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Wild and
Windy Day Sets Pace for Rolex Sailors |
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March 23, 2007 ST. THOMAS, USVI -- 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.
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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.
Live results by Interactive Creations (
www.intercreate.com) 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.
(end)
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
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