April 15, 2001 – A long and frustrating second day of racing in the Rolex Cup Regatta, with some boats racing for over six hours, was annulled by a protest against the placement of a mark of the course.
The course selected took all classes through Pilsbury Sound between St. Thomas and St. John. Racers were then directed to a mark one half mile north of the buoy denoting Johnson's Reef near St. John. The actual location of the mark was estimated by sailors on the course to be three miles to the north northwest of Johnson's Reef. The issue of fairness to all competitors, with some sailors searching for the mark near it's described location, was a factor in discarding the race for all racers.
This news was greeted with expressions varying from happy resignation to outright anger with crews that placed well, before the race was discarded, being the most disgruntled.
The conditions made for an unusual race even before the shore-side action. The race started in light but steady air. However, during the first run west in Pilsbury Sound large areas without wind developed which, combined with currents moving between island passages, left some early leaders drifting backward. Boats left behind caught up and passed the luckless crews. The mark at the west end of Pilsbury Sound became a colorful parking lot as several classes piled into the windless zone at the mark. Boats that passed through this area before the wind problems quickly stretched out leads that continued to increase as the trailing boats fell into other windless areas around the course. In the racer-cruiser class the largest boat spent about four hours on the course and boats, usually finishing about 45 minutes later, finally finished after almost six hours of racing. Sunday's race, or races, will now decide the winner of the International Rolex Cup Regatta 2001.
