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"This is a pure racing regatta with few if any charter boats," said Regatta Director Ruth Miller, "so we draw more from the hard-core racing teams. We were able to build momentum with changes we implemented last year, and we also gave up our traditional Easter weekend slot."
For the second year, a professional Race Committee, headed by Peter Reggio, insured top-notch on-water administration. The new Rolex Village, consisting of enormous tents, accommodated nightly bands, dancing and island cuisine. The festive atmosphere was symbolized by a 20-foot tall Wind Dancer snapping in the breeze and a professional sand sculptor's rendition of the crowned Rolex logo. And as if the Wind Gods knew that this was not a year to let participants down, breezes-which had barely existed in the week prior to the event--increased steadily from a light 8-10 knots on day one to a brisk 20 knots by day three. A 16-mile distance race marked the midpoint in the 2003 International Rolex Regatta and added some drama when the J/29 Matador from St. Thomas lost its rig and the Farr 65 Spirit of Juno from the UK ran hard aground while snaking its way through the offshore cays surrounding the island of St. Thomas.
After all was said and done, winners in 11 classes claimed bragging rights for a year and Rolex watches were awarded as top prizes in classes with over six entrants.
Puerto Rico's 2004 Olympic representatives in the Tornado class, Enrique Figueroa and crew Jorge Fernandez aboard Movie Star/Suzuki, successfully defended their Beach Cat Spinnaker Class title, finishing with a low score of nine, over seven races. "This was one of our best Rolex regattas in a few years," said Figueroa, who will defend his gold medal at the Pan Am Games later this summer in Santo Domingo. "It was very challenging and lots of good fun sailing against a new group of teams that came over from the U.S." Among the teams he referenced were Olympic medallists and three-time North American Tornado Champions Jay and Pease Glaser (Long Beach, Calif.) sailing Team Tropical Shipping, the namesake of the company responsible for shipping several catamarans from the States, as well as Puerto Rico. The Glasers finished third behind USVI's own Olympic aspirant Terry Jackson and Morgan Avery, aboard Century 21.
While Figueroa dominated the Beach Cats Spinnaker class, another defending champion, also named Enrique Figueroa (no relation) and sailing Exodus/Ensysa, topped the non-spinnaker division. Leading his fleet by only one point going into the final day, Figueroa pulled ahead with three victories in as many races.
For St. Maarten's Frits Bus, skippering the Melges 24 2 Contact Carib in Spinnaker Racing Class 2, overall victory was especially sweet. "I've sailed this regatta six or seven times and I've always finished second. It feels great to finally win." Though Carib led after each day of racing, Enrique Torruella's Melges 24 Don Q Limon from Puerto Rico persistently gave the team a run for its money. Winning the first of three races on the final day, Don Q's future looked hopeful, but Carib's two bullets in a 2-1-1 scoreline sewed it up "The key was having super starts all the time," said Bus.
Flirt, a custom 49-foot Oyster yacht skippered by Richard Matthews of Ipswich, UK, turned in four victories over seven races to win Spinnaker Racing Class 1. Serving as tactician was Andy Green (Essex, UK), tactician for the recent GBR Challenge for the America's Cup. "We made very few mistakes," said Green. Finishing second overall in the same class was four-time Rolex Regatta winner Carlo Falcone aboard the Custom 44 Caccia Alla Volpe. Although the boat hails from Antigua, the crew is mainly Italian and includes Falcone's son Shannon Falcone, fresh from his stint with the America's Cup campaign Mascalzone Latino.
Turning in a perfect series score of seven with seven wins was Orion/Coors Light, skippered by Puerto Rico's Fraito Lugo in J/24 class. Lugo, who last year won sailing a Melges 24, said the conditions and competition made his seemingly easy victory a challenge.
London's Craig Dymock aboard Serendip, performed flawlessly as well to win all five races in the Non-Spinnaker Racing Class, while defending champion Nemesis, skippered by Puerto Rico's Edwin Romeo, made huge gains on the last day to top the Jib and Main Class. Tortola's Peter Haycraft, aboard Pipe Dream in Spinnaker Racer/Cruiser Class, also made a play on the last day to edge out John Schultheiss' Tortola entry Cold Beer.
