St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. Sarah Swan has sailed for most of her 30-something-year-old life. Lasers, IC24s, and a host of other boats have all been in the St. John, USVI’s resident’s racing repertoire. However, Swan has never sailed a VX One – a 19′ high-performance sport boat with an asymmetrical sail – until today. “We were at the edge of out-of-control the whole time, hitting speeds not possible in small dinghies. It was super fun,” says Swan, whose eVolution was one of 11 VX One’s racing and nearly 60 boats competing on the first day of the 51st St. Thomas International Regatta (STIR).
After four races, where conditions ranged from light to 20-plus gusts on a combination of windward-leeward and round-the-island courses set off the southeast side of St. Thomas, the USA’s Sandy Askew’s Flying Jenny leads the class by three points, with the USA’s Phil Lotz’ Arethusa second, and Island Boys, sailed by St. Thomas’ Christopher Cilliers and St. Maarten’s Jolyon Ferron, in third. Tim Pitts, a St. Croix native and VX One North American Class president, finished the day in fourth on his Another Bad Princess. Pitts is the mover-shaker organizer behind the VX One Caribbean Championship, a two-leg series that starts with STIR and ends next weekend with the BVI Spring Regatta.
“We stayed up much of the night repairing the boom on Sarah and Kelly’s boat. To walk down the dock before sunrise this morning and see 11 boats on their moorings just off the beach put a real smile on my face,” says Pitts, who hit a personal high of 17.8 knots of speed in a squall today. “It’s all about getting people out sailing. I love to help make that happen, and there is no better place to sail than the Virgin Islands.”
The biggest story of the day came in the one-design 22-boat IC24 class. Puerto Rico’s Marco Teixidor, on Cachondo, switched places for first with St. Thomas’ Teddy Nicolosi, on Black Pearl, throughout the day. In the end, Cachondo leads the class by two points. Tight racing rippled through the entire class.
“We were between third and sixth place through the day,” says Charlie Buckingham of Maui, Hawaii. Buckingham says trading the Pacific for Atlantic and Caribbean Sea racing came via an invite from St. Thomas’ Cy Thompson. Thompson competed in the Olympics with Buckingham’s nephew, Charlie Buckingham, and fellow crew, Trinidad & Tobago’s Andrew Lewis, in lasers. “It was so easy to show up and jump on a race-ready boat that we chartered from the St. Thomas Sailing Center. There are a lot of excellent sailors in this class. We’re looking to get back out there tomorrow.”
In CSA Racing, the J/122, El Ocaso, helmed by Dan McGanty of Pacific Palisades, California, sailed to first by 1 point over second-place finisher for the day, Kinship, a 52′ Baltic, helmed by Ryan Walsh, of Dartmouth, Massachusetts. Jax, a 43-foot Botin-designed boat, rounded out third.
“We had three good races today, with a combination of the winds dying after a squall, then the tradewinds picking up and filling in,” says Anthony Kotoun, tactician.
In CSA Non-Spinnaker, Tatihou, a Jeanneau 409, is in the lead. Martin van Breems of the Sound Sailing Center in Norwalk, Connecticut, skippers the boat.
“We are a cruising boat, and this year, when I got measured for our CSA (Caribbean Sailing Association) rating, I decided to stay a cruising boat, meaning we left up, for example, our rigid bimini, inner forestay, and three solar panels. We did just fine. I think there are many cruising boats in the Caribbean who’d like to sail as cruising boats,” says van Breems.
In the Multihull Class, Thunder & Lightening, a 33-foot TF10 out of the Skiff Sailing Foundation in Albany, California, leads.
An 8-boat class of one-design Hobie waves will race on Saturday and Sunday.
Schedule of Events
The second day of STIR racing kicks off at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 29. The STIR competition follows on Sunday, with an 11 a.m. start also. Race courses will be set off the southeast, northeast, and east end of St. Thomas and in Pillsbury Sound between St. Thomas and St. John, with specific courses for each class designated daily by the Race Committee based on weather.
Real-time results for STIR are posted at www.yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative/16918
There is a mix of refreshing beverages served shoreside, food for sale, and live music after racing each day.
Strong Sponsor Support
STIR organizers thank the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism; The Moorings; Mount Gay Rum, Gosling’s Rum, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Teremana Tequila, Surfside Iced Teas & Vodka, and Michelob Ultra, distributed by CC1 USVI; Sea Glass Properties; Cardow; K3; Ocean Surfari; and Crucian Gold for their strong sponsor support.
STIR 2025 is a Sailors for the Sea Clean Regatta, with green initiatives such as paperless event management and a water refill station.
For more information, visit www.stthomasinternationalregatta.com, Email: manager@stthomasyachtclub.org or Regatta Co-Director Pat Bailey at simpleislandboy51@gmail.com, or call (340) 775-6320. Check STIR out on Facebook (www.facebook.com/stirvi), Twitter @stirvi, and Instagram #STIRVI
Media contact:
Carol Bareuther
Tel: (340) 998-3650
Email: bareuther@earthlink.net
Skype: Carol.Bareuther
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