Rolex Regatta Results

Here are the results from the Rolex Regatta, from The Source, our on-line newspaper. Read it at www.stjohnsource.com.

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Lugo Caps Regatta with Win in IC24 Class
By Rolex News — March 29, 2010

Donnybrook, a Custom 72 Sloop owned by James P. Muldoon of Washington, D.C., slices through the waters of St. Thomas during the International Rolex Regatta. (Photo by Rolex/Ingrid Abery)

A year ago Puerto Rico's Fraito Lugo lost the IC 24 Class at the International Rolex Regatta in the final races on the last day. Sunday, at the 37th regatta, he and his team aboard Orion had padded their score line over two days and followed form on the third to win the class and a Rolex timepiece.

Lugo, who awarded the watch to his trimmer, Milton Gonzalesz, now can claim eight International Rolex Regatta victories in a variety of classes.

"We feel so happy," said Lugo on behalf of his Orion team, which wound up with 59 points to beat out Colin Rathbun of Road Town, Tortola, BVI, aboard Lime, with 76 points.

"After the first three races today we knew we were clear to win. Our plan was to have no fouls and sail consistently. We had very good speed today, and that was the difference."

The IC 24s, hybrid one-designs that combine a J/24's body with a Melges 24-style cockpit, continued with short round-the-buoy races after the event's opening "town races" on Friday, while their counterparts in six other classes – IRC, Spinnaker Racing 1 and 2, Non-Spinnaker Racing, Spinnaker Racing/Cruising and Beach Cats – took to the more scenic winding courses through and around the cuts, cays and islands off the east end of St. Thomas.

"This year we arranged for some races to snug up next to St. John, so competitors could expand their horizons and our sister island could share in some of the excitement of seeing the spectacle of the fleet racing," said Regatta co-chair John Sweeney. "For the same reasons, we had the IC 24s racing off the beachfront at the Ritz Hotel on Saturday, and later that night, hundreds of sailors, organizers, volunteers and townspeople took part in a giant reggae music concert and food festival at Yacht Haven Grande, where some of the event's larger boats are berthed. All to say, everyone really enjoyed getting around to different places on the island and out on the water."

The battle in Spinnaker Racing 2 Class that had been set up yesterday between Christiansted’s Chris Stanton aboard Melges 24 Devil 3 and Tortola’s Dave West on Melges 32 Jurakan, ended with Stanton’s team beating out West’s by four points in overall scoring. According to Stanton's brother Peter, his tactician and jib trimmer (who accepted the Rolex timepiece), the first of two races today was short enough that "no one could get away."

In fact, the first eight boats in the class were within slightly more than minute of each other at the finish, but Jurakan took the race victory over second-place Devil 3, beating them by 20 seconds on corrected time.

"Then it was whoever-beat-whom in the second race for determining who would win” the regatta, said Stanton.

In IRC class, Richard Oland's Vela Veloce of New Brunswick, Canada, with Brian Ledbetter of Seattle, Wash., driving, posted a final score of 13 points to beat out Austin and Gwen Fragomen's Interlodge from New York City.

The fourth winner of a Rolex timepiece was James Dobbs of Antigua aboard J/122 Lost Horizon in Spinnaker Racing/Cruising Class.

"I knew which boats had a chance of winning before the race," Dobbs said, referring to a tight group at the top of the scoreboard that included second-place finisher Three Harkoms, a Beneteau 442 skippered by James Hudleston of Yarmouth, UK. "I've sailed against them before, and they are serious about racing, as we are."

Antonio Sanpere of Christiansted aboard his J/36 Cayennita Grande finished out his Non-Spinnaker Racing series with an unbeatable string of five victories in as many races. The Farr 65 Team On-Deck/Spirit of Isis from Antigua, skippered by Luiz Gonsalves, beat out Kialoa V in overall scoring in CSA Spinnaker Racing 1 class, while John Holmberg' of St. Thomas prevailed to win the Beach Cat class aboard Hobie 16 Time Out.

