Vancouver Salish Sisters Heading to BVI Spring Regatta

November 30, 2022

The first bareboat charter took the Salish Sisters to first in the Gill Cup

By way of background, my Caribbean regatta journey began when I twisted the rubber arms of five female sailing friends from the West Vancouver Yacht Club in British Columbia and convinced them that we should race in the 2017 Heineken Regatta. We dubbed ourselves the ‘Salish Sisters’ and, complete with branded t-shirts and war banner, chartered a 45′ boat from Sunsail. We raced in the Bareboat 2 division placing first in the Gill Cup and 7th of 18 in the division. 

Flush from this amazing experience, we put together a similar team to race in the 2018 edition of Antigua Sailing Week, again in the Bareboat division. In 2019 we returned to the HR, racing a 50′ boat in BB Division 1.

This past April a few of the ‘Sisters’ did a Covid revenge trip and raced in Les Voiles de St. Barth as crew on a friend’s Salonas 45 in CSA 4. CSA racing provided the added experience of flying a symmetrical spinnaker in 20+ knot conditions.

SinC Salish Sisters BVI Regatta 2 400SinC Salish Sisters BVI Regatta 3 400

For March 2023, the band is back together (seven female sailors from WVYC) to race in the 50th edition of the BVI Spring Regatta. We are very excited about this series of races as the BVIs have excellent sailing conditions, dramatic landscapes and legendary socializing. We wanted to up our sailing game and have booked on as crew with Spirit of Juno, a Farr 65 campaigned by Ondeck. Racing on this boat will exponentially test and increase our sailing skills and seamanship. 

SinC Salish Sisters BVI Regatta 4 400Round the Island in 2017

Caribbean regatta sailing is an amazing winter escape for those who are not content to just sit on the beach. I like to call it a working holiday where Canadian sailors can continue doing what they love in warm, windy conditions with like-minded people in the welcoming setting and culture of the host country.

Kelly Wharton

West Vancouver, BC

 

 

 

 

Related Articles

Video Gallery

Bennington 22 MSB

By Andy Adams

If you’ve already had firsthand experience with a pontoon, you will easily understand the appeal of the Bennington 22 MSB. But if you haven’t, let’s start by reviewing a few of the reasons why pontoon boats have become top sellers in markets across North America.

Pontoon boats began in the early 1950s as basically four steel drums lashed to a frame. They were not unlike the log rafts of ancient cultures and not much more sophisticated at first.

Read More

Destinations

The Best of Two Worlds

By Mathew Channer

Interior British Columbia might not be as famous for recreational boating as Canada’s Great Lakes, yet it is no less a world-class boat­ing destination. The mountains offer their own flavour of marine adventure with their series of long, deep ribbon lakes, and there is perhaps no area that embodies this more uniquely than the iconic Okanagan basin in southern B.C. One could be forgiven for assuming this valley was purpose-built for nautical fun, with a few delightful perks thrown in to make the area entirely irresistible (wine-tasting, anyone?).

Read More

Lifestyle