ANTILOPE GBR 46N Willem Wester (Photo by Rolex / Ingrid Abery)
The three-day International Rolex Regatta kicked off today with “town races” that took sailors from the east end of St. Thomas, where host St. Thomas Yacht Club is located, to Charlotte Amalie, the island’s capital city. Once there, the fleet of 68 boats, split into six classes, turned around and headed back, but only after sharing some colorful action with tourists on the downtown waterfront and on two cruise ships in port as well as fans perched at different vantage points along the route. Gray clouds mingled with white all day, giving tacticians as much cause to look upward to anticipate wind shifts as they did downward to read the play of the sapphire blue Caribbean Sea beneath them.
“Both of the races today were very different from each other,” said Tony Rey (Newport, R.I.), tactician aboard Peter Cunningham’s (George Town, CAY) PowerPlay, which finished 1-2 today to edge out Willem Wester’s (Breskens, Zeeland, NED) Antilope, which posted a 3-1. “We owe 11 ½ minutes to Antilope in an hour of racing, so it’s not easy to beat them, but we love planing, and 8-10 minutes into the first leg of the first race, a storm cloud came and we were off and running. That’s how we got ahead — it was 16-18 knots for a while, and Peter did a fantastic job of driving.”
Rey explained that in the second race the wind laid down. It was then that Antilope, the heavier displacement boat, had the advantage. Bill Alcott’s (St. Clair Shores, Mich.) 65-footer Equation took line honors in both races and corrected out to third overall. Equation’s navigator Chris Clark (Detroit) was happy with the outcome, saying that the crew had been sailing together a long time but not on this particular boat, which Alcott only recently bought. “We are gaining confidence,” said Clark, “but the hard thing really is the boat draws 16 ½ feet, which is a lot. Today around one of the islands, we were about 500 feet away from it; even in Charlotte Amalie Harbour we had to be careful — it’s hard to find the sweet spot for us on the course.”
A disappointment to all in this class was the dismasting of Lord Irvine Laidlaw of Rothiemay’s (MON) IRC 52 Highland Fling XII after a port spreader apparently failed. “It happened about five miles into the race after the first turning mark,” said Michael Giles (SA), the boat’s trimmer. “We had made some modifications after racing in Key West, and we were very happy because we knew they were the right changes. We were 100% sure we were winning, so it was unfortunate that it did come down.” With no way to repair the rig before the end of the regatta, the boat is out for the count.
“It’s absolutely a shame for a lot of reasons,” said PowerPlay’s Rey. “We were having a great race with them at the time when we heard a loud bang. She was a benchmark for us, and we were keen to see how we compared.”
CSA racing boats (three classes), one-design IC 24s, and Beach Cats also joined in today’s town races, with the IC 24s adding a third race afterwards.
“We actually had to take our spinnaker down in the first race,” said Latitude 38’s 18-year-old Nikki Barnes, who, with one of her all-girl crewmembers here (Augustina Barbuto, age 16) won a bronze medal for the Virgin Islands at last summer’s ISAF Youth Championships (in international 420s). “There were a lot of boats broaching in our (IC 24) class.” Though currently in 12th, Barnes says her experience in dinghy racing will serve her well over the next two days of racing, when the class will sail up to 14 more races. “We made so many mistakes in the long races; we are well practiced in short-course racing, and we will be so much better at that.” Currently leading the IC 24s is Carlos Sierra’s (Guaynabo, PR) Banana Boat/Fuataka.
Another young team of West Indian high school and sailing students is competing in CSA non-spinnaker class and currently sitting in second overall. They are led by Central High School (St. Croix) teacher Stan Jones aboard Tony Sanpere’s (St. Croix) J/36 Cayennita Grande, which has won this class several times. Jack Desmond’s (Marion, Mass.) Swan 48 Affinity posted a 1-2 today to Cayennita Grande’s 3-1 to take the lead in the seven-boat class.
Jorge Ramos’s Hobie 16 Universal leads the Beach Cats, while Andrea Scarabelli’s (Cole Bay, St. Maarten) Melges 24 Budget Marine/GILL and Jaime Torres’s (San Juan, PR) Beneteau First 40 Smile and Wave are leading CSA 1 and CSA 2, respectively.
