At the Skipper’s Briefing on Thursday 8 May at Roy’s Bayside Grill, David De Vries, from St Martin Yacht Club, said that the Anguilla Regatta, held at Road Bay over the weekend of 9 – 11 May 2008, ‘aimed to be a nice, friendly Caribbean Regatta.’
The Battle of the Banks, the highly anticipated race between the Caribbean Commercial Bank and the National Bank of Anguilla, promised to put this assertion to the test. Each crew, members of staff of the respective banks, was charged with enthusiasm and the will to do their best to bring home glory.

A close race NBA leads CCB by a narrow margin

After a shaky start it was a closely fought race. Would NBA, crewing Stars and Stripes, overcome CCB, on True North 4, to even up the winners league? CCB has held the Battle of the Banks Trophy for the past two years and NBA, three time winners, were eager to bring the trophy back to what they consider is its rightful home. Much was riding on it, not least the esteem of the bank teams’ supporters watching on shore.

NBA looked the more confident during practise but CCB held its own and it was a thrilling spectacle to witness. Crews worked hard and each boat took its turn in the lead. NBA though showed just what they could do and Stars and Stripes finally passed the finish line well ahead of True North 4, to win back the Battle of the Banks for the National Bank of Anguilla. The crew were jubilant!

Jubilant NBA after Winning Battle of the Banks

“We are very excited about winning today. This trophy has eluded us for the past two years, so we are happy now to have it back in its rightful home, because we are the inaugural winners of the Battle of the Banks when it started,” Romere Kelsick, Captain of the NBA Winning Team, stated.

Commenting on the race itself, he said, “There were several times in the race when we were neck and neck. At that time each team would have a slight lead but you know with the changing wind conditions, you have to tack and with the different tactics you use on the boat, we were able to gain an advantage in the end.” He pointed out that, “The Sea was very choppy and we had some very high winds at some points in the race.” It was clearly NBA’s better handling of the conditions that led to eventual victory.

NBA with Trophy - Photos courtesy Penny Legg

“We are very happy that we triumphed and we look to do this again next year: Be Victorious!“ concluded Kelsick. “We feel wonderful about winning.”
Timothy Hodge, NBA Board of Directors and one of the crew, was very happy about the win: “Well, it is just natural that NBA leads and NBA wins!” he stated. “And we have the trophy back that is ours, rightfully ours. We are declaring Monday to be a public holiday and NBA has the day off and they get paid, so no problem!”

Presenting the trophy for the sixth Battle of the Banks, Peter Parles, President of the Anguilla Sailing Association, said, “The Anguilla Regatta is a major fundraiser for the Anguilla Youth Sailing Club and these guys from NBA and CCB really help us to raise the profile of the Anguilla Sailing Association and the Anguilla Youth Sailing Association. Those who come down to Sandy Ground on a weekday after school will see the regattas we do for the kids several times a year. We appreciate your support. Congratulations to NBA.”
- Penny Legg

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