March 28, 2009 — Day two of the International Rolex Regatta brought the racing into Charlotte Amalie Harbor for locals and visitors alike, as tourists on seven cruise ships got an up-close view of the finish line.
The hottest racing was once again in the IC-24 class, with all competitors in the fifth and sixth races finishing within three minutes of one another. The tightness of the finishes was especially impressive since Saturday's first race was a lengthy 16 nautical miles, and the second race was 13 nautical miles.
The IC-24 is a homegrown Caribbean "one-design" class, which uses the widely used one-design J/24 as a base with modifications that make the cockpit bigger and longer, with more space under the boom.
Green Boat, skippered by Verian Aguilar and crewed by Sandy Hayes, Kelly O'Brien, Brett Clark and Colin Fitzpatrick finished in 8th place and 3rd place in today's races, leaving them in 10th place in the class standings for the regatta so far.
They were pleased with their crew work today, saying that their strategy was to stay away from other boats' "dirty air."
Aguilar thinks highly of the competitiveness of the class and singled out the boat handling on Chris Curreri's Brand New Second Hand, Colin Rathbun's Lime and Fraito Lugo on Orion.
"It is such a fun boat," Aguilar said of the IC-24. "We really mix it up."
"We are more on our game than in previous years," said Rathbun, whose boat is in second place in the IC-24 standings for the regatta. "We're sailing the boat more aggressively."
Perennial class leader Fraito Lugo is once again at the top of the leader board after the second day with a third place in today's first race and a first in the second race.
In the jib and main division, Wind's Glory, crewed by eight Ivanna Eudora Kean student is in 10th place. The students had an outstanding start in today's second race, crossing the start with the top third of the class. The crew only started sailing together this year and the Rolex is their first-ever regatta.
The division is currently led by Shamrock V, owned by Thomas Mullen of Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire.
The IRC classis is led by Swiss entry Vincitore, an RP 52 skippered by Jim Mitchell.
Chris Schreiber's Auto Manic is in first place in the beach cat division.
The spinnaker racing division is led by Jurakan, a Melges 32 sailed by a British Virgin Islands Crew.
Barra, a Morris 48, is leading the Spinnaker Racing/Cruising class. And a trimaran named Piglet is the sole entry in the Large Multi-Hull Division.
Complete results are available online.
IC 24 (One Design – 13 Boats)
1. Orion, Fraito Lugo, PR
2. Lime, Colin Rathbun, BVI
3. Brand-New Second Hand, Christopher Curreri, St. Thomas
Spinnaker Racing (CSA – 14 Boats)
1. Jurakan, Dave West, BVI
2. Team Coors Light, Frits Bus, N.A.
3. Urayo, Gilberto E. Rivera, PR
Spinnaker Racing/Cruising (CSA – 13 Boats)
1. Barra, Bruce MacNeil, USA
2. Lost Horizon, James Dobbs, ANT
3. Three Harkoms, James Hudleston, BVI
Non-Spinnaker Racing (CSA – 12 Boats)
1. Shamrock V, Thomas Mullen, USA
2. Dragon Fly Plus, Ulrich Rohde, USA
3. Cayennita Grande, Antonio Sanpere, St. Croix
Large Multi Hulls (CSA – 1 Boats)
1. Piglet, Joseph San Martin, St. Croix
IRC (IRC – 5 Boats)
1. Vincitore, Jim Mitchell, SUI
2. Arethusa, Philip Lotz, USA
3. Privateer, Ron O'Hanley, USA
Beach Cats (Portsmouth – 6 Boats)
1. Auto-Manic, Chris Schreiber, St. Croix
2. Blame it on Rhea, St. Thomas
3. Caribbean Auto Mart, Thomas Ainger, St. Croix
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