Melges Mistress Quickly Takes Home The Pusser's Trophy
Melges 24 Mistress Quickly topped the 35th annual Pusser’s Round Tortola Race held on Saturday, November 27. The conditions, although perfect for much of the race, proved trying as the fleet attempted to cross the finish line in Soper’s Hole on the west end of Tortola.
Tortola, British Virgin Islands (PRWEB) December 1, 2004 -- Melges 24
Mistress Quickly topped the 35th annual Pusser’s Round Tortola Race held on
Saturday, November 27. The conditions, although perfect for much of the race,
proved trying as the fleet attempted to cross the finish line in Soper’s Hole on
the west end of Tortola.
The non-spinnaker and spinnaker classes started
in Sir Francis Drake Channel off Nanny Cay and then headed anti-clockwise around
Tortola taking a navigation mark off Beef Island Bluff, Scrub Island, Great
Camanoe, Guana Island, Steele Point in West End, to port. The finish was in
Soper’s Hole, West End, off the Jolly Roger Restaurant.
After the initial
beat up the Sir Francis Drake Channel, it was all down hill once the fleet
rounded Great Camanoe and ideal conditions for the light Melges
24.
“Excellent day, perfect weather,” said Guy Eldridge, owner and
skipper of Mistress Quickly. “Wind being from the north east really helped us
because we were able to use light air, light winds all the way up on the beat.
On run there was just enough breeze for us to surf. We had to work it, pump it
the whole way down and had to switch through three different trimmers to keep
them going. We managed to survive the light air at Steele Point and that was
that. We made it round.”
The day started briskly with winds reaching 20
knots but diminished as the day wore on. While local knowledge generally
dictates that you hug the south coast of Tortola as you head upwind, some boats,
particularly those that were sailing short-handed, opted to head further out and
minimize the tacking.
Triple Jack, the trimaran Transat veteran, took
line honours with a time of three hours, fifty-two minutes and 52 seconds
(3.52.52). She was first to experience the aptly named Soper’s Hole where the
wind disappeared, shifted wildly and caused no end of headaches for Triple Jack
and subsequent yachts attempting to finish.
Mistress Quickly, Olson 30
Willy-T and J/33 Boomerang tussled their way around the course only to enter
Soper’s Hole where tactics gave way to a lottery as they attempted to reach the
finish. Mistress Quickly finally crossed the line four hours, twenty-six minutes
and 21 seconds later (4.26.21) – far enough ahead to beat Willy-T by over six
minutes on corrected time.
Pipe Dream won the Racer-Cruiser class.
Cacafuego topped the Cruising class while Tikitas, despite crossing the start
line thirty-five minutes late, was second.
Traditional Island Sloop
Moonbeam skippered by the governor of the British Virgin Islands, His Excellency
Tom “the sailing governor” Macan, joined the fray on a shortened course but did
not complete the race. An honourable mention went to Angel Ayala and his Sun Bum
II crew who came from Puerto Rico for the race.
The prize giving was held
at Pusser’s Landing, Soper’s Hole, where Pusser’s Rum ships decanters, flagons
and hip flasks were awarded. Guy Eldridge was presented with the Pusser’s Round
Tortola Race perpetual trophy.
Pusser's Rum, the Original Navy Rum, has
sponsored the Round Tortola race since 1989. “The Round Tortola Race is a
sailor’s race and Pusser’s Rum is a sailor’s rum so we’re very pleased to
continue to support this great event. No one is more deserving of a tot of
Pusser’s Rum than those competing in this race,” said Charles Tobias, owner of
Pusser’s Ltd.
For more than 300 years, from the earliest days of wooden
ships and iron men, sailors of Great Britain's Royal Navy were issued a daily
ration–or "tot"–of rum by the ship's "Purser" (corrupted by the sailors to
Pusser's).
On July 31st, 1970, the Admiralty Board abolished the daily
issue of Pusser's Rum. In 1979, entrepreneur Charles Tobias resurrected the
Pusser's Rum tradition. He obtained the rights and all the blending information
from the Admiralty and formed Pusser's Ltd. on Tortola in the British Virgin
Islands. He began bottling and selling Pusser’s Rum to the public for the first
time in 1980. Prior to then, it was restricted to the Royal Navy.
Today's Pusser's Rum is still produced with the blend of five West
Indian rums in exact accordance with the Admiralty's specifications. Unlike most
rums, it is predominantly a "pot-stilled" rum. The distillation process is
similar to that used for single malt scotches, which produces greatly enhanced
flavor using no flavoring agents. It is 100% natural.
In 2001, Pusser's
was awarded the "Gold Medal - World's Premier Dark Rum" at the International
Wine & Spirits Festival. In 2003, Pusser's Rum won a "Double Gold Medal" at
the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. For more information on Pusser's
Rum visit: http://www.pussers.com.
Pusser’s Round Tortola Race -
Final Results (corrected times):
Spinnaker Racing
1 Mistress Quickly,
Guy Eldridge (3.52.15)
2 Willy-T, Kevin Rowlette (3.59.02)
3 Boomerang,
Pat Nolan (4.01.13)
Spinnaker Racer/Cruiser
1 Pipe Dream, Peter
Haycraft (3.56.11)
2 Dehlerious, Bungie Flynn (4.04.51)
3 Aquilo, Mike
Williams (4.15.20)
Cruising
1 Cacafuego, Arjan Stoof (4.36.06)
2
Tikitas, James Bridgewater (4.46.39)
3 Alcestis, Craig Chomiak
(5.12.23)
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/12/prweb184064.htm