March 29, 2002 – John Haracivet and his crew aboard Tempest, his 38-foot Beneteau, were comfortable. They had plenty of ice, cold drinks and shade. "We weren't like some of the boats with that just baked out there," he said, after racing was canceled due to breathless calm the first official day of the 29th annual International Rolex Regatta.
The cancellation followed Thursday's decision to call off the inaugural running of the one-day, pre-Rolex Governor's Trophy Race, also for lack of wind.
Only twice before in the history of the Easter weekend regatta had race days been called off. "It's amazing that, before yesterday, we had only lost one other race to light air and one to too much air over the course of all these years," regatta director Chuck Ollinger said. "The good thing is that tomorrow is another day, and we have two days left for racing."
Sailors aboard the 78 competing yachts hailing from the Virgin Islands, surrounding Caribbean islands, the U.S. mainland and Europe by and large took the two-hour wait for wind Friday morning in stride. Psyched anticipation segued into a laid-back party spirit as Puerto Rico's Michael Serralles led the revelry aboard his J/120 Don Q Rum, swaying to a salsa beat and starting a conga line of boats attached by towlines as they wound around the committee boat looking for signs of impending action.
Crew aboard five Hobie 16s from Puerto Rico, including Inabon with Alfredo Figueroa and his wife aboard and Flywind carrying their sons Alfredo and Francisco, drummed rhythmically aboard their hulls while chanting: "Wind, wind, wind."
Swimmers Jamie Thomas and Jai Campbell took the dive off Solmate, Bill Strandhagen's Pearson 365 from St. Petersburg, Fla., that is competing in the Fun Class. "We're glad to be here even if there isn't any wind," Strandhagen said. "It's a beautiful day."
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