Neil Newhard capped off two days of sailing his own wooden sloop in almost every condition the Virgin Islands has to offer with a win in a Laser sail-off to take the 2001 St. John Commodore's Cup. The three combined St. John yacht clubs decided on the sail-off method as the best way to select an overall winner from three different class winners. Newhard, winner of the non-spinnaker class, raced the Olympic Laser against Jeff Crokin, captain of Slideways and winner of the pursuit class; and Dave Dostall, captain of Rob Roy and winner of the spinnaker class.
Saturday's race from Pilsbury Sound, west of Cruz Bay, around the north of St. John to Coral Bay was held on a perfect Virgin Islands sailing day, 12 to 14 knots of wind and bright sun. The Sunday race around the waters east of Coral Bay proved more challenging with passing squalls dropping 25 knot gusts along the course, then taking all the wind away after leaving.
The Cup raised approximately $6,000 for the KATS (Kids and the Sea) Program on St. John between entry fees, T-shirt sales, and raffle tickets. The combined clubs called the Mount Gay Commodore's Cup regatta a tremendous success this year. Twenty-five boats from St. John, St. Thomas, St. Croix, and Tortola participated. Combined results from the two days of racing follow:
2001 Mt. Gay Commodore Cup Results
Pursuit Class
Place, Boat Name….Captain
1. Slideways….Jeff Crokin
2. En Passant….Dave Kraft
3. Water Filly….Jonathan Rusam
4. Rainbow Maker….Vince Barnett
5. Lilly….Bear
6. Paradise Found….Mark Williams
7. Will Full….Dave Geiger
8. Wind Song….Bob Sells
9. Evasion….Rob Waara
10. Luffin & Limin….Glen and Mai Tai
11. Wayward….Christopher Robinson
12. Hotel California….Steve Schmidt
Non-Spinnaker Class
1. Hirondelle….Neal Newhard
2. Windshift….Ralf Fette
3. Indigo….Lewis Alexander
4. Silmarillian….Shawn Lemm
Spinnaker Class
1. Rob Roy….Dave Dostall
2. Runaway….Rebecca Rusham
3. Online Vacation….Gary Wright
4. Wild Thing….David Baird
5. Fast Idiots….Ed Brockbank
6. J Walking….Brian Walden
7. Serenity….Seabastian Coppens
