Caribbean sailors marked a milestone this past weekend as they celebrated the 50th St. Thomas International Regatta (STIR), a unique three-day event that draws a multigenerational fleet from St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. John, the British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and St. Maarten, as well as the United States. The event not only celebrates a long tradition of friendly competition between countries and islands but is recognized for its legacy of bringing up Olympic sailors, top sailing college prospects in the U.S., and leaders of many professional sailing teams including SAILGP’s skipper Taylor Canfield, who was raised here.
“We started this yacht club in 1962 with the idea that people will join up as soon as we get in some racing, and they did!” said club member, octogenarian, and competitive sailor John Foster. At that time, had recently gained Olympic status. “The talent level was high from that point. When Rolex agreed to sponsor the regatta in 1974, we became a magnet for race boats from all over the world.”
For CSA 1 first-place finisher Flying Jenny—a Cape 31 owned by U.S. sailor Sandra Askew—and her crew, the regatta is a venue to grow the Cape31 fleet in the Caribbean and also to gain experience racing on a course that relies primarily on geography rather than windward-leeward racing. The Cape 31 is a Mark Mills-designed boat from California, built in South Africa and popular in California, the UK, and the Mediterranean.
“I really like this kind of racing,” said David Askew, who trades places with Sandra, his wife, at the helm. “We were going very close to the rocks, and we are lucky to have such a great navigator in Josie Gliddon, of the UK.” Gliddon’s strategy had them staying close to the cliffs to maintain the lead. The Michael Wilson’s Cape 31 ShotGunn (UK) placed second, with Marc McMorris of California on his Cape 31 M2 third.
“The sailing is spectacular, and it is nice to do a different style of racing from the norm, so we can really develop new skills. It is such a cool location, cool people, and cool boats,” Wilson said. Added McMorris, “These boats are a pleasure to sail in any conditions. They are truly a high-performance boat that’s still very safe.”
In CSA 2, Boston, Massachusetts resident Donald Nicholson, owner of the J121 Apollo, placed first with seven bullets. With uncharacteristic westerly winds for two of the three days, “we enjoyed the fact that the conditions were unusual for Virgin Islands sailors accustomed to the prevailing trade winds. It meant they did not have that hometown advantage, and we were able to take advantage of that.”
St. Thomas sailor Lawrence Aqui raced his Dufour 40, Wild T’ing, to the top of the CSA Non-Spinnaker Class, followed by American Steve Schmidt’s Santa Cruz 70, Hotel California Too. Trinity VI, David McDonough’s J40, ended third. McDonough and David Hensley campaigned two “Trinity” boats in different classes, the J42 Trinity IV and the J40 Trinity VI.
“The 50th STIR was terrific, and the Trinity teams of boats did quite well with a second and third within their respective classes,” McDonough said. “The event had a great turnout and the STYC are very friendly hosts, with tasty food and lively bands each night.”
The one-design IC24 Class proved the biggest of STIR with 15 boats getting in 13 races over three days. St. Thomas’ two-time Olympian, Cy Thompson, on Bill T, successfully defended his class-winning title.
“We had conditions this weekend that no one had seen before, but many of the same crew, so our team was spot on for the transitions,” said Thompson, whose crew was Maurice Kurg, Eric Cusin, Spencer LeGrande, and Emma Walters.
PJ’s Magic Coffee Bus, chartered to race STIR by Guy Williams from New Orleans, placed second. In third was Peter Stanton from St. Croix’s Big Island.
U.S. sailor Dave Franzel, who is formerly the manager of the St. Thomas Yacht Club sailing center, also competed in the IC24 fleet. He mentored a group of teen sailors from St. John. His team finished seventh out of 15.
“Racing with teenagers somewhat new to sailing comes down to getting them to focus and put their attention on their particular task on the boat,” Franzel said. “We did a debrief every day after racing, and by the third day they absolutely had the focus they needed. It was great.”
Chris Curreri won the Hobie Wave fleet with 24 points. Right at his heels with 26 points was the doublehanded youth team of Finn Hodgkins (11) and Will Zimmerman (12).
“For me it is very competitive sailing against adults, and it is a bit different than racing against other kids,” Hodgkins said. “When adults yell over from another boat (during competition) it feels like they are giving you a command. I had to get used to that as we are also racing equally. I am just learning new stuff and being challenged the whole time.”
According to Assistant Tourism Commissioner Alani Henneman-Todman, the tourism board continues to support and sponsor this race in part because of the sailors’ camaraderie and passion for what they do.
“Sailing in a regatta here is a very special thing to participate in,” Henneman-Todman said. “Bonding at a regatta and the underlying good vibe, love, and passion for what sailors do comes through here.”
For more on the 50th St. Thomas International Regatta, visit stthomasinternationalregatta.com.
April 2024