The IC24 class was packed with local talent and plenty of action. Introduced to the regatta in 2001, the IC24 is constructed from an old J/24 hull with a new deck mold not dissimilar to the Melges 24. The result is a yacht that is relatively high performance, very inexpensive and more comfortable to sail than a J/24. Early leader John Holmberg (St. Thomas) aboard Stinger fell to third overall on the last day, allowing 14-year-old Taylor Canfield (St. Thomas), skippering Boat Drinks, to make a strong play for a class win and the Rolex watch. A tie in overall scoring, however, with Green Boat's Carlos Aguilar, was broken in favor of Aguilar.
As for Bill Alcott aboard Equation, his back-and-forth race victories with Donnybrook, a custom 72-footer skippered by Jim Muldoon of Washington, DC, led to a showdown on the final day. In the day's first race, Donnybrook's early lead was overtaken when Equation sneaked inside her at the first leeward mark. Needing only to beat Donnybrook by 14 seconds based on the rating rule that applied, Equation stretched the victory margin to two minutes by the end of the race. A chance for redemption in a second race was pre-empted by a mishap in which Donnybrook's bowman was injured and transported to shore. Alcott credited his success to his crew, in particular tactician Stu Argo, who served as trimmer for Oracle's America's Cup campaign.
"These have been some of the most magnificent days in the Caribbean for me," said Alcott, summing up the Rolex regatta experience. "I come down here every February and go home in May. I can't imagine why any guy who owns a boat wouldn't do what I do."
Globally, Rolex is renowned for sponsoring high quality, grand prix events such as the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, Rolex Fastnet Race, Giraglia Rolex Cup, Rolex Middle Sea Race, Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, Rolex IMS Worlds, Rolex Farr 40 Worlds and the Rolex Commodore's Cup, which feature the very best in yacht design and sailing talent. Rolex events take place in some of the most prestigious yachting venues in the world - Porto Cervo, Sardinia; St. Tropez, France; Cowes, England; Newport, Rhode Island and San Francisco, California, U.S., to name a few. The Canadian Yachting Association names a Rolex Sailor of the Year, and on the world's stage, the coveted ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year is presented to deserving male and female athletes.
The regatta web page is www.rolexcupregatta.com
(end)
(Top-Three Results Follow)
Racing - Over 50 Ft. (2 entries)
1. Equation, Andrews 68, Bill Alcott, Detroit, Mich., USA, 1-2-2-1-1; 7
2. Donnybrook, Cstm 72, James Muldoon, Washington, DC, USA, 2-1-1-2-2; 8
Spinnaker Racing 1 (13 boats)
1. Flirt, Cstm 49, Richard Matthews, Ipswich, UK,1-1-1-2-2-2-1; 10
2. Caccia Alla Volpe, Cstm 44, Carlo Falcone, Antigua, 3-4-4-1-1-1-2; 16
3. Cosmic War Lord, Express 37, Mick Shlens, Palos Verdes Est., Calif., USA, 4-2-3-8-3-6-6; 32
Spinnaker Racing 2 (10 boats)
1. 2 Contact Carib, Melges 24, Frits Bus, Phillipsburg, St. Maarten, 1-2-1-3-2-2-1; 12
2. Don Q Limon, Melges 24, Enrique Torruella, Guaynabo, PUR, 5-3-2-1-1-4-3; 19
3. Umakua, J/105, Papote Reguero, San Juan, PUR, 4-4-4-2-4-1-2; 21
Spinnaker Racer/Cruiser (16 boats)
1. Pipe Dream, Sirena 38, Peter Haycraft, Tortola, BVI, 2-2-1-2-1-1-1; 10
2. Cold Beer 3, Tartan Ten, John Schultheiss, Tortola, BVI, 1-1-2-1-2-2-2; 11
3. Dehlerious, Dehler 34, Bungie Flynn, Tortola, BVI, 4-3-3-3-3-3-3; 22
Non-Spinnaker Racing (7)
1. Serendip, Prima 38, Craig Dymock , London, UK, 1-1-1-1-1; 5
2. Wildflower, Sabre 402, Ron Noonan, Marion, Mass., USA, 2-2-4-2-3; 13
3. Igoodia, Jeanneau 52.2, Milt Baehr, Incline Village, Calif, USA, 3-5-2-3-2; 15
Jib and Main (8 boats)
1. Nemesis, Hunter 42, Edwin Romeo, Fajardo, PUR, 2-3-1-2-1; 9
2. ATN, J/27, M. Compton, St. Thomas, USVI, 1-1-6-3-3; 14
