Party moves to St Thomas

A report from the opening day of the International Rolex Regatta

After last night's rousing welcome party, complete with carnival dancers and a reggae band, the St. Thomas Yacht Club today kicked off the on-water action at the 33rd International Rolex Regatta with a packed morning and afternoon of course racing. Hundreds of sailors competed aboard 92 boats, ranging in size from 24 to 72ft, while a brisk 12-16 knot breeze under notoriously blue Caribbean skies kept the competition tight and the action non-stop.

The conditions were perfect.just paradise," said Martin Jacobson of Greenwich, Conn., owner of the Swan 44 Crescendo, which leads the Spinnaker Racing Cruising class after posting three victories in as many races today. "We liked having the three races with shorter legs of about 1.5 miles each. We got better as a team throughout the day."

Jacobson is one of 22 owners on the entry roster representing the U.S. mainland. It is his first International Rolex Regatta, and he is acutely aware that a Rolex watch is at stake for each winner in the eight classes. "Tomorrow could be different," he said, referring to a planned distance race to Charlotte Amalie Harbor, followed by a race back to the yacht club. "We have 15 boats in our class, and it's a strong class competition-wise."

Also showing strong are Spinnaker Racing classes 1 and 2 and their respective leaders Danilo Salsi from Milan, Italy, aboard the Frers 45 Dsk Comifin, and St Croix's Robert Armstrong aboard the J/100 Expensive Habit. Both skippers won all three of their races today, Armstrong with the help of 2004 J/24 World Champion Jens Hookansen, who grew up in St. Croix but now resides in the US.

Amazing growth in the local IC-24 class translated into 19 boats competing today, and close competition was reflected by the scores after five races. Local sailor Christopher Curreri's Brand New Second Hand leads with 24 points overall, followed by fellow St. Thomian Chris Rosenberg with 27 points and defending champion Robby Hirst of Road Town, BVI, also with 27. Aboard Curreri's boat is local Ben Beer, a veteran world racer at age 33, who has sailed the last several Rolex regattas aboard the 75ft Titan 12. " Titan couldn't be here this year, so I decided to come back and do something really fun. Not that sailing on big boats isn't fun, but these are my home waters, and IC-24 racing is just different.it makes sailing new again for me."

Curreri and Beer are joined by Lee Icyda, another well-known sailor who is trying something different. "This is what happens when you sail all over the world--you meet people and get asked to do cool things like this," said Icyda, who is an Yngling World Champion and is campaigning the Olympic-class boat for Beijing in 2008.

The U.S. Virgin Islands are represented by 30 entries and Puerto Rico by 22. The balance of the fleet comes from the British Virgin Islands (7), Antigua (2), St. Martin (2), Canada (1), Belgium (3), Ireland (2), Italy and the UK (1 each).

Results:

Place, Yacht Name, Type, Owner's Name, Origin, Results, Total Points

CSA 24 Spinnaker (CSA - 8 Boats)

1. Urayo, J24 24, Gilberto Rivera, San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA - 1, 1, 1, 1, 2; 6
2. KQ-LO, J24 24, Carlos Sierra, San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA - 3, 3, 3, 4, 1; 14
3. Compinche, J24 24, Gerardo Fernandez, San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA - 2, 2, 4, 2, 4; 14

IC 24 One Design (One Design - 19 Boats)

1. Brand New Second Hand, IC24 24, Christopher Curreri, St. Thomas, USVI, USA - 1, 4, 2, 9, 8; 24
2. Bambooshay, IC24 24, Christian F. Rosenberg, St. Thomas, USVI, USA - 17, 5, 3, 1, 1; 27
3. Sea Hawk, IC24 24, Robby Hirst, Road Town, Tortola, BVI - 2, 16, 1, 5, 3; 27

Spinnaker Racing 1 (CSA - 7 Boats)

1. Dsk Comifin, Frers 45, Danilo Salsi, Milan, ITA - 1, 1, 1; 3
2. Devocean, Swan 45 45, Steve Devoe, Stamford, CT, USA - 3, 2, 2; 7
3. Privateer, Swan 48 Cr 48, Ron O'hanley, Ipswitch, MA, USA - 4, 3, 3; 10

Spinnaker Racing 2 (CSA - 16 Boats)

1. Expensive Habit, J100 33, Robert Armstrong, Gallos Bay, St. Croix, BVI - 1, 1, 1; 3
2. Lost Horizon II, Olson 30 30, James Dobbs, Antigua - 2, 2, 4; 8
3. Ghost, Etchells 30, David L. Flaherty, St. Thomas, USVI, USA - 5, 4, 2; 11

Non-Spinnaker Racing 1 (CSA - 12 Boats)

1. Three Harkoms, Beneteau 44, Christopher Lloyd, Road Town, Tortola, BVI - 1; 1
2. Wildflower, Sabre 402 40, Ron Noonan, St. Thomas, USVI, USA - 2; 2
3. Acadia, Cat Ketch 48, Burt Keenan, New Orleans, LA, USA - 3; 3

Non-Spinnaker Racing 2 (CSA - 7 Boats)

1. Poco A Poco - Preferred Health, Pearson Flyer 30 30, Agustin A. Rodrigues, Fajardo, Puerto Rico, USA - 1; 1
2. Cayennita, Soverel 27, Elle & Tony Sanpere, Christiansted, USVI, USA - 2; 2
3. Eolo, J30 30, Jose Medina, Puerto Real, P.R., USA - 3; 3

Spinnaker Racing Cruising (CSA - 15 Boats)

1. Crescendo, Swan 44, Martin Jacobson, Greenwich, CT, USA - 1, 1, 1; 3
2. Lazy Dog, Beneteau 40.7 40, Sergio Sagramoso, San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA - 4, 3, 3; 10
3. Pipedream, Sirena 38, Peter Haycraft, Road Town, Tortola, BVI - 3, 2, 5; 10

Beach Cats (Portsmouth - 10 Boats)

1. Suzuki / Red Bull, Hobie Cat 16 16, Enrique Figueroa, San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA - 1, 2, 1; 4
2. Doctor Lightning, Hobie Cat 16 16, Jorge Torres, Caguas, P.R., USA - 4, 3, 3; 10
3. Exodus, Hobie Cat 16 16, Keki Figueroa, San Juan, P.R., USA - 2, 1, 7; 10