Rossland Rules--Not Just the Slopes, but the Seven Seas
By Contributor
Long time RVYC member David Reay repeated his 2008 effort by scoring another division 3rd at this month’s St. Maarten Heineken Regatta, aboard his Tobago 35 multihull Nauticat. This year, Reay was joined by an all-BC crew, including RVYC members Heather Brazier, Nigel Martin and Mike Nusbaum, rounded out by Victoria’s Paul Nicholson and Maureen Fenner of Rossland.
The 29th annual Heineken, one of the world’s premier yacht racing events, lived up to its heavy-weather tradition, with sustained winds of 30-35 knots and 12-15 foot seas. The Nauticat performed admirably in those conditions, scoring a 3-4-3 across the 3 days’ races. Reay attributes his success to “a well-honed crew of ‘seniors gone wild’”, although his competitors see the Nauticat as a surprisingly-fast cruising cat… which this year set a record of 13.5 knots on one of the race’s reaching legs.
Reay spends his winters cruising the Caribbean aboard the Nauticat, and each summer returns to cruise BC waters on his Irwin 30 Baggin’ Reays.
–submitted.
