Lively conditions

Greet competitors on day one of the International Rolex Regatta in St Maarten

Opening day of the International Rolex Regatta served up fast and furious fun for some, broken boats for others when 15-18 knot breezes whipped up a testing chop on the Caribbean Sea south of St. Thomas. The event, which has been a staple of the islands racing scene for 34 years, is hosting 87 boats in seven classes. For five of the six handicap classes that completed three around-the-buoys races each, the event is half over, and leads may be tough to topple with only three distance races left on the weekend schedule.

"It was lovely.and lively," said local sailor John Foster, currently in third overall in Spinnaker Racing Class 3 with his Kirby 25 The Good, The Bad and the Ugly. "The first wave over the deck woke everybody up." Foster explained that driving the boat through the waves rather than hitting them square on was as paramount today as consistent sailing will be to winning the series. "You've got to be in the top three in each race to win this series," he said. Foster should know; he has sailed in every Rolex regatta since its inception in 1974 and has won too many to remember. His top-three theory bodes well for class leader Doug Baker (Long Beach, Calif.), who posted three victories today aboard his Olson 30 J Bird 4.

Triple-header victories also put the Melges 24 Devil 3, skippered by Chris Stanton (St. Croix, VI), at the top of the scoreboard in Spinnaker Racing Class 2. "It was fun, but you had to work really hard," said Stanton's brother and tactician Peter. "There was a lot of pain." The battle for superiority in this class among Melges 24s and the newer Melges 32 designs was fierce. "The 32s go over the waves; we have to go through them," said Peter Stanton. "If they get ahead of us, we can't challenge them, so we have to follow them."



The dismasting of Windrider II, a J/30 owned by local Marston Winkles (St. Thomas), marked the otherwise manageable single race among the islands that the non-spinnaker racing class enjoyed. Winning today to lead that fleet was the modified Beneteau 44 Three Harkoms, skippered by Christopher Lloyd (Virgin Gorda, BVI).

The largest of the boats, banded together in Spinnaker Racing Class 1, were topped by Mad IV, a Grand Soleil 48 skippered by Clive Llewellyn (Paris, France). "The spread between the boats was significant," said Peter Stoneberg (San Francisco, Calif.), sailing on first-time entrant Yeoman, skippered by Barry Lewis (San Francisco). "The 72-foot Donnybrook would finish 3 minutes ahead of us and Mad IV three minutes behind. The only boat-on-boat stuff was with other fleets, but that's handicap racing."

"Though some boats had a tough time and had some injuries, it was superb sailing conditions," said Wilmot, crew member aboard defending champion Martin Jacobsen's (Greenwich, Conn.) Crescendo, which posted a 2-1-1 to lead the Spinnaker Racing Cruising class. "We had a few new people aboard, so it took a while to get ourselves together, but this is my second time here, and it's one of the best places to sail."

The IC-24s completed six races, with Robby and Michael Hirst (Virgin Gorda, BVI) emerging as leaders aboard their Mio Broadband. A major collision in race two sent James Mark Plaxton's (Virgin Gorda) Intac limping back to the dock with a substantial hole in its hull.

Beach Cats were dominated by world champion sailor Enrique Figueroa (San Juan, PR) aboard his Olympic Tornado Suzuki/Red Bull.

The International Rolex Regatta is part of the US-IRC Gulf Stream Series 2007.

Results

Place, Yacht Name, Type, Skipper, Hometown, Results, Total Points

IC 24 One Design (One Design - 19 Boats)
1. Mio Broadband, IC-24, Robby & Michael Hirst, Tortola, VI - 1, 2, 3, 1, 3, 10; 20
2. Orion, IC-24, Fraito Lugo, Ponce, PR, USA - 2, 4, 6, 2, 1, 6; 21
3. Bambooshay, IC-24, Christian Rosenberg, St. Thomas, VI, USA - 4, 1, 1, 5, 8, 5; 24

Spinnaker Racing 1 (CSA - 6 Boats)
1. Mad IV, J/V Grand Soleil 48, Clive Llewellyn, Paris, France - 4, 1, 1; 6
2. Caccia Alla Volpe, Vallicelli 44, Carlo Falcone, Antigua - 1, 3, 2; 6
3. Yeoman XXXII, Rogers 46, Barry Lewis, San Francisco, CA, USA - 2, 2, 3; 7

Spinnaker Racing 2 (CSA - 9 Boats)
1. Devil 3, Melges 24, Chris Stanton, St. Croix, VI - 1, 1, 1; 3
2. Expensive Habit, J/100 33, Robert Armstrong, St. Croix, VI, USA - 3, 2, 2; 7
3. Crash Test Dummies, Melges 32, Timothy Kimpton, Diego Martin, Trinidad & Tobago - 2, 4, 5; 11

Spinnaker Racing 3 (CSA - 17 Boats)
1. J Bird 4, Olson 30, Doug Baker, Long Beach, CA, USA - 1, 1, 1; 3
2. Jwalker, J/27, Chris Thompson, St. Thomas, VI, USA - 2, 3, 6; 11
3. The Good The Bad and The Ugly, Kirby 25, Johnny Foster, St. Thomas, VI, USA - 4, 6, 2; 12

Non-spinnaker Racing 1 (CSA - 16 Boats)
1. Three Harkoms, Modified Beneteau 442, Christopher Lloyd, Tortola, VI - 1; 1
2. Affinity, Frers 49, Jack Desmond, Marion, MA, USA - 2; 2
3. El Presidente, Thomas 35, Jeffrey Fangmann, St. Croix, VI, USA - 3; 3

Spinnaker Racing Cruising (CSA - 9 Boats)
1. Crescendo, Swan 44, Martin Jacobson, Greenwich, CT, USA - 2, 1, 1; 4
2. Shamrock V, J/120, Thomas Mullen, Campton, NH, USA - 1, 3, 3; 7
3. Team Paul Mitchell, Beneteau First 40.7, Mark Palermo, Slidell, LA, USA - 3, 2, 2; 7

Beach Cats (Portsmouth - 12 Boats)
1. DRD/Suzuki/Red Bull, Tornado 20, Enrique Figeroa, San Juan, PR, USA - 1, 1, 2; 4
2. Heineken, Hobie 16, Francisco Figueroa, San Juan, PR, USA - 2, 2, 3; 7
3. Fitness Warehouse, Hobie 16, Dennys Junco, Carolina, PR, USA - 6, 3, 4; 13