BATTLING IN BAREBOATS

The Straw Hat Crew had the Caribbean Championship in their grasp, but the defenders had the endgame.

MICHAEL WELCH

WE all know what happens when six champion one-design keelboat teams meet in the British Virgin Islands to race for glory in 43-foot bareboats of dubious equality. It’s a whole lotta fun, frustration and challenges by the day, but it’s one heck of a sailing adventure that comes with an equal-size rum buzz. For my teammates from the J/35 Falcon, winners of the 2024 Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series in Detroit, and present in our signature straw hats, that’s how this Caribbean Championship plays out. Our BVI adventure begins at the Sunsail base in Road Town, Tortola, where the first order of business is to source a whisker pole for the boat’s furling jib. Fellow team member Jim Allen and I set out to recon nearby boatyards, where a…

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Sailing World (Digital) - 1 Issue, Winter 2025

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