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.

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. 

Round 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