March 30, 2003 – Two races were planned for the third and final day of the 30th annual International Rolex Regatta, but winds blowing steadily at 15 to 18 knots led the race committee to add a third contest, making a total of seven for the event, which drew 97 boats competing in 10 classes.
For 14-year-old Taylor Canfield, six races would have been just fine. "We would have won if we stopped for two, but we ended up tied with the Green Boat and lost the tie breaker," said the teen-ager, who was skippering his family's IC-24, Boat Drinks.
The Rolex watch winner in the IC-24 class was Carlos Aguilar, at the helm of Green Boat.
(When two vessels have accumulated equal points, the boat with the most first-place (or, if necessary, first- and second-place) race finishes is the victor. Green Boat had been the winner in three races; Boat Drinks had won one.)
"The racing was real close. We just tried to minimize our mistakes," said Kirst Feddersen, the tactician aboard Green Boat. Feddersen had just returned home to St. Thomas from New Zealand, where he worked with the America's Cup winning syndicate, Alinghi, as an engineer.
The IC-24 is a homegrown hybrid class that about doubled in numbers from last year, running 13 strong. The boat is a J/24 re-design innovated and built by two St. Thomas Yacht Club sailors, Chris Rosenberg and Morgan Avery.
No other U.S. Virgin Islands skipper won in class, but St. Thomas beach cat sailor Terry Jackson, sailing with Avery on Jackson's Tornado, Century 21, came close.
"Today was a stellar day," Jackson said. "We didn't pick up on a course change for the second race, but we beat Keki in the first and third."
Ultimately, Puerto Rico's Enrique "Keki" Figueroa, aboard his Tornado, Suzuki Moviestar, won the Spinnaker Beach Cat Class.
Like Figueroa, Jackson had his eye on making an Olympic bid in the Tornado for 2004, but "we're short on funds," Jackson said. "Our sponsors, Century 21, Metro Motors and Quantum Sails, have been great, but we noticed that the caliber and level of racing in the states demanded new equipment and top-notch coaching."
At the awards ceremony, held under a festive tent on the St. Thomas Yacht Club grounds Sunday, regatta director Ruth Miller summed up the weekend of racing best when she said: "It's just been a great Rolex."
Results (top 3 boats in class)
Racing – Over 50 Ft. (2 entries)
1. Equation, Andrews 68, Bill Alcott, Detroit, Michigan, 7
2. Donnybrook, Custom 72, James Muldoon, Washington, D.C., 8
Spinnaker Racing 1 (13 boats)
1. Flirt, Custom 49, Richard Matthews, Ipswich, England, 10
2. Caccia Alla Volpe, Custom 44, Carlo Falcone, Antigua, 16
3. Cosmic War Lord, Express 37, Mick Shlens, Palos Verdes Estates, California, 32
Spinnaker Racing 2 (10 boats)
1. 2 Contact Carib, Melges 24, Frits Bus, Phillipsburg, Sint Maarten, 12
2. Don Q Limon, Melges 24, Enrique Torruella, Guaynabo, PR, 19
3. Umakua, Johnston 34, Papote Reguero, San Juan, 21
Spinnaker Racer/Cruiser (16 boats)
1. Pipe Dream, Sirena 38, Peter Haycraft, Tortola, 10
2. Cold Beer 3, Tartan Ten, John Schultheiss, Tortola, 11
3. Dehlerious, Dehler 34, Bungie Flynn, Tortola, 22
Non-Spinnaker Racing (7 boats)
1. Serendip, Prima 38, Craig Dymock, London, 5
2. Wildflower, Sabre 402, Ron Noonan, Marion, Massachusetts 13
3. Igoodia, Jeanneau 52.2, Milt Baehr, Incline Village, California 15
Jib and Main (8 boats)
1. Nemesis, Hunter 42, Edwin Romeo, Fajardo, PR, 9
2. ATN, J/27, M. Compton, St. Thomas, 14
3. Whippet, Jenneau 39, William McConnell, St. Thomas, 16
Trial Cat (1 boat)
1. Cover Shot, Custom 33, Roger Webb, Miami, 5
Beach Cats Spinnaker (7 boats)
1. Movie Star/Suzuki, Tornado, Enrique Figueroa, San Juan, PR, 9
2. Century 21, Terry Jackson, Tornado, St. Thomas, 15
3. Team Tropical Shipping, Nacra F18, Pease Glaser, Long Beach, California 22
Beach Cats – Non-Spinnaker (14 boats)
1. Exodus/Ensysa, Hobie 16, Enrique Figueroa, San Juan, 14
2. Yuisa, Hobie 16, Rosarito Martinez, Carolina, PR, 19
3. Lolo Too, Hobie 16, Anton Guernica, San Juan, 28
IC-24 (13 boats)
1. Green Boat, Aguilar/Hindels, St. Thomas, 21
2. Boat Drinks, Bill Canfield, St. Thomas, 21
3. Old And Gray, Pepe Sanchis, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 26
J/24 (6 boats)
1. Orion/Coors Light, Fraito Lugo, Ponce, PR, 7
2. Tax Return, Carlos Feliciano, Caguas, PR, 21
3. Urayo, J/24, Gilberto Rivera, PR, 23
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