3. Whippet, Jenneau 39, William McConnell, St. Thomas, USVI, 3-2-3-4-4; 16
Trial Cat (1 boat)
1. Cover Shot, Cstm 33, Roger Webb, Miami, Fla., 1-1-1-1-1; 5
Beach Cats Spinnaker (7 boats)
1. Movie Star/Suzuki, Tornado, Enrique Figueroa, San Juan, PUR, 1-1-1-1-2-1-2; 9
2. Century 21, Terry Jackson, Tornado, St. Thomas, USVI, 2-4-3-2-1-2-1; 15
3. Team Tropical Shipping, Nacra F18, Pease Glaser, Long Beach, Calif., USA, 3-3-4-3-3-3-3; 22
Beach Cats - Non-Spinnaker (14 boats)
1. Exodus/Ensysa, Hobie 16, Enrique Figueroa, San Juan, PUR, 4-4-1-2-1-1-1; 14
2. Yuisa, Hobie 16, Rosarito Martinez, Carolina, PUR, 6-3-2-1-2-3-2; 19
3. Lolo Too, Hobie 16, Anton Guernica, San Juan, PUR, 2-7-6-4-3-2-4; 28
IC24 (13 boats)
1. Green Boat, IC24, Carlos Aquilar, St. Thomas, USVI, 2-4-1-10-2-1-1; 21
2. Boat Drinks, Taylor Canfield, St. Thomas, USVI, 5-1-2-3-3-4-3; 21
3. Stinger, John Holmberg, St. Thomas, USVI, 1-3-4-1-6-6-5; 26
J/24 (6 boats)
Regatta Reviews: 2003 International Rolex Regatta
By Barby MacGowan
St. Thomas, USVI -- It was the Caribbean, but that didn't mean sailors were laid back when they hit the starting line at St. Thomas Yacht Club's 2003 International Rolex Regatta in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Tough competition, warm tropical breezes, blue-water courses and a mix of island culture and energy were on tap from March 28-30 as the annual event celebrated its 30th edition with a new look and a notable increase in entrants-97 to be exact.
"I consider this one of the greatest regattas in the world," said Bill Alcott of Detroit, Mich., the owner and skipper of an Andrews 68 named Equation, which won the over-50 Foot Class. "I wouldn't miss it for anything." Indeed, Alcott has been competing in the regatta since the early '90s and there are dozens more like him who claim a lengthy competitive history with the event. Attracting new boats, however, was the mission for this year, and regatta organizers accomplished it despite a world recently drawn into war and, closer to home, island regattas that had seen a downturn in entries.St. Thomas, USVI -- It was the Caribbean, but that didn't mean sailors were laid back when they hit the starting line at St. Thomas Yacht Club's 2003 International Rolex Regatta in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Tough competition, warm tropical breezes, blue-water courses and a mix of island culture and energy were on tap from March 28-30 as the annual event celebrated its 30th edition with a new look and a notable increase in entrants-97 to be exact.
"This is a pure racing regatta with few if any charter boats," said Regatta Director Ruth Miller, "so we draw more from the hard-core racing teams. We were able to build momentum with changes we implemented last year, and we also gave up our traditional Easter weekend slot."
For the second year, a professional Race Committee, headed by Peter Reggio, insured top-notch on-water administration. The new Rolex Village, consisting of enormous tents, accommodated nightly bands, dancing and island cuisine. The festive atmosphere was symbolized by a 20-foot tall Wind Dancer snapping in the breeze and a professional sand sculptor's rendition of the crowned Rolex logo. And as if the Wind Gods knew that this was not a year to let participants down, breezes-which had barely existed in the week prior to the event--increased steadily from a light 8-10 knots on day one to a brisk 20 knots by day three. A 16-mile distance race marked the midpoint in the 2003 International Rolex Regatta and added some drama when the J/29 Matador from St. Thomas lost its rig and the Farr 65 Spirit of Juno from the UK ran hard aground while snaking its way through the offshore cays surrounding the island of St. Thomas.
After all was said and done, winners in 11 classes claimed bragging rights for a year and Rolex watches were awarded as top prizes in classes with over six entrants.
