The 52nd annual St. Thomas International Regatta (April 3-5) wrapped up on Easter Sunday with nearly 40 boats from all three U.S. Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and St. Maarten, as well as several U.S. states—from Massachusetts to California—and from the UK and Ireland attending.
An Around-the-Rocks race, where the fleet circumnavigated St. John, kicked off the event followed by three days of coastal and windward-leeward racing. The seastate kicked up throughout the race with a calm and flat first day followed by increasingly bigger waves.
“The second day, as the water got lumpier, it got better for us, and we had a great first race on the final day,” said Tim Dawson, tactician for Privateer, a Cookson 50 owned by Ron Hanley and hailing from Newport. “However, on the final race of the regatta, there was a massive rain squall across the Pillsbury Sound (between St. John and St. Thomas) where we clocked twenty-seven knots while facing a 70-degree wind shift. We had a gear failure, and our spinnaker fell in the water. It cost us the race.”
Fortunately for the team, they had enough of a buffer on the scoreboard that they still came out on top. Puerto Rico’s Enrique Figueroa on the Melges 24 Exodus took second place with Puerto Rico’s Juan Mari on his J/100 Freelance finishing third.
The 15-boat strong IC24s fleet highlighted the homegrown talent and depth here with a mix of Olympians, All Americans, and World Champions reviving and renewing rivalries. After 15 races over three days, Marco Texider of San Juan, Puerto Rico took first place with thirty points driving Cachondo.
“Being as consistent as possible is the key. It was close, tight racing, and we did not give in until the last race. We could not let up, and we had to stay focused,” Texider said. “This is a proud moment for us as well as it is only the second time, for me, that we have won it. And it means a lot to me as my father is here today. We have been racing here as a family for nearly 40 years.”
Second place in the IC24s went to Teddy Nicolosi, with his team on the IC24, Bill T. BVI’s INTAC, with Mark Plaxton at the helm, rounded out third place. U.S. Olympic sailor and St. Thomas native Thomas Barrows was on board Bill T doing foredeck.
“We put a lot into this race and feel we made some great strides, but the intense competition also makes it fun. I, personally, have been racing against Marco Texider since we were in the Opti Greens,” Barrows said. A two-time U.S. Olympic sailor who served as coach for Team USA at the 2020 Tokyo Games, Barrows is now coaching high school sailing at the Antilles School in St. Thomas.
Barrows and others, like All American sailor Tyler Rice, are also committed to rebuilding the ISCA/Sunfish fleet as the region prepares for the ISCA/Sunfish Worlds starting November 10 at the St. Croix Yacht Club. Peter Stanton of St. Croix participated in the St. Thomas International Regatta as did his brother, Scott Stanton, taking first and second place, respectively. Peter Stanton noted that twenty-three countries are expected to attend the worlds.
“The whole two days of racing showed me that if I were to take my foot off the pedal, there was always someone close behind,” said Peter Stanton. “I have been sailing Sunfish since I was fifteen, so I do have the benefit of experience, but this is a competitive fleet. We saw big puffs and big surf so that is incredibly challenging.” Stanton is the current ISCA Master’s World Champion, and a bronze medalist at the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games. He led an instructional clinic for the class before the regatta started.
“We so appreciate sailors like sailors like Tyler Rice getting out there today and appreciate the growth of the fleet here at the yacht club,” added Stanton. “These boats are not as expensive as a Laser, and they are very manageable to sail well and not so dependent on a person’ s height or weight.”
The first-ever ISCA/Sunfish worlds took place at the St. Thomas Yacht Club in 1970, and was the first boat ever owned by the family of 1984 Olympic Silver Medalist in the Finn Class and St. Thomas native Peter Holmberg. The re-emergence of the fleet after many decades has brought back memories for St. Thomas native Kerry Klein, whose mother Heather Klien was the only woman to compete in the first worlds in 1970. Ken Klein, Kerry’s father, placed third in that event.
“Although my mother competed wearing a green bikini and floppy hat, she did very well, and I still have the sail she used in that event along with my fathers’ medal,” Kerry Klein said. “The Sunfish was and is a great boat, and it is part of the history of the Virgin Islands. We are all extremely excited to help at the upcoming Worlds.”
Finally, the Hobie Wave is fast becoming one of the most competitive fleets among the young sailors in the Virgin Islands. St. John’s Hunter Reinbold, 12, and St. Thomas’ Kip Hodgens, 11, maintained their day one lead to win the class.
The two beat older, more experienced sailors including Hodgen’s older brother, Finn, and St. Thomas’ Will Zimmerman, who finished second, while St. Thomas’ Rowan Walters, rounded out third. The first-place finish was a bit unexpected for the two young sailors. Lighter than most of the other teams, they hung in during a windy weekend with choppy seas and surprised even themselves at their robust performance.
“We felt we sailed well the first day, but today we did struggle,” said Reinbold after the second day of racing. ““We did not expect to beat others as it was our first time. We had big waves and that was troubling us. It was hard to steer, and at times it seemed I forgot how.”
Despite fewer big boats this year, sailing is at its highest level and fun is a priority at the St. Thomas International Regatta. Regatta Director Pat Bailey notes that sailing regattas today are changing and the competitors are changing as well.
“We are aware that it is impossible not to have an enjoyable time with our sailing conditions. Once you have come and experienced sailing at the St. Thomas Yacht Club and the Virgin Islands, you want to be back next year and bring your friends,” said Bailey. “That being said, the competition has been evolving over the past decade, and our regatta has evolved to meet the demographics and demands of today’s sailors. A welcome addition this year was the ISCA/Sunfish. It is a fun forgiving boat that people of all ages can enjoy. My family owned the first Sunfish in the Virgin Islands, and it was my baptism into sailing. We are in full support of the 2026 World ISC Sunfish championships in St. Croix come November.”
