St. John boat Soma chops 37 minutes off Round Tortola sailing record
Published: April 20, 2010
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TORTOLA — When it comes to setting records, Soma, a St John-based Formula 40 catamaran, has a beat on the competition.
Fresh off breaking the Round St. John record last Sunday, Soma — a five-time round-St. Martin winner, added the Round Tortola record to its glowing resumé on Friday when it circumnavigated Tortola and its outer islands in 2 hours, 50 minutes and 15 seconds in its first attempt on the Nanny Cay Challenge to take down Triple Jack’s record of 3 hours, 33 minutes and 27 seconds set in the Peg Legs Round Tortola Race last November.
Starting off Nanny Cay just before 10 a.m., Soma sailed counter-clockwise leaving Beef Island, Scrub Island, Great Camanoe and Guana Island to port before heading down the north side of Tortola and through Soper’s Hole back up to Nanny Cay.
“I’ve been wanting to do this record attempt since it was announced,” said Soma’s owners Nils Erickson and Meredith Pridgen, who were assisted by a crew of six, including Nanny Cay general manager Miles Sutherland-Pilch.
The total point-to-point distance is 31 miles and Soma sailed 45 miles to complete the circumnavigation, averaging 15 knots with a high speed of 25.4 knots.
The Nanny Cay Challenge is an all-comers event for multi-hulls and mono-hulls. The mono-hull time to beat of 4 hours, 15 minutes and 5 seconds was set by Dave West’s Jurakan, a Melges 32. Competitors must attempt the record counter-clockwise and around Beef Island, Scrub, Great Camanoe and Guana Island to port.
Nagarit ends Asson’s streak in Blenheim 5K
From the word “go,” Rasalula Nagarit led the parade of 32 pairs of feet waking up the sleepy Carrot Bay coastal village on Saturday morning during the Blenheim Trust 5K Carrot Bay Bomba Shack Classic, where he ended Steven Asson’s winning streak on the local road racing circuit dating back to 2008.
Nagarit, who last raced in the BVI in 2008, took off with Asson and the rest of the field in tow from the Isabella Morris Primary School just past Bomba Shack into Apple Bay and back, winning in 17 minutes and 23.64 seconds. Asson was 10 seconds back in 17:33.27 with Mark Stephenson in third in 19:36.31, as the only three finishers in under 20 minutes.
“It was a good run, very good run and I appreciate being here and most of all thank God,” Nagarit said. “There were no worries at all. I came and did what I had to do.”
Asson said the race began with a gap, which Nagarit expanded in some areas, that he tried to close.
“I tried catching him on the hills, but I started feeling the back pain, but I didn’t worry about it,” he said. “I knew if I relaxed he would leave me, so I kept the pressure, kept the pain and kept on going.”
In the women’s division, Anne Monroe made her move past Kay Reddy on the first hill en route to winning the women’s division and placing 12th overall in 24:12.27. Reddy hung on to second in 25:06.89 and was followed by Cynthia Roll in 25:31.50.
Final results
Men: 1. Rasalula Nagarit, 17 minutes, 23.64 seconds. 2. Steven Asson, 17:33.27. 3. Mark Stephenson, 19:36.31. 4. Zebalon McLean, 21:12.71. 5. Andrew Simmons, 21:36.40. 6. Richard Francis, 21:58.11. 7. Chris Conway, 22:04.28. 8. Anthony Thomas, 22:41.09. 9. Felipe Kreutzer, 25:57.36. 10. Paul Hubbard, 23:40.27. 11. William Kerkvliet, 24:06.68. 12. Howard Moore, 25:00.87. 13. James Omahony, 26:54.66. 14. Richard Parchment, 28:41.49. 15. Kashaka Smith, 29:11.33. 16. Chris Ghiorse, 30:22.85. 17. Dave Allan, 31:55.86.
