Leighton’s Blog

Day 3 - 2013 BVI Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival. Photos by Leighton O'Connor. © 2013 All rights reserved. See more photos at: http://www.leightonphoto.com/Sailing-Regattas/2013-BVI-Spring-Regatta

Day 1 - 2013 BVI Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival. Photos by Leighton O'Connor. © 2013 All rights reserved. See more photos at: http://www.leightonphoto.com/Sailing-Regattas/2013-BVI-Spring-Regatta

Day 1 - 2013 BVI Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival. Photos by Leighton O'Connor. © 2013 All rights reserved. See more photos at: http://www.leightonphoto.com/Sailing-Regattas/2013-BVI-Spring-Regatta

Published in Scuttlebutt March 28, 2013 Scuttlebutt correspondent Leighton O'Connor has been on the Caribbean race circuit, leaving home base in Massachusetts for the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta, International Rolex Regatta (USVI), and this week he is at the BVI Spring Regatta &; Sailing Festival.  Today was a layday between the 'festival' and 'regatta', which we suspect means nothing with regard to sun, fun, and beverages. Here is Leighton's latest report and video... proceed with caution: I called it right again. On Wednesday morning I got aboard the 80 year classic yacht The Blue Peter for the final event of the Festival, the Caribbean Insurer Island Invitational to Norman Island from Nanny Cay. I know, all work and no play. Designed by Alfred Mylne and built by W. King & Sons of Burnham-on-Crouch in 1930, she was named The Blue Peter for luck, after the 'P' flag. It worked as The Blue Peter won over 50 races in and around the south coa

Just having some fun with a GoPro. Nobody did any Jello shots off me. I didn't get a tattoo but I did jump.  I think want to go back later in the day for dancing. Video by jumper Leighton O'Connor:  http://www.leightonoconnor.com

Painkillers And Cheeseburgers By Leighton O'Connor When I got to Nanny Cay on Monday for the BVI Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival (Mar 25-31), I met up with Trish Jenkins, the press officer for the regatta. I wanted to see what boats I could get on for the next few days of racing to do some on board videos and stories. Trish had a list of about half dozen skippers who were cool with having a media person on board. I ran through the list with Trish and somebody in the media center chimed in and said Alice Martin, the skipper of the Painkiller Racing, is an interesting character and has done a ton of racing around the world. Alice and her husband are members of the Chicago and Columbia Yacht Clubs, has brought her Sydney 38 to Key West for Race Week, has chartered boats in Key West and Antigua for race week, has done many years of Macs and NOODS, and even chartered a boat for the 2011 ORC Championship in Croatia. Trish and I tracked down Alice and her crew on the beach having a