Premier Honourable Ralph T. O’Neal has officially received the trophy from the fifth annual Great Festival Sloop Shoot Out in which he was represented by Territorial Representative, Irene Penn-O’Neal.

Penn-O’Neal who beat Governor David Pearey and the crew from the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College in the August Tuesday race, presented the trophy to the Premier last Friday in the presence of her crew, Elvet Myers and President of the BVI Power Boat Association, Dwayne Smith and race organiser, Geoffrey Brooks.

The Premier expressed deep appreciation to Penn-O’Neal for racing on his behalf and noted that sailing is an important part of the Territory’s history and culture. He noted too that boat owners took great pride in their vessels and prepared months in advance for races.

“It is very good to see the tradition being kept alive and I do hope that our young men and women will continue to keep the tradition alive and get interested in sailing,” the Premier said, adding that “building boats and sailing boats is part of our culture and some of the older heads had to do it for a living.”

The Premier noted that sailing is a relaxing past-time but people today seem to prefer the speed boats.

“The people who used the speedboat do not bother to know about the wind and the tide and the moon; you see the tide changes according to the moon but they do not bother to learn about that.”

Penn-O’Neal thanked the Premier for the opportunity to race on his behalf.

“I really enjoyed it,” she said “it was an experience I would cherish, I would remember for the rest of my life.” Penn O’Neal added “I was the winner of this boat race and I was very thankful, and honoured and grateful and proud to represent you in this boat race.”

The Territorial Representative shared with the Premier some of her experiences on race day.

“We got caught in a wind squall that I was not prepared for and I have to say thanks to my able and experienced crew men, Elvet Myers and Dwayne Smith, who with their experience and knowledge were able to manoeuvre through the squall and brought us back to shore.”

The Great Festival Sloop Shoot Out is held annually on August Tuesday as part of the festival activities. It was organised and sponsored by the Centre for Applied Marine Studies at the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College, the Loyal West End Yacht Club, the Royal BVI Yacht Club and the Virgin Islands Powerboat Association.

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