Green is the new black

The BVI Spring Regatta and Sailing Festival on March 30 to April 5, known for its innovation on the race course, is setting the standard onshore to create environmental awareness in the British Virgin Islands and within the sailing community.

Through their work with Sailors for the Sea’s Clean Regattas program, the certification system for water based events, the BVI Spring Regatta was first awarded a Silver certificate in 2009. In 2010, the BVI Spring Regatta was the first Caribbean regatta to be awarded Gold Level Certification and
in 2013 became the first Carbon Neutral regatta on the planet.

All of this “greenness” requires a community effort. It starts with event host Nanny Cay Resort and Marina, an environmentally conscious resort that is run with sustainability in mind. For the competitors, their skipper’s bag for information and sponsor goodies is functional as well as beautiful. Definitely not a throw-away. Each entrant also gets biodegradable trash bags along with information on green cleaning products and local green initiatives.

The event awards are created by GreenVI from glass that has been collected and recycled from past regatta beverage containers. GreenVI is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to demonstrating the principles and benefits of sustainable living in the BVI. Not only are they producing the awards using their reheating chamber that is fuelled by used vegetable oil collected from area restaurants, but they are packaging the awards in repurposed Heineken boxes and recycled padding.

Last year, the BVI Spring Regatta awarded the first annual Green Boat award and will be continued again this year.

“Even with our success in the past, supporting an eco-conscious lifestyle, the BVI Spring Regatta is hoping to achieve even more,” reports Judy Petz, Director, BVI Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival. “We are currently seeking community partners that understand the need for protecting our Caribbean sailing playground. We are hoping to find a partner willing to match funds collected from the visitors at the Regatta Village to offset our carbon footprint and by offering the funds to GreenVI to further its vision of a green, clean, healthy and prosperous BVI.”

So yes, green is the new black as the 2015 BVI Spring Regatta and Sailing Festival seeks to protect the resources that make the BVI such a perfect place to live and play.