March 17, 2008 – Round-the-buoy and round-the-island racing, under winds that built from near breathless to brisk, set the scene for a great weekend of racing at the 4th annual Culebra Heineken International Regatta.
"We definitely needed more wind the first day," said ISAF judge, Michael Thompson, of Detroit, who officiated over the racing. "By afternoon, we shortened the course for the bigger boats and the breeze filled in by another two knots. That allowed us to get off a couple of races. Today, we had enough breeze for an around the island race. There were some dead-air holes behind the islands that gave some boats trouble, but I'd have to say the sailors were definitely having fun."
The Spinnaker I class proved a match race between two Melges 24s. The Stanton brothers of St. Croix, aboard their Devil 3, proved victorious over fellow islander, Morgan Dale, at the helm of Silver.
"We had really good boat speed this weekend," says Peter Stanton, who called tactics on Devil.
St. Croix's Rob Armstrong's J/100, Bad Girl, rounded out top three in Spinnaker I.
In Spinnaker Racing II, St. Thomas' John Foster's Kirby 25, The Good, The Bad & The Ugly bested the class. Puerto Rico's Antonio Mari's J/80, Ex Mero Motu, finished second in class, while St. Thomas' Chris Thompson's J/27, J-Walker, came in third.
"There was some great racing out there, especially when the wind came up," says Jim Jamison, crew on J/Walker.
After a year's absence, Antigua's Jamie Dobb's was back on the race scene in a new Lost Horizon II, a J/122. Dobb's handily won the Racer-Cruiser class with some young talent like St. Thomas Tyler Rice and Max Nickbarg onboard.
The British Virgin Islands' Peter Haycraft, aboard his longtime favorite Sirena 38, Pipedream, finished second in class, with Puerto Rico's Sergio Sagramoso's Beneteau First 40.7, Lazy Dog, in third.
The IC/24 Class saw extremely tight racing, with Puerto Rico's Fraito Lugo leading the pack on his Orion. Six newly converted IC24s from Puerto Rico were added to this pack this year that saw the BVI's Andrew Watters, aboard Mio Roaming, finish second and Puerto Rico's Sal Pa Afuera skippered by Jose Santiago end third.
The J/24 Class was almost as equally large as the IC/24s. Puerto Rico's Jose Santiago, aboard Maximum, led the pack, with fellow islanders Leopoldo Lauria on Saudades and Gilberto Rivera on Urayo, ending second and third, respectively.
Beach cats made up the third one-design class of this event – expect for class leader, Puerto Rico's Enrique Figueroa sailing his Tornado, Suzuki Red Bull.
"We didn't make the Olympic qualifier this year," says Figueroa, who has competed in four past Summer Olympics. "But, we'll switch to the Hobie 16 right after the Rolex Regatta and start our campaign for the CAC (Central American and Caribbean) Games.
Finally, Puerto Rican sailors locked up all the leaders in the Jib and Main Class. Bernardo Gonzalez, on his Bonne Chance, won, with Agustin Rodriguez second aboard Poco a Poco, and Robert Fisher, on Dottie II, third.
The Culebra International Dinghy Regatta marked an event within an event for junior sailors helming Optimist dinghies and lasers.
Puerto Rico's Patrick Carolus won the Laser Radial Class.
"I got lucky and I got all the shifts," says 15-year-old Carolus.
St. Thomas' Addison Hackstaff finished first overall in the 21-boat Optimist Class.
"I watched the winds," says 12-year-old Hackstaff. "I looked at how the flags were blowing on the boats in the bay and I could see the shifts coming."
The Culebra Heineken International Regatta is the second leg of the 2008 Caribbean Ocean Racing Triangle (C.O.R.T.), which kicked-off with the St. Croix International Regatta in February and ends with the BVI Spring Regatta and Sailing Festival.
