J/95 SHAMROCK VII Wins, J/122 LAZY DOG Ties For First!(Gustavia, St Barth)- The third edition of Les Voiles St Barths reinforced the little secret that many sailors have known about their pretty little corner of the Caribbean-- the congenial hospitality is out-of-this-world, the "Les Barthians" are amazingly nice people and go out of their way to put on a fabulous regatta. Apparently, not only were the sailors wildly enthusiastic about the sailing, no one wanted to leave-- more than once people were overhead assuring "the office" and "loved one's" back home that there were, indeed, headed back to home and work after the regatta. The "song of the Sirens" on St Barths is undoubtedly a difficult one to resist, the temptation is so alluring.
Out on the refreshing azure blue sparkling waters, the sailing was both fun and serious. Losing a heart-breaking tie-breaker for first in Racing Spinnaker 2 class was the J/122 LAZY DOG sailed by Sergio Sagramoso from San Juan, Puerto Rico. They lost out even though they had identical sailing records to their competitor!
In the Non-Spinnaker class, the J/95 SHAMROCK skippered by Tom Mullen from New Hampshire, USA ended up winning class over some steely competitors. In fact, it turns out the team sailing the modified J/120 JAGUAR ISLAND WATER WORLD skippered by Ben Jelic finished 4th, but having to include in their 1-2-2 scoreline an unfortunate DSQ in the third race.
The
fleet was in for a treat starting on the first day of their four days
of sailing. On Tuesday, it dawned with flags lightly streaming,
instilling hope that there’d be enough wind. After studying the range of
course choice, the race committee settled on a 17-nautical miler that
kept the fleet entirely along the southern coast, where the pressure
held. The race committee was quite pleased to get all seven classes off
the line in the five starts. The faster boats – the Maxis and the IRC
52s – managed to sail the complete course, while the smaller, slower
boats would find their race shortened, to finish at the Roche le Boeuf,
off Gustavia. The class leaders after the first day's sailing were:
J/122 LAZY DOG (Spinnaker 1) and the J/120 JAGUAR ISLAND WATER WORLD
(Non-Spinnaker).
For
Wednesday's sailing, there was better breeze was on tap with a variable
8-12 knot easterly which offered all classes a proper chance to
perform. The race committee chose well again – reaching into their bag
of 25+ courses and selecting picture postcard worthy courses around the
northwestern end of the island and neighboring islets: 20-nautical mile
for the Maxi and IRC 52 classes, and 17 miles for all of the other
classes. In the Non-Spinnaker Racing class only a point back from the
lead was Ben Jelic’s J/120 JAGUAR ISLAND WATER WORLD, the local boat and
local favorites from St. Maarten. In Spinnaker Racing class, with 19
boats the biggest class, and one rife with competition, the leader after
two days was Sergio Sagramoso’s J/122, LAZY DOG with two bullets.Perhaps it was the mandatory "Lay Day Thursday" festivities that got both the "big dogs" on LAZY DOG in trouble and the "crazy cats" on JAGUAR ISLAND WATER WORLD into even hotter water. For