A fleet of 8- to 15-year-old sailors from Antigua, Canada, the Cayman Islands, Puerto Rico, the U.S.A. and the U.S. Virgin Islands will race 8-foot long single-sail Optimist dinghies in the TOTE Clinic from Monday through Wednesday, the TOTE Team Race on Thursday, and the International Optimist Regatta (IOR) from Friday through Sunday. This trio of events is one of the longest-running annual little boat regattas in the USVI and the Caribbean.
What makes it unique is the combination of instruction, team and fleet racing all in one week, which includes beginners and advanced sailors alike. Plus, like other regattas held at the St. Thomas Yacht Club earlier this year, protocols are in place for a COVID-safe event.
“We’re pleased to welcome our local, regional and international sailors and their families, and look forward to sharing our ideal sailing conditions and the opportunity this event offers for our junior competitors to renew and make new friendships,” said Hollis Jenkins, regatta director. “We are very proud that several past winners and participants of the IOR have gone on to become high school national champions, college All-Americans, and on the world sailing stage, first ranked match racers, one-design class world champions, Olympians and team members of America’s Cup campaigns.”
Two U.S. Virgin Islands sailors to especially watch this year are 14-year-old Tanner Krygsveld and 11-year-old Coby Fagan, both from St. Thomas. Krygsveld finished 5th and Fagan 40th at the Optimist North American Championships (OPTINAM) that were held in Mexico earlier this month.
One Caribbean regional sailor who will give Virgin Islands sailors a race for the podium is Rogelio Casellas from Puerto Rico, who finished 4th overall at the OPTINAM.
This will be the first time 14-year-old Allie Graham-Capasso, representing the Cayman Island Sailing Club, will race in the IOR.
Top-Notch TOTE Clinic
Thirteen international coaches, most of them national team coaches and some considered the best Optimist coaches in the U.S. and the world, make the TOTE clinic as instructive as it is inspirational for the participating junior sailors.
“The focus for this year’s clinic will be on starts. In the Optimist fleets, starts are the most important aspect of the race. The great success of the TOTE clinic is that we have around 90 boats registered in the championship fleet. There aren’t many clinics in the world with this number of boats, and it is the perfect opportunity to work on big fleet starts,” said Agustin ‘Argy’ Resano, Team ISV coach. “Regarding the IOR itself, we always get the highest-level sailors in the U.S. and nowadays, the U.S. is ranked among the top five countries in the world for Optimist sailing. Overall, it’s a great week of sailing. It’s usually hard to get a clinic, team race and three-day regatta all in one week, but the Caribbean, especially St. Thomas, is one of the few places where we can accomplish this due to the great conditions.”
Over a dozen teams are expected for the TOTE Team Race on Thursday, June 17.
“Once again TOTE is honored to sponsor the TOTE Clinic and the TOTE Team Race for the eleventh year. In keeping with TOTE’s charitable policy, TOTE is proud to continue our sponsorship of the International Optimist Regatta 2022 for the benefit of our youth sailors,” said Clarence Nibbs, terminal manager USVI, for TOTE Maritime.
From June 18-20, the International Optimist Regatta is hosted by the Virgin Islands Sailing Association (VISA), sanctioned by the Caribbean Sailing Association (CSA).
An Awards Ceremony will take place on June 20.
Trophies will be awarded to the top five sailors in each fleet and top three overall. Additional trophies include the Peter Ives’ Perpetual Trophy, the Chuck Fuller Sportsmanship Award and the top female sailor. The Sea Star Perpetual Trophy will be inscribed with the names of the sailors on the winning team racing team. A new perpetual trophy, introduced in 2017, is inscribed with the overall winners from the past 27 years.
This year’s event will follow an eco-friendly theme. Sailors will be encouraged to recycle all plastic water bottles, use the reusable water bottle in the goodie bag throughout the regatta, keep all lunch bags and wrapping out of the water, pick up any trash on shore and accept drinks without straws.
The International Optimist Regatta is sponsored by the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism, TOTE Maritime, and MSI.
For more information, call 513-2234, email: internationaloptiregatta@gmail.com or visit https://stthomasyachtclub.org/sailing/regattas/international-optimist-regatta
Results will be posted at: https://www.regattanetwork.com/event/21742
Also, individuals can visit the International Optimist Regatta on Facebook.
