. Based on the principle of a flotilla with a flagship, the format provided for one stage per day with a start and finish line as well as a daily ranking. The welcome evening offered by Moorings-Sunsail gave the crews the opportunity to get to know each other. Many of the participants already knew each other from regattas on Swiss lakes or from previous editions of the Skippers Cup. Some have been taking part for fifteen years, such as Valérie and Philippe Rey-Gorrez from Teamwork or Lake Geneva veterans Michel Glaus and Jean-Claude Burdet. They made no secret of how much they enjoyed discovering a new and exotic area together.
Teamwork has been a loyal partner of the Skippers Cup for many years. Like the organizers, the company organized an evening for the participants, which further strengthened the bonds within the fleet. As always, the awards ceremony took place after the return to the charter base, this time at the invitation of Leopard Catamarans. With much laughter and good humor, Jonathan Viey showed the best moments of the week in pictures and videos. His impressive regatta and landscape shots can be viewed on Skippers ‘ Instagram account and YouTube channel.
The daily races never lasted longer than half a day, so that there was enough time to explore the islands or relax. The dinners on the beach, the cocktails on the flagship and the evenings together in the marina were particularly popular. This is where friendships for life are often formed. The fact that sociability and mutual appreciation are held in high regard by all participants was also evident at the daily briefing, which was held on board the flagship at aperitif time. No one put on airs; delicate situations on the water were addressed openly, with humor and mutual respect. On the water, however, the teams gave each other no quarter. They showed healthy sporting ambition; after all, they had come to win. There were also shared moments this time during morning yoga. Sometimes almost half of the participants gathered at 7 a.m. to do something for body and mind under the guidance of Jonathan Viey’s partner Megane. She herself was enthusiastic about this new experience.
Exciting to the end
Traditionally, around half of the crews are good cruising sailors, while the other half are experienced racers for whom the sporting result plays an important role. This year’s podium contenders included Christian Willi, who has finished second several times in previous events, SĂ©bastien Aubord, who is usually found on TF35s or Pogo, the multiple Swiss champions Michel Glaus and “Gaston” Burdet as well as defending champion François Bopp, who usually competes in the Rolex Cup and other international regattas on high-tech yachts.
However, Glaus and his team had to bury their ambitions relatively early on as they were thwarted by technical problems. The battle for the top places was therefore mainly between three teams. Nevertheless, the crews at the back of the field did not give up, so that the Cup remained exciting right to the end. The two newcomers Jean-Louis Frei and his Bernese crew Les Tacticiens and BenoĂźt Lietar with Team Rolex also showed great commitment and performed excellently.
Two other teams had put together their crews at short notice and rather improvised. Marc Perut, a volunteer on the Bol d’Or, and Pierre Buholzer, former boss of the specialist nautical store La Seiche, set off together with their wives. For them, the main focus was on the joy of discovering an extraordinary region together and experiencing unforgettable moments with other sailing enthusiasts.
The overall standings changed almost daily. In the end, François Bopp once again won the Skippers Cup, just ahead of SĂ©bastien Aubord (Teamwork) and Christian Willi. But the most important thing for everyone was the good atmosphere. They enjoyed the week to the full and are already looking forward to the next event. So that they don’t have to wait so long for a reunion, they want to organize a meeting beforehand.
The BVIs: far away, but worth the trip
A trip to the British Virgin Islands has to be earned. The scenery is spectacular, the sailing conditions are ideal almost all year round and the sea is impressively beautiful. The downside: the journey takes time and is rarely without incident. Hardly any crew has been spared flight or luggage problems. The hospitality and quality of service in the stores and restaurants are also not always up to European standards and the prices are relatively high.
The different standards were also partly reflected in the impressive Sunsail Moorings base, which is the largest charter base in the world with 320 boats. When checking in, it is advisable to check the condition of the boat particularly carefully. There were significantly more problems during this Skippers Cup than at previous events. Sunsail-Moorings is generally regarded as a benchmark for fleet quality and technical support. Previously, we had only had good experiences, even in very large bases such as Split (Croatia).
However, the excellent location and good infrastructure of the base in Tortola remain undisputed. Restaurants, bars and stores make arrival and departure much easier. The pool, spa and spacious, well-maintained shower facilities provide additional comfort after long days on the water. Despite everything, the forty or so participants in the Skippers Cup will remember the beautiful aspects of this sailing rally. The BVIs’ famous Painkiller probably played its part in this.
You can find the movie and the best pictures of the week on Skippers‘ YouTube channel.