Wondering what’s the best way to mount a 2012 Caribbean campaign? Consider this: while most owners bring their own sailboat, you don’t have to be an owner to successfully participate in St. Thomas Yacht Club’s 39th annual International Rolex Regatta, scheduled for March 23-25, 2012. In fact, you don’t even need an entire crew to experience highly competitive racing in one of the hotly contested CSA, IRC or one-design spinnaker racing classes or the more leisurely non-spin classes.
“There are a host of opportunities for individual and group bookings or full charters,” explained the event’s Co-Director John Sweeney, adding that among the boats offering crew opportunities are:
● Van Liew Ventures, Inc.’s Open 60 Le Pingouin, which most recently won the Velux 5 Oceans Race with Brad Van Liew as skipper. For the Rolex regatta, it will have multiple professional crew aboard from Van Liew Ventures to assure peak performance.
● Girlsforsail Elan 37 Diamonds are Forever, which offers unique participation as part of an all-women crew.
● S&S 57 Charisma, which has won multiple events including the Transpac, Antigua Sailing Week, Rolex Middle Sea Race, and Rolex Big Boat Series, with Manuel Doreste Blanco at its helm. Blanco, a Soling world champion and three-time Olympian, will skipper Charisma at the Rolex regatta.
● Safe Passage Sailing, which is racing on the Andrews 72 Safara with racing pro Brian Thompson (UK) on board as mentor. Thompson is widely recognized as one of the world’s most talented multihull sailors, holding 25 sailing records.
Also available for charter are a Beneteau 36, Farr 40 or 65, and several of the favorite local one-design IC-24s.
“We can help secure your fully capable ride,” said Sweeney, “where you’ll be tested over three days with multiple starts on three separate, picturesque race areas against high-caliber IRC machines like the STP65 Equation (formerly Rosebud), IRC 52 Vesper, and GS 46 Antilope or the CSA cruisers such as the J/36 Cayennita Grande or the J/122 Lost Horizon.
The St. Thomas Yacht Club is the Storm Trysail Club’s southern station, and the International Rolex Regatta has a stellar reputation for race management, offering a variety of courses ideally configured to test a sailor’s skills while showcasing the stunning shoreline. Included are the first day’s “harbor races” from the club to Charlotte Amalie Harbor and back, testing everyone’s focus; the second day’s “island race,” testing navigational nerve by sending competitors short tacking the length of St. John’s south shore and back; and the final day’s “sound race,” testing one’s determination on complex courses around the cays of Pillsbury Sound. Or for testing one’s mettle, there are up to 18 windward/leeward races on the one-design circle. Like the IC-24s, a one-design class can be established with a minimum of six boats.
“The International Rolex Regatta was the highlight of our 2011 Caribbean Circuit,” said Steve Benjamin (Norwalk, Conn.), who called tactics on Peter Corr’s Warwick 80 Aiyana and jousted with the likes of Ed Baird, Gavin Brady, Bouwe Bekking and Richard Clarke, to name just a few of the many notable sailors in attendance. “Reliable winds every day, terrific competition, a challenging mix of courses, and of course plenty of rum and camaraderie at the great parties every day–we will be back for sure in 2012!”
Sweeney stressed that it’s easy to get to St. Thomas, and of all the Caribbean regattas that lure thousands of sailors to the islands each spring, the International Rolex Regatta is the most robust when it comes to offering the chance to compete using the best made equipment, with and against the sport’s finest talents in one of its premier arenas. “Each race starts and finishes only minutes from the St. Thomas Yacht Club and adjacent to the most pristine anchorage imaginable,” said Sweeney. “In mere minutes, you can go from fast-paced racing to a post-race swim on a thriving coral reef, then grab a complimentary rum on the Club’s beach. Basically, there’s no excuse not to join us!”