Golden Hind Keeps Event Afloat & Buoys In Place

April 23, 2026

Events like the Drowned Island Challenge don’t just happen by themselves. Behind every race buoy, every start gun, and every podium finish is a network of supporters who believe in what we’re building on Anegada. Golden Hind Chandlery is returning as a Gold Sponsor for 2026.

Why Sponsorship Makes the Difference

Staging a multi-sport race on a remote Caribbean island is as logistically complex as it sounds. From managing logistics, getting race management equipment (and people) up to Anegada, setting courses, organizing safety cover, setting courses on water, course marking on land, moving around on Anegada, every element of the event carries a cost and without the financial support of sponsors like Golden Hind, many of those elements simply would not be possible.

Gold Sponsor Golden Hind’s commitment at this level is a genuine vote of confidence in the Drowned Island Challenge. Their support helps cover critical operational costs along with our other sponsors, reduces the financial burden on participants through more accessible entry fees, and gives the organising team the certainty to plan bigger and better each year. In short: sponsor support is the only reason the event takes place at all.

Drowned Island Challenge running course

Anchoring the Race — Literally

Beyond financial sponsorship, Golden Hind’s contribution to the Drowned Island Challenge is deeply practical. All of the ground tackle for the race buoys – the anchors, chains, shackles, and hardware that keep our course markers firmly in place on race day -comes directly from Golden Hind Chandlery.

The BVI’s Best-Stocked Chandlery

Located near Wickhams Cay II, Road Town, Tortola, Golden Hind Chandlery has long been the go-to marine store for sailors, cruisers, charter captains, and superyacht crews throughout the British Virgin Islands. Their store is widely recognised as having the BVI’s best inventory of yacht supplies — a reputation built over years of stocking everything a vessel could possibly need.

That inventory spans the full range of marine requirements: fenders, life jackets, marine hardware, vessel consumables, nuts and bolts, rope, maintenance products, and much more. Whether you’re fitting out a dinghy or provisioning a superyacht, Golden Hind is the place to start — and very often, the place where you find exactly what you need without having to wait for an overseas shipment.

Zhik Sailing Gear — Exclusive BVI Dealer

For sailors and watersports athletes in the BVI, Golden Hind Chandlery holds a particularly exciting distinction: they are the exclusive BVI dealer for Zhik, one of the world’s leading sailing and watersports performance brands.

Zhik is the gear of choice for Olympic and World champions, trusted by elite sailors across every major racing circuit. Golden Hind stocks a carefully selected, Caribbean-centric range of Zhik clothing and footwear — chosen specifically for the conditions BVI sailors actually sail in. And the pricing is genuinely competitive, making world-class sailing gear accessible to athletes on-island without the cost and wait of importing from overseas.

The range available at Golden Hind includes:

  • INS200 Jackets — Drowned Island team-approved for BVI life, these are the insulation layer of choice for early morning starts and breezy offshore passages
  • Long-Sleeved UPF50+ XWR Water-Repellent Tops — sun protection with water-repellent performance, built for a day on the water
  • Short-Sleeved UPF50+ XWR Water-Repellent Tops — the same protection in a lighter, cooler cut
  • Motion Hooded Tops — flexible, fast-drying layering for on and off the water
  • Elite Polos — sharp, performance-ready for racing and beyond
  • Neck Gaiters — sun and spray protection for those long upwind legs
  • Caps — technical headwear built for sailing conditions
  • Buoyancy Aids — Zhik’s high-performance PFDs designed for unrestricted movement on the race course

If you’re heading to Anegada for the Drowned Island Challenge, or just gearing up in the BVI, Golden Hind is where to go.

The Drowned Island Challenge exists because a community of people — athletes, volunteers, and businesses — choose to get behind it. Golden Hind Chandlery does that as a Gold Sponsor and the supplier of our on-water race infrastructure.

📍 Golden Hind Chandlery
Wickhams Cay II, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands
📞 +1 (284) 494-7749
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