International
Rolex Regatta Logs Three Races on Opening Day
 |
| Carlo
Falcone's Caccia Alla Volpe (Antigua) features
an Italian crew |
St.
Thomas, USVI (March 28, 2003)--The breeze was
light but welcome, since it was more than the
stillness the islands had endured over the past
week. For opening day of the 2003 International
Rolex Regatta, the 8-10 knot winds meant that
all but one of the 11 classes competing could
complete three races and still have plenty of
time for enjoying the steel band back at the St.
Thomas Yacht Club. With 97 boats competing, the
Rolex event is celebrating its 30th season and
has drawn its enthusiastic racing contingent from
the islands (46 entrants), Puerto Rico (22), the
U.S. (19), UK (9) and Spain (1).
The
IC24 class featured some of the tightest racing,
since the hybrid boats--with J/24 hulls and Melges
24 decks--are evenly matched one-designs. St.
Thomas' John Holmberg, a perennial favorite at
this regatta in the catamaran division, is making
his debut in the IC24 Stinger and had a solid
first day to lead the 13-boat fleet.
 |
| John
Holmberg's Stinger (St. Thomas) in the IC24
class |
"We
bumbled the start in the first and second races
and came back to finish first and third, respectively,"
said Holmberg. "Then in the third race, we
were right there on the starting line, right on
time."
Finishing
third overall in Spinnaker Racing Class 1 was
four-time Rolex Regatta winner Carlo Falcone aboard
the Custom 44 Caccia Alla Volpe. Although the
boat hails from Antigua, the crew is mainly Italian
and includes Falcone's son Shannon Falcone, fresh
from his stint with the America's Cup campaign
Mascalzone Latino.
"Light
winds are not our conditions," said Shannon,
who pointed out that his father's most recent
victory here was two years ago in heavy air and
the team recently won the St. Croix International
Regatta in heavy air. "We also have a wide
range of boats and handicaps in our class."
Leading the fleet is Flirt, a custom Oyster 49,
skippered by Richard Matthews of Ipswich, UK.
 |
|
Robbie Ferron's Slam (St. Maarten) and Sam
Laing's Uncle Sam (St. Thomas) highlight the
island boats competing. |
Racing
continues tomorrow and concludes Sunday with the
Coral World Race, a distance race that shows off
the beauty of the islands.
Racing - Over 50 Ft. (2 entries)
1. Donnybrook, Cstm 72, James Muldoon, Washington,
DC, USA, 4 pts.
2.
Equation, Andrews 68, Bill Alcott, Detroit, Mich.,
USA, 5 pts.
Spinnaker
Racing 1 (13 boats)
1.
Flirt, Cstm 49, Richard Matthews, Ipswich, UK,
3 pts.
2.
NOA X-Base, IMX45, Soren Holst Thomsen, Palma
de Mallorca, ESP, 7 pts.
3.
Caccia Alla Volpe, Cstm 44, Carlo Falcone, Antigua,
10 pts.
Spinnaker
Racing 2 (10 boats)
1.
2 Contact Carib,Melges 24, Frits Bus, Phillipsburg,
St. Maarten, 4 pts.
2.
Slam, Melges 24, Robbie Ferron, St. Maarten, AHO,
6 pts.
3.
Don Q Limon, Melges 24, Enrique Torruella, Guaynabo,
PUR, 9 pts.
Spinnaker
Racer/Cruiser (16 boats)
1.
Cold Beer 3, Tartan Ten, John Schultheiss, Tortola,
BVI, 4 pts.
2.
Pipe Dream, Sirena 38, Peter Haycraft, Tortola,
BVI, 5 pts.
3.
Dehlerious, Dehler 34, Bungie Flynn, Tortola,
BVI, 10 pts.
Non-Spinnaker
Racing (7)
1.
Serendip, Prima 38, Craig Dymock , London, UK,
2 pts.
2.
Wildflower, Sabre 402, Ron Noonan, Marion, Mass.,
USA, 4 pts.
3.
Igoodia, Jeanneau 52.2, Milt Baehr, Incline Village,
Calif, USA, 8 pts.
Jib
and Main (8 boats)
1.
Nemesis, Hunter 42, Edwin Romeo, Fajardo, PUR,
4 pts.
2.
Far Cry, Clipper 31, Herve Chassin, St. Thomas,
USVI, 7 pts.
Trial
Cat (1 boat)
1.
Cover Shot, Cstm 33, Roger Webb, Miami, Fla.,
3 pts.
Beach
Cats Spinnaker (7 boats)
1.
Movie Star/Suzuki, Olympic Tornado, Enrique Figueroa,
San Juan, PUR, 3 pts.
2.
Yellow, Nacra 6.0, Richard Bliss, Mansfield, Mass.,
USA, 4 pts.
3.
Century 21, Terry Jackson, Olympic Tornado, St.
Thomas, USVI, 5 pts.
Beach
Cats - Non-Spinnaker (14 boats)
1.
Exodus/Ensysa, Hobie 16, Enrique Figueroa, San
Juan, PUR, 7 pts.
2.
Lolo Too, Hobie 16, Anton Guernica, San Juan,
PUR, 7 pts.
IC24
(13 boats)
1.
Stinger, IC24, John Holmberg, St. Thomas, USVI,
7 pts.
2.
Green Boat, IC24, Carlos Aquilar, St. Thomas,
USVI, 7 pts.
J/24
(6 boats)
1.
Orion/Coors Light, J/24, Fraito Lugo, Ponce, PUR,
3 pts.
2.
Tax Return, J/24, Carlos Feliciano, Caguas, PUR,
8 pts.
3.
XX-TU, J/24, Juan Jose Mari,, San Juan, PUR, 9
pts.
The
regatta web page is www.rolexcupregatta.com