Women: 1. Anne Monroe, 24:12.27. 2. Kay Reddy, 25:06.89. 3. Cynthia Roll, 25:31.50. 4. Shannon Gore, 26:19.44. 5. Stacy Giandalia, 26:33.52. 6. Simone DaBreo, 28:42.78. 7. Angela Burnett Penn, 28:43.07. 8. Stephanie Russ Penn, 29:51.30. 9. Barbara Austin, 30:00.53. 10. Elizabeth Buratti-Clifton, 30:10.00. 11. Roslyn Gilbert, 30:46.98. 12. Noni Georges, 31:24.41. 13. Millicent Harrigan, 32:24.95. 14. Anna Kinkead, 32:33.83. 15. Lenette Lewis, 36:16.28.
Ashley Kelly improves 400-meter best to 53.55
A week after becoming the No. 2 junior performer over 200 meters behind Chantel Malone’s 24.01 seconds by posting a time of 24.09 seconds in the 200 meters, Ashley Kelly moved to No. 2 in the 400 meters.
Kelly won her 400 heat and placed fifth overall in the LSU Alumni Gold Invitational meet in Louisiana on Saturday. The Illinois sophomore sliced 1.14 seconds off her 2008 outdoor best of 54.69 seconds she ran behind Malone’s 54.58 on Tortola, with a mark of 53.55 after running 54.14 during the indoor season.
Kelly moved past Samantha John’s 54.06 for the No. 2 BVI all-time mark behind Malone’s 53.46 national record and season’s best of 53.51. Kelly also helped her 400-meter relay team to a season’s best 1’of 44.64 seconds and contributed a second leg carry to the fifth place 1,600-meter quartet that ran 3:36.95
Malone — competing in the rainy and windy Michael Johnson Invite at Baylor, where she was scratched from the 200 meters for safety reasons because of the conditions — settled for second in the long jump with a leap of 19’11”.
The versatile Malone has qualified for the upcoming IAAF World Junior Championships in three events: the 400 meters and the long and triple jumps, while Kelly has qualifying marks in both the 200 and 400 meters.
King grabs first and second in Mondo Invitational
Portland State junior Karene King posted a 100-meter victory and a runner’s up finish in the 200 meters while recording personal bests in both events in the Mondo Invitational in Sacramento.
King claimed the 100 meters in 11.91 seconds, shaving .01 off the 11.92 she ran earlier in the season. She lowered her 200-meter personal best from 24.35 seconds to 24.22 to become the fourth-best BVI performer in the event.
Morgan State University Legacy Meet
Morgan State sophomore Britney Wattley was sixth in the Legacy Meet’s 100-meter final with a time of 12.13 seconds, in a race that had a 4.9-meters-per-second tailwind, which is over the allowable 2.0. She won her preliminary heat with a time of 12.17, aided by a 4.3-meters-per-second tailwind.
Wattley placed eighth overall in the 200 meters after finishing fifth in her heat in 25.40 seconds — a race that was also wind aided with a 3.3 showing on the wind gauge.
Winds rob St. Croix’ Kirby of 100-meter hurdles best
Illegal winds robbed St. Croix native and Norfolk State junior Wanetta Kirby of personal bests in the 100 meter hurdles at Morgan State’s Legacy Meet on Saturday. Kirby was second in both the semis and finals in 13.91 and 13.92 seconds respectively. The wind reading in both races was 2.7 and 2.6 meters per second respectively. She won the long jump with a leap of 18’11Â.”
Henry runs season’s best 45.75 in 400 meters
Texas A&M junior Tabarie Henry was second in his heat and fifth overall in Saturday’s Michael Johnson Invitational 400 meters with a season’s best time. Henry, who has been plagued with lower back pain, had a time of 45.75 seconds.
“I’m pleased to run my first 45 seconds of the year, even in the bad conditions where it rained all day, so it was tough,” Henry noted. “But I’m happy so far for the season because the training program here sets us up to run fast later on in the season. Last year around this time I ran 45.4 so that not really bad. It’s cool for me and I’ve been told a lot runners run fast when it counts so I’m staying on the path my coach got in store for me.
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— Dean Greenaway is a Daily News correspondent based on Tortola.
