International Rolex Regatta at St. Thomas - Day 2
by Rolex Media Centre 30 Mar 2008 08:55 BST
28-30 March 2008
More moderate conditions on day two of the International Rolex Regatta at St. Thomas © Daniel Forster / Rolex
Races stack up on day two
Lively trade winds made for a bountiful second day of competition at the International Rolex Regatta, where hundreds of sailors are competing in a fleet of 90 boats. After yesterday's gear-busting conditions, the wind checked in at a more moderate 14-16 knots today, allowing race organizers to pack the day with back-to-back races in eight classes for handicap (IRC and CSA), Beach Cat and IC24 One-Design competition.
Looking smart today after winning three of four races held in Spinnaker Racing 1 was Robert Armstrong's (St. Croix, VI) J/100 Bad Girl, driven by St. Croix native Jens Hookansen.The new boat, which won its class at Key West Race Week, is the lighter, faster successor to Armstrong's J/100 Expensive Habit, which won this event in 2005.It tested well against the Melges 24 Devil Cubed, sailed by another St. Croix sailor Chris Stanton and currently is only one point behind in the standings."Today's windward/leeward races benefited our symmetrical spinnaker setup, while Devil Cubed had to take bigger downwind angles with their asymmetrical spinnaker," said Carlos Skov (St. Croix), Bad Girl's jib trimmer and tactician."For tomorrow's race (the Pillsbury Sound Race, which starts outside Cowpet Bay and then winds for some 14 miles among nearby islands), we'll have to be as sharp as possible."
In Spinnaker Racing 2, Gilberto Rivera's (Guaynabo, PR) J/24 Urayo has more room to spare in the standings, but its crew will be watchful ofJorge Santiago's (Ponce, PR) team aboard the J/24 Don Q Cristal, which is trailing by 4 points.Rivera won three of four races today on the merit of "hiking hard and always protecting the left side of the course," according to tactician Rafael de Sevilla (San Juan)."The wind was right for us and it was picture perfect."
Another J/24, Medalla Light, which switched to the Non-Spinnaker Class right before the regatta when it found its regular bowman could not join the team, is leading that class, even though no other boat is smaller than 35 feet and the largest one is 70 feet."We were more worried about accidents when you try to replace a good bow man, since the position is so critical," said skipper Juan Moline, who is also president of the J/24 Class Association of Puerto Rico."It was the right decision, and even though our friends on the other J/24s gave us a hard time about it, we've gotten lots of compliments from the other boats in our class about how well we've sailed."The Non-Spinnaker Class today completed a single distance race of 23 miles.
Completing a whopping six races today was the homegrown IC-24 class, which has become one of the most popular in the islands although it is still relatively new."Two years ago there were people still wondering how to sail the boat, but now it highlights the best of the best sailors in the Caribbean, especially youth," said 17-year-old Rian Bareuther, crew aboard Mark Plaxton's Intac, which currently sits in third overall.Plaxton and another adult, Chris Watters of the Royal BVI Yacht Club youth sailing program, coach onboard but leave all the hands-on sailing to Bareuther, 15-year-old skipper Alec Anderson and another teen Eric Spencer.The St. Thomas Yacht Club also has a team of juniors commanding Fresh Produce, which holds onto fifth.The overall lead in the 17-boat fleet sits with Fraito Lugo's (Ponce, PR) Orion."Fraito won the day today, but the kids are the story," said Plaxton.
The International Rolex Regatta is the first part of Virgin Islands Race Week, which bridges this event with the BVI Spring Regatta, and is included in the US-IRC Gulf Stream Series 2008. Racing concludes tomorrow when Rolex timepieces will be awarded to winners.
Live results by Interactive Creations will be posted on www.rolexcupregatta.com, where hometown rosters, nightly reports and photos also can be found. Daily video coverage will be available on demand by 9 p.m. each night at www.t2p.tv or by clicking on the TV icon on the regatta web site.
A.H. Riise, Official Retailer of Rolex watches in the U.S. Virgin Islands, takes an active role in sponsorship of the event.The St. Thomas duty free shop is one of the largest in the Caribbean and is located on the historic waterfront of downtown Charlotte Amalie.Rolex is known for sponsoring high quality events such as the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, Rolex Fastnet Race, Giraglia Rolex Cup, Rolex Middle Sea Race, Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup and the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds.