Charter Broker and keen sailor Sarah Fraser has been on board a yacht racing in the Loro Piana Regatta in the British Virgin Islands.

Here Sarah tells us about her adventure, the racing and what makes the British Virgin Islands so special.

'I was fortunate enough to be invited to race on-board TEMPUS FUGIT at the Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta and Rendezvous in the British Virgin Islands.  Erbil Arkin, the owner of TEMPUS FUGIT, is new to the Superyacht Regatta scene and while no stranger to having fun on the water, he had never experienced racing with a highly professional crew.  Erbil, who hails from Northern Cyprus and Britain, was a jovial and generous host and highly motivated to make a good showing with his stunningly beautiful, all wooden, 90’ sloop, built in Turkey.  Erbil had in fact just achieved one of his lifetime ambitions by sailing across the Atlantic.

On arrival at the Yacht Club Costa Smerelda’s winter base in Virgin Gorda, I was met by the hubbub of crew preparation; the dock piled high with sails, ropes and kit.  Every yacht trying to lighten the load ready for the racing.  Amidst the large aluminium sailing yachts was TEMPUS FUGIT, my racing machine for the week.  She stuck out from the crowd with her gleaming mahogany hull, a true “spirit of tradition” yacht.  It was soon to become apparent that she was not only a beautiful work of art, but extremely swift.  Her hull form and huge rig designed by Humphreys Yacht Design clearly showed off her moves.

My first impression was “Oh God, no guard rails”.  How was I going to stay in the boat!  After a practice of “Man Overboard” on our first day by one of the dashing foredeck crew, I realised I wouldn’t be left behind but I certainly wouldn’t be very popular if I fell over during a race. The regatta is run by YCCS in their usual slick Italian way and we were set interesting courses around beautiful islands with lots of action.  The Yacht Club is only reachable by boat and is a little corner of Italy in the Caribbean.  I couldn’t resist a “proper” coffee in the mornings overlooking the yachts and the infinity pool.  Nothing was too much trouble and we were all looked after very well.  The fleet was made up of 20 yachts from 70’ to 220’, old and new, fast and not so fast.  The beauty of the Superyacht rule is that all these yachts can compete on an even keel.  With our fine crew and slick manoeuvres, we won our class on Day 1 to the absolute delight of all of us and particularly Erbil.  We finished a very respectable 3^rd overall in our class.  Congratulations to MOONBIRD with her striking new black rig who won our class.

The races lasted 3 or 4 hours and the afternoons were time to explore the beautiful islands.  Snorkelling over a nearby coral reef, we saw lobsters, squid, rays and hundreds of brightly coloured small fish.  A swim off the white sandy beach on Prickly Pear Island which was deserted and paddle boarding around Saba Rock were highlights. The British Virgin Islands are, without doubt, the most perfect place to sail, race and enjoy.  So good, I have just booked my flights to return for Christmas.'

 If you would like to charter a yacht for one of the summer regattas in the Mediterranean, please contact Sarah on sarah@cecilwright.com.

Photos courtesy of Superyacht Media