Puerto Rico's 2004 Olympic representatives in the Tornado class, Enrique Figueroa and crew Jorge Fernandez aboard Movie Star/Suzuki, successfully defended their Beach Cat Spinnaker Class title, finishing with a low score of nine, over seven races. "This was one of our best Rolex regattas in a few years," said Figueroa, who will defend his gold medal at the Pan Am Games later this summer in Santo Domingo. "It was very challenging and lots of good fun sailing against a new group of teams that came over from the U.S." Among the teams he referenced were Olympic medallists and three-time North American Tornado Champions Jay and Pease Glaser (Long Beach, Calif.) sailing Team Tropical Shipping, the namesake of the company responsible for shipping several catamarans from the States, as well as Puerto Rico. The Glasers finished third behind USVI's own Olympic aspirant Terry Jackson and Morgan Avery, aboard Century 21.
While Figueroa dominated the Beach Cats Spinnaker class, another defending champion, also named Enrique Figueroa (no relation) and sailing Exodus/Ensysa, topped the non-spinnaker division. Leading his fleet by only one point going into the final day, Figueroa pulled ahead with three victories in as many races.
For St. Maarten's Frits Bus, skippering the Melges 24 2 Contact Carib in Spinnaker Racing Class 2, overall victory was especially sweet. "I've sailed this regatta six or seven times and I've always finished second. It feels great to finally win." Though Carib led after each day of racing, Enrique Torruella's Melges 24 Don Q Limon from Puerto Rico persistently gave the team a run for its money. Winning the first of three races on the final day, Don Q's future looked hopeful, but Carib's two bullets in a 2-1-1 scoreline sewed it up "The key was having super starts all the time," said Bus.
Flirt, a custom 49-foot Oyster yacht skippered by Richard Matthews of Ipswich, UK, turned in four victories over seven races to win Spinnaker Racing Class 1. Serving as tactician was Andy Green (Essex, UK), tactician for the recent GBR Challenge for the America's Cup. "We made very few mistakes," said Green. Finishing second overall in the same class was four-time Rolex Regatta winner Carlo Falcone aboard the Custom 44 Caccia Alla Volpe. Although the boat hails from Antigua, the crew is mainly Italian and includes Falcone's son Shannon Falcone, fresh from his stint with the America's Cup campaign Mascalzone Latino.
Turning in a perfect series score of seven with seven wins was Orion/Coors Light, skippered by Puerto Rico's Fraito Lugo in J/24 class. Lugo, who last year won sailing a Melges 24, said the conditions and competition made his seemingly easy victory a challenge.
London's Craig Dymock aboard Serendip, performed flawlessly as well to win all five races in the Non-Spinnaker Racing Class, while defending champion Nemesis, skippered by Puerto Rico's Edwin Romeo, made huge gains on the last day to top the Jib and Main Class. Tortola's Peter Haycraft, aboard Pipe Dream in Spinnaker Racer/Cruiser Class, also made a play on the last day to edge out John Schultheiss' Tortola entry Cold Beer.
The IC24 class was packed with local talent and plenty of action. Introduced to the regatta in 2001, the IC24 is constructed from an old J/24 hull with a new deck mold not dissimilar to the Melges 24. The result is a yacht that is relatively high performance, very inexpensive and more comfortable to sail than a J/24. Early leader John Holmberg (St. Thomas) aboard Stinger fell to third overall on the last day, allowing 14-year-old Taylor Canfield (St. Thomas), skippering Boat Drinks, to make a strong play for a class win and the Rolex watch. A tie in overall scoring, however, with Green Boat's Carlos Aguilar, was broken in favor of Aguilar.
As for Bill Alcott aboard Equation, his back-and-forth race victories with Donnybrook, a custom 72-footer skippered by Jim Muldoon of Washington, DC, led to a showdown on the final day. In the day's first race, Donnybrook's early lead was overtaken when Equation sneaked inside her at the first leeward mark. Needing only to beat Donnybrook by 14 seconds based on the rating rule that applied, Equation stretched the victory margin to two minutes by the end of the race. A chance for redemption in a second race was pre-empted by a mishap in which Donnybrook's bowman was injured and transported to shore. Alcott credited his success to his crew, in particular tactician Stu Argo, who served as trimmer for Oracle's America's Cup campaign.
"These have been some of the most magnificent days in the Caribbean for me," said Alcott, summing up the Rolex regatta experience. "I come down here every February and go home in May. I can't imagine why any guy who owns a boat wouldn't do what I do."