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 shop is one of the largest in the Caribbean and is located on the historic waterfront of downtown Charlotte Amalie. Island Global Yachting and USVI Tourism are also sponsors of the event. Marriott Frenchman's Reef Hotel, Mount Gay Rum and Heineken are supporters.

Video footage of racing is available for free on-demand viewing at www.t2p.tv or by clicking on the TV icon on the regatta website, www.rolexcupregatta.com, where full results by www.yachtscoring.com are posted. Updates also available on mobile phones at www.yachtscoring.com/mobile.

Top-Three Results
Place, Boat Name, Boat Type, Length, Skipper, Hometown, Finish Postions, Total Points

IC 24 (One Design - 14 Boats)
1. Orion, IC 24, Fraito Lugo, Ponce, PR, USA - 2, 3, 2, 1, 4, 4, 5, 1, 9, 7, 1, 2, 2, 1, 6, 8, 1, ; 59
2. LIME, IC 24, Colin Rathbun, Road Town, Tortola, BVI - 10, 6, 1, 5, 8, 2, 6, 5, 1, 1, 3, 5, 4, 4, 3, 10, 2, ; 76
3. Brand-New Secondhand, IC 24, Christopher Curreri, St Thomas, VI, USA - 6, 2, 4, 3, 9, 7, 4, 8, 2, 4, 8, 10, 7, 2, 4, 3, 10, ; 93

Spinnaker Racing 1 (CSA - 2 Boats)
1. Spirit of Isis, Farr 65, Elizabeth Brookes, Falmouth Harbour, Antigua, WI - 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, ; 6
2. Kialoa V, Frers 80, Freddie Mills, Lake Placid, NY, USA - 3/DNF, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, ; 13

Spinnaker Racing 2 (CSA - 11 Boats)
1. Devil 3, Melges 24, Chris Stanton, Christiansted, St. Croix, USVI - 1, 2, 1, 2, 2, 1, ; 9
2. Jurakan, Melges 32, Dave West, Road Town, Tortola, BVI - 2, 1, 4, 1, 1, 4, ; 13
3. Rushin Rowlette, Olson 30, Kevin Rowlette, Tortola, UK - 7, 4, 3, 4, 6, 2, ; 26

Non-Spinnaker Racing (CSA - 9 Boats)
1. Cayennita Grande, J 36, Antonio Sanpere, Christiansted, VI, USA - 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, ; 5
2. SAGA I, Frers F36, Gerd Petersen, Pembroke Pines, FL, USA - 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, ; 10
3. Meltemi, Kirby 25, Herve Chassin, St. Thomas, VI, USA - 5, 6, 3, 4, 4, ; 22

Spinnaker Racing/Cruising (CSA - 17 Boats)
1. Lost Horizon, J 122 12.21, James Dobbs, Antigua - 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, ; 8
2. Three Harkoms, Beneteau 442 Oceanic 44.5, James Hudleston, Yarmouth, England - 1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 1, ; 14
3. El Ocaso, J 120 40, Rick Wesslund, Miami, FL, USA - 3, 4, 4, 2, 2, 4, ; 19

IRC (IRC - 8 Boats)
1. Vela Veloce, Southern Cross 52, Richard Oland, Rothesay, CAN - 3, 1, 2, 2, 1, 4, ; 13
2. Interlodge, JV 52, Austin/Gwen Fragomen, Newport, RI, USA - 1, 2, 1, 4, 4, 3, ; 15
3. White Heat, Summit 40, Michael Williamson, London, UK - 2, 5, 5, 3, 2, 2, ; 19

Beach Cats (Portsmouth - 5 Boats)
1. Time Out, Hobie 16, John Holmberg, St. Thomas, VI, USA - 2, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, ; 10
2. Auto Manic, Hobie 16, Chris Schreiber, Christiansted, VI, USA - 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1, ; 11
3. Puma, Prindle 19, Jason Siska, St. John, VI, USA - 6/DNS, 6/DNS, 3, 3, 5, 3, 3, ; 29