Coastal romp

International Rolex Regatta fleet tour the USVI

In a change of pace from past years, sailors at the International Rolex Regatta in St. Thomas, USVI, traded in short-course buoy racing for a coastal romp that took them from Cowpet Bay, where host St. Thomas Yacht Club is located, to a finish line just inside the harbor of Charlotte Amalie. The 79-boat fleet then reversed course for the second race of the day and beat back upwind in 12-15 knot breezes to St. Thomas Yacht Club where a beach party awaited the tired but happy competitors. It was the second day of the three-day Easter Weekend event, which has repeated itself here for 32 years, and now only one race remains tomorrow to determine the winners of Rolex watches in each of nine classes competing.

The IC-24s and J/24s reached the harbour first, taking the most direct course for the coastal distance of six miles, while the bigger boats and beach cats added around-the-buoys extensions to their routes, making the longest of the courses a 16-miler. With easterly winds prevailing, getting to Charlotte Amalie was an easy mix of downwind and reaching angles, but the return trip was an uphill slog, especially for the Beach Cats, which don’t point as high as monohulls.

"It was just over an hour getting there and an eternal two and a half hours getting back.," said Carla Figueroa of Puerto Rico, who is crewing for her husband Enrique, the class’s defending champion, on Suzuki/Red Bull. "I would have liked to have done the easier part last!," she laughed. She and her husband easily topped the class in both races, as they did in yesterday’s three races. The latter Figueroa is a multiple world and national champion in catamarans and has represented his country in the Olympics four times.

Richard Shulman, the skipper of the IMX 45 Temptress, absolutely loved the return trip, no matter how "gruelling" it was. "I actually gave up the helm at one point, because I wanted to sit on the rail and look around. It’s my first time to do this event, and the scenery is just so amazing." The Temptress crew, made up of all Rhode Islanders, maintained its lead over Spinnaker Racing Class 2 when it won both of today’s races. Shulman said the key to his success is having a core group that has sailed together for over two decades. He gave a respective nod to Carlo Falcone of Italy and Antigua, who is holding on to second aboard his Vallicelli 44 Caccia Alla Volpe. "We have to work hard to beat them," said Shulman.

Not so happy today was Puerto Rico’s Enrique Torruella, who was embroiled in a head-to-head battle with another Melges 24 skippered by Guy Eldridge of Roadtown, Tortola, BVI in Spinnaker Racing Class 3. Torruella’s boat Don Q Limon, which led Eldridge’s Mistress Quickly by a mere one point going into today’s first race, passed his competitor downwind and claims that Mistress Quickly illegally pumped its way past him again to win. Torruella protested, but to no avail; however, a wide-margin victory over Mistress in race two keeps him ahead of his adversary, but again by only one point. "Tomorrow’s another day," he said. And tomorrow this will certainly be the battle to watch.

The start for the return course today provided the most visual excitement, as boats worked to use the confinement of the harbour and the starting line within it to their advantage. For the five largest boats sailing in Spinnaker Racing Class 1, the scene was more like watching the pre-race maneuvers at the America’s Cup, as the boats wove in and out among spectator boats and anchored cruising boats to find an advantageous position. Tom Hill’s Puerto Rican entrant, Titan 12, swept the competition for a second day in this class.

A final distance race, this one a traditional course through Pillsbury Sound, is planned for tomorrow.

Spinnaker Racing 1 (5 boats)
1. Titan 12, Tom Hill, San Juan, PR, USA, R/P 75, 1-1-1-1-1, 5
2. Donnybrook, James P. Muldoon, Washington, DC, USA, Custom 73, 2-3-4-5-2, 16
3. Equation, Bill Alcott, St. Clair Shores, MI, USA, Andrews, 5-2-5-2-3, 17

Spinnaker Racing 2 (5 boats)
1. Temptress, Richard Shulman, Riverside, RI, USA, IMX45, 1-1-2-1-1, 6
2. Caccia Alla Volpe, Carlo Falcone, Antigua, ANT, Vallicelli 44, 2-2-1-2-2, 9
2. Cosmic War Lord, Michael Shlens, Los Angeles, CA, USA, Express 37, 3-3-3-3-3, 15

Spinnaker Racing 3 (6 boats)
1. Don Q Limon, Enrique Torruella, Guaynabo, PR, Melges 24, 1-3-2-2-1, 9
2. Mistress Quickly, Guy Eldridge, Roadtown, Tortola, BVI, Melges 24, 4-2-1-1-2, 10
3. Contact Carib 2, Frits Bus, Philipsburg, St. Martin, NA, Melges 24, 2-1-4-3-3, 13

Spinnaker Racing 4 (11 boats)
1. Lost Horizon II, James Dobbs, ANT, Olson 30, 1-2-1-1-1, 6
2. Magnificent Seven, John Foster, St. Thomas, USVI, J/27, 2-1-2-2-2, 9
3. Broken Drum, Jack Bishop, St. Croix, VI, USA, 7-5-3-6-3, 24

Spinnaker Racer/Cruiser (7 boats)
1. Lazy Dog, Sergio Sagramoso, San Juan, PR, FIRST 40.7, 1-3-1-1-1, 7
2. Anticipation, Peter Newlands, Cowes, Isle of Wight, UK, Beneteau 40.7, 2-1-2-3-2, 10 3. Pipe Dream, Peter Haycraft, Roadtown, Tortola, BVI, Sirena 38, 3-4-3-2-3, 15

Beach Cats (11 boats)
1. Suzuki/Red Bull, Enrique Figueroa, San Juan, PR, USA, Hobie Cat 16, 1-1-1-5-1, 9
2. Exodus, Keke Figueroa, San Juan, PR, Hobie Cat 16, 2-2-2-8-2, 16
3. Blame It On Rhea, Mark Chong, St. Thomas, USVI, Prindle 19, 4-3-4-1-6, 18

Class: Non Spinnaker Racing (11 boats)
1. Cayennita, Antonio/Ellen Sanpere, Christiansted, USVI, Soverel 27, 2-3-4,9
2. Wildflower, Stan Joines, St. Croix, USVI, Alberg, 4-1-6, 11
3. TNT 76, Rudy Thompson, St. Thomas, USVI, Sonar 23, 3-4-5, 12

Class: J-24 (7 boats)
1. Orion, Fraito Lugo, Ponce, PR, USA, DNS-1-1-1-2-1, 14
2. Urayo, Gilberto Rivera, Guayanabo, PR, USA, DNS-2-2-5-1-2, 20
3. El Shaddai II, Jeff Fangmann, Christiansted, St. Croix, USVI, 1-4-7-3-6-3, 24

Class: IC-24 (16 boats)
1. Sea Hawk, Robert/Michael Hirst, Tortola, BVI, 2-1-2-3-2-2, 12
2. BamBoushay, Chris Rosenberg, St. Thomas, USVI, 3-4-3-2-1-1, 14
3. Stinger, John Holmberg, St. Thomas, USVI, 1-3-1-9-3-5, 22