Racing continues tomorrow with all classes but the IC 24s racing within viewing distance of St. John’s south shore.
WILD T'ING ISV 888 Owner Lawrence Aqui (Photo by Rolex / Ingrid Abery)
Results
Place, Yacht Name, Type, Owner/Skipper, Hometown, Results, Total Points
IC 24 (One Design – 14 Boats)
1. Banana Boat/Fuataka, IC 24, Carlos R. Sierra , Guaynabo, PR, USA – 3, 1, 5, ; 9
2. Orion, IC 24, Fraito Lugo , Ponce, PR, USA – 1, 4, 4, ; 9
3. Cachondo, IC 24, Marco Teixidor , San Juan, PUR – 5, 2, 2, ; 9
CSA 1 (CSA – 9 Boats)
1. Budget Marine/GILL , Melges 24, Andrea Scarabelli , Cole Bay, St. Maarten, AHO – 1, 1, ; 2
2. Fire Water, Melges 24, Henry Leonnig , Nanny Cay, Tortola, BVI – 2, 3, ; 5
3. Magnitude 400, Farr 400, Doug Baker , Long Beach, CA, USA – 5, 2, ; 7
CSA 2 (CSA – 13 Boats)
1. Smile and Wave, Beneteau First 40, Jaime Torres , San Juan, PR, USA – 2, 1, ; 3
2. Lazy Dog, J 122, Sergio Sagramoso , San Juan, PR, USA – 3, 2, ; 5
3. Dark Star, J 105, Jonathan Lipuscek , San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA – 1, 6, ; 7
CSA Non-Spinnaker (CSA – 7 Boats)
1. Affinity, Swan 48, Jack Desmond , Marion, MA, USA – 1, 2, ; 3
2. Cayennita Grande, J 36, Antonio Sanpere , Christiansted, VI, USA – 3, 1, ; 4
3. Hotel California too, Cruising SC70, Stephen Schmidt , St Thomas, USVI, USA – 2, 5, ; 7
IRC 1 (IRC – 9 Boats)
1. PowerPlay, TP 52, Peter Cunningham , George Town, CAY – 1, 2, ; 3
2. Antilope, Grand Soleil 46, Willem Wester , Breskens, Zeeland, NED – 3, 1, ; 4
3. Equation, STP 65, W.Alcott / E.Palm / T.Anderson , St Clair Shores, MI, USA – 2, 3, ; 5
Beach Cats (Portsmouth – 10 Boats)
1. Universal, Hobie 16, Jorge Ramos , San Juan, PR, USA – 2, 1, ; 3
2. Time Out, Hobie 16, John Holmberg , St. Thomas, VI, USA – 1, 2, ; 3
3. Zhik, Nacra 20, Trey Brown , Taylors, SC, USA – 4, 3, ; 7
U.S. and Caribbean Media Contact
ARETHUSA USA 4216 Phil Lotz (Photo by Rolex / Ingrid Abery)
Overcast skies and light showers cooled things down today at St. Thomas Yacht Club in the USVI where hundreds of sailors on 68 teams are preparing for the 39th International Rolex Regatta. The conditions, however, came with plenty of wind for practicing and did nothing to dampen the excitement building for the next three days of racing.
Right out of the box will be Stephen Murray, Jr.’s Carkeek 40 Decision, which has been designed to the newly developed HPR (High Performance Rule) and will headline in one of two CSA classes here that has no less than six other 40-footers “raring to compare.”
“There is no rating rule promoting the light (displacement) grand prix racing boats as a continuum between 30 and 70 feet,” said Sean Carkeek, the South African designer who has been working for a year on the rule as part of a technical committee developed specifically to fill this void. According to Carkeek, the HPR will change all that when regattas eventually adopt dual scoring under the widely used IRC rule and HPR in classes where it needs to apply. At the International Rolex Regatta, the likes of Michael Shlens’ (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.,) Blade and Doug Baker’s (Long Beach, Calif.) Magnitude 400, both Farr 400s, are sure to spice up the competition among the 40 footers. In addition, two Class 40 boats, which typically are outfitted for short-handed offshore sailing, are competing with accomplished skippers aboard. Andrew Fisher (Greenwich, Conn.) will take the helm of Icarus, while Berry Lewis (Mill Valley, Calif.) will steer 40 Degrees.
In IRC, it will be a trio of 52 footers– Lord Irvine Laidlaw of Rothiemay’s (MON) Highland Fling XII, Ashley Wolfe’s (Calgary, AB, CAN) Mayhem, and Peter Cunningham’s (Georgetown, Cay) PowerPlay — and a Cookson 50, Ron O’Hanley’s (Newport, R.I.) Privateer, that are likely to stand out, while the reborn 65-foot Rosebud, now called Equation, will be out for a first showing since bought by Bill Alcott (St. Clair Shores, Mich.). Among the power names onboard these boats are America’s Cup notables Peter Holmberg, Mike Toppa, Tony Rey, and George Skuodas. As well, Great Britain’s Brian Thompson, who layed to waste previous around-the-world speed records with his recent circumnavigation aboard the 130-foot trimaran Banque Populaire V, will be skippering the Safe Passage company’s Andrews 72 Safara, which is the largest boat competing here.
Willem Wester (Zeeland, The Netherlands), with Volvo Ocean Race veteran Boewe Bekking (NED) calling tactics, will attempt to repeat his IRC class victory from last year, sailing the Grand Soleil 46 Antilope. With tomorrow’s winds expected to be between 15 and 20 knots, Bekking says this may be hard to recreate, however. “When it’s windy the lighter displacement boats in our class this time should be going better,” said Bekking, “but if it’s light we can have a pretty fair race.”
For the USA’s Olympic medalist Charlie McKee (Seattle, Wash.), who is serving as tactician aboard Mayhem, it is mostly about the experience of being here for the first time that has him “expecting crazy, wild, mixed up racing that’s super fun!”
The International Rolex Regatta is a cornerstone of the spring Caribbean racing schedule, and as such attracts top programs from around the world for its mix of buoy and point-to-point races. It also distinguishes itself by having multiple races a day for all classes. “It’s all part of a unique mix of island-style fun and hard-core IRC, CSA and one design racing,” said Regatta Co-chair Bill Canfield, pointing out a massive, specially-constructed stage rising out of the water on the St. Thomas Yacht Club’s own beach. It is where a band will play on Friday and Saturday nights and where the Rolex Awards will wrap up the event on Sunday, when winners in select classes win coveted Rolex watches.
Spectators will get a treat tomorrow when all classes sail to Charlotte Amalie Harbor for their first race, then return to St. Thomas Yacht Club for their second (and some classes may have a third race). On Saturday, spectators can watch IC 24s and Beach Cats sail as many as eight buoy races in Great Bay, while other classes sail longer courses on the south side of St. John. On Sunday, while the IC 24s sail up to six races in Jersey Bay, all other classes will sail two “Pillsbury Sound” races.
St Thomas (Photo by Rolex / Ingrid Abery)
2011 Fleet Racing (Photo by Rolex / St. Thomas Yacht Club/Ingrid Abery )
With the New Year in full swing, racing sailors are finalizing plans to compete in the St. Thomas Yacht Club’s 39th annual International Rolex Regatta, the oldest regatta in Rolex’s yachting portfolio and most venerable of Caribbean spring events. A quick look at the roster of entries shows several hot new boats and first-time entries signed up for the three-day event, which begins Friday, March 23, and mixes island-style fun with hard-core IRC, CSA and one-design racing on courses that showcase the breathtaking coastlines of St. Thomas and nearby St. John.Stephen Murray, Jr.’s New Orleans entry, the recently launched Carkeek 40 Decision, will be one of the many intriguing boats competing. It is one of the first designed to the High Performance Rule (HPR). Decision’s Program Manager William Gammell (Newport, R.I.) describes the rule as a “purely race-driven rating platform” that promotes building the fastest boats possible for owners who want an all out racer. He further explained that the HPR, as a pure measurement rule, allows owners and designers to determine their ratings as they design the boats, without the variability of subjective “black box” components of other rules.
“We are very excited about this new rating concept and the idea of a small, fast, seaworthy boat that can compete at the highest echelons of the sport and is relatively easy to transport to premier events around the world,” said Gammell, adding that the team will be sailing in the RORC Caribbean 600 and the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta before arriving in St. Thomas for the International Rolex Regatta and then capping off the season with the Les Voiles de Saint Barth.
“The Murrays have decided to make the most of their time in the Caribbean by choosing the premier regattas in the region,” said Gammell. “The International Rolex Regatta was chosen due to the gorgeous surroundings on sea and land as well as the perfect wind conditions. And of course there is the possibility of winning a Rolex, which provides its own incentive!”
Calling tactics for the Decision team will be Steve Benjamin (Norwalk, Conn.), the chairman of the HPR Handicap Rules Committee who owns one of Decision’s two sister ships currently being built in China. The team will round out with many of the same sailors—including father Stephen Murray, Sr.; the USA’s 2012 Olympic (Laser class) representative Rob Crane; and Olympic Silver Medalist (Tornado class) Johnny Lovell– who have been regulars on Murray’s previously owned TP52, also named Decision.
“The crew has changed over the years as the program has developed, but we always strive to keep the New Orleans roots,” said Gammell. “The crew has become more nationally and internationally diverse, yet we proudly maintain our Corinthian roots and spirit.”
Across the board, IRC competition will remain strong this year with the return of last year’s respective winners of class 1 and 2: Jim Swartz (Park City, Utah) and Willem Wester (Zeeland, The Netherlands). Swartz will sail his famously fast IRC 52 Vesper with a seasoned crew that includes past America’s Cup helmsman and tactician Gavin Brady (Annapolis, Md./New Zealand), while Wester has traded up on his Grand Soleil 43 Antilope to a 46 footer of the same make and name.
“It’s a stock standard design, with lots of emphasis on the appendages and rig,” said Antilope’s tactician and veteran Volvo Ocean Race skipper Bouwe Bekking (The Netherlands), adding that the team has also entered Quantum Key West 2012, the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta and the BVI Regatta. “Last year, we had a good year in all the events we did, always finishing on the podium. We made some changes in the autumn and we think we have made another good step performance-wise, but only time will tell. We’re coming back to the International Rolex Regatta because we thought it was, by far, the best-organized event in the Caribbean. On top of that, it has fantastic race courses and a great race committee that provides superb racing.”
Entering his newly acquired Farr STP 65 Equation (formerly Rosebud, the 2007 Rolex Sydney Hobart winner) into the IRC competition will be International Rolex Regatta veteran Bill Alcott (St. Clair Shores, Mich.), who last year chartered a Swan for the event but for many years prior steered his Andrews 68 “sled”–brought down from the Great Lakes—in the competition. Highland Fling XII, an IRC 52 owned by Lord Irvine Laidlaw of Rothiemay (Monaco) and launched late last year, is another of the high profile new entries that all eyes will be watching. Designed by Reichel/Pugh and built using advanced carbon pre-preg sandwich construction, it is expected to live up to legendary Highland Fling performances most recently perpetuated by Lord Laidlaw’s 82-foot Wally Highland Fling XI.
The St. Thomas Yacht Club is the Storm Trysail Club’s Caribbean station, and the International Rolex Regatta has a stellar reputation for race management, offering a variety of courses ideally configured to test a sailor’s skills while showcasing the stunning shoreline. Included are the first day’s “harbor races” from the club to Charlotte Amalie Harbor and back, testing everyone’s focus; the second day’s “island race,” testing navigational nerve by sending competitors short tacking the length of St. John’s south shore; and the final day’s “sound race,” testing one’s determination on complex courses around the cays of Pillsbury Sound. Or for testing one’s mettle, there are up to 18 windward/leeward races on the one-design circle. Like the IC-24s, a one-design class can be established with a minimum of six boats.
Rolex St..Thomas Yacht Club (Photo by Rolex / St. Thomas Yacht Club /Ingrid Abery )
