St. Thomas, USVI (March 26, 2006)–Though today’s light breeze may have caused some frustration, it didn’t dampen the spirits of sailors wrapping up three days of competition at the St. Thomas Yacht Club’s International Rolex Regatta — especially for the winners in eight classes, who each went home with a Rolex Submariner timepiece as a prize. The event, held for its 33rd year, hosted hundreds of sailors aboard 92 boats, ranging in size from 24 to 80 feet.

For all but the IC-24 class, today’s agenda was the Pillsbury Sound Race, which started outside Cowpet Bay and then wound for some 14 miles among nearby islands. All of yesterday’s leaders maintained their overall positions after the distance race was scored, including Gilberto Rivera of San Juan, Puerto Rico, sailing his J/24 Urayo in the CSA 24 Spinnaker Class. “In fact, we did not have to sail at all,” said Rivera, explaining that his team mathematically secured its victory yesterday. “We sailed because we wanted to enjoy the day, and we tried to not be aggressive, since other boats were sailing for second place.” Urayo’s fifth-place finish today was well balanced with a second and six first-place finishes posted over the previous two days when the wind blew in the ‘teens, showing off the best side of blue-water Caribbean racing. “Those strong winds and waves separated the more experienced sailors from the less experienced,” added Rivera.

Rivera finished second at last year’s regatta, losing out to six-time Rolex winner Fraito Lugo (Ponce, Puerto Rico), who chose this year to sail in the IC-24 class. It is Rivera’s first time to win a Rolex watch, which he will give to his father in thanks for his “sponsorship” of Rivera’s sailing program over the years. “It is also his birthday today, so it will be very special,” said Rivera.

In the only upset of the day, Robby Hirst of Road Town, Tortola, took a leap from third to first on the scoreboard after driving his IC-24 Sea Hawk to finish positions of 1-2-2 today. The IC-24 Class completed a 10-race series, participating in yesterday’s distance races to Charlotte Amalie Harbor and back but returning to round-the-buoys racing today while the rest of fleet sailed in Pillsbury Sound. “I’m somewhat speechless,” said Hirst, who was the British Virgin Island’s Olympic representative in 1996 and won the IC-24 class here last year as well. “I had no idea we’d pull it out like that.” Yesterday, local sailor Chris Rosenberg aboard Bambooshay seemed to have a terrier-like hold on the lead, with four straight victories in his scoreline, but today’s light breezes became his downfall. “Hirst is a light-air technician,” said Rosenberg. “He did a great job.”
Enrique Figueroa, a multiple world and national catamaran champion who has represented his country in the Olympics four times, also defended his title aboard his Hobie 16 Suzuki Red Bull in the Beach Cats Class. The Race Committee shortened course for the cats when the wind died to five knots, and Figueroa posted a second-place finish, adding it to a 1-2-1-1-1 lineup.

The last of the regatta’s three successful defending champions was Tony Sanpere of Christiansted, St. Croix, USVI, steering Cayennita in Non-Spinnaker Racing Class 2. “After the start, I went right, because I knew the wind would switch back,” said Sanpere. “A few of the boats tried to squeeze me out, but when I took off on them in the light air they gave up. We tacked back to port and caught a big lift, and that’s all she wrote!”

In Spinnaker Racing Class 1, Danilo Salsi of Milan, Italy, sailing the Swan 45 Dsk Comifin, won the Rolex watch. Robert Armstrong of Gallos Bay, St. Croix, USVI, steered his J/100 Expensive Habit to victory in Spinnaker Racing Class 2, while Martin Jacobson of Greenwich, Conn., won in Spinnaker Racing Cruising Class with his Swan 44 Crescendo. All three skippers had only one race that was not a victory in their six-race scorelines.

Christopher Lloyd’s (Road Town, Tortola, BVI) Three Harkoms, a Beneteau 44, won Non-Spinnaker Racing Class 1 with all four first-place finishes.

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