Globally, Rolex is renowned for sponsoring high quality, grand prix events such as the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, Rolex Fastnet Race, Giraglia Rolex Cup, Rolex Middle Sea Race, Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, Rolex IMS Worlds, Rolex Farr 40 Worlds and the Rolex Commodore's Cup, which feature the very best in yacht design and sailing talent. Rolex events take place in some of the most prestigious yachting venues in the world - Porto Cervo, Sardinia; St. Tropez, France; Cowes, England; Newport, Rhode Island and San Francisco, California, U.S., to name a few. The Canadian Yachting Association names a Rolex Sailor of the Year, and on the world's stage, the coveted ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year is presented to deserving male and female athletes.
The regatta web page is www.rolexcupregatta.com
(end)
(Top-Three Results Follow)
Racing - Over 50 Ft. (2 entries)
1. Equation, Andrews 68, Bill Alcott, Detroit, Mich., USA, 1-2-2-1-1; 7
2. Donnybrook, Cstm 72, James Muldoon, Washington, DC, USA, 2-1-1-2-2; 8
Spinnaker Racing 1 (13 boats)
1. Flirt, Cstm 49, Richard Matthews, Ipswich, UK,1-1-1-2-2-2-1; 10
2. Caccia Alla Volpe, Cstm 44, Carlo Falcone, Antigua, 3-4-4-1-1-1-2; 16
3. Cosmic War Lord, Express 37, Mick Shlens, Palos Verdes Est., Calif., USA, 4-2-3-8-3-6-6; 32
Spinnaker Racing 2 (10 boats)
1. 2 Contact Carib, Melges 24, Frits Bus, Phillipsburg, St. Maarten, 1-2-1-3-2-2-1; 12
2. Don Q Limon, Melges 24, Enrique Torruella, Guaynabo, PUR, 5-3-2-1-1-4-3; 19
3. Umakua, J/105, Papote Reguero, San Juan, PUR, 4-4-4-2-4-1-2; 21
Spinnaker Racer/Cruiser (16 boats)
1. Pipe Dream, Sirena 38, Peter Haycraft, Tortola, BVI, 2-2-1-2-1-1-1; 10
2. Cold Beer 3, Tartan Ten, John Schultheiss, Tortola, BVI, 1-1-2-1-2-2-2; 11
3. Dehlerious, Dehler 34, Bungie Flynn, Tortola, BVI, 4-3-3-3-3-3-3; 22
Non-Spinnaker Racing (7)
1. Serendip, Prima 38, Craig Dymock , London, UK, 1-1-1-1-1; 5
2. Wildflower, Sabre 402, Ron Noonan, Marion, Mass., USA, 2-2-4-2-3; 13
3. Igoodia, Jeanneau 52.2, Milt Baehr, Incline Village, Calif, USA, 3-5-2-3-2; 15
Jib and Main (8 boats)
1. Nemesis, Hunter 42, Edwin Romeo, Fajardo, PUR, 2-3-1-2-1; 9
2. ATN, J/27, M. Compton, St. Thomas, USVI, 1-1-6-3-3; 14
3. Whippet, Jenneau 39, William McConnell, St. Thomas, USVI, 3-2-3-4-4; 16
Trial Cat (1 boat)
1. Cover Shot, Cstm 33, Roger Webb, Miami, Fla., 1-1-1-1-1; 5
Beach Cats Spinnaker (7 boats)
1. Movie Star/Suzuki, Tornado, Enrique Figueroa, San Juan, PUR, 1-1-1-1-2-1-2; 9
2. Century 21, Terry Jackson, Tornado, St. Thomas, USVI, 2-4-3-2-1-2-1; 15
3. Team Tropical Shipping, Nacra F18, Pease Glaser, Long Beach, Calif., USA, 3-3-4-3-3-3-3; 22
Beach Cats - Non-Spinnaker (14 boats)
1. Exodus/Ensysa, Hobie 16, Enrique Figueroa, San Juan, PUR, 4-4-1-2-1-1-1; 14
2. Yuisa, Hobie 16, Rosarito Martinez, Carolina, PUR, 6-3-2-1-2-3-2; 19
3. Lolo Too, Hobie 16, Anton Guernica, San Juan, PUR, 2-7-6-4-3-2-4; 28
IC24 (13 boats)
1. Green Boat, IC24, Carlos Aquilar, St. Thomas, USVI, 2-4-1-10-2-1-1; 21
2. Boat Drinks, Taylor Canfield, St. Thomas, USVI, 5-1-2-3-3-4-3; 21
3. Stinger, John Holmberg, St. Thomas, USVI, 1-3-4-1-6-6-5; 26
J/24 (6 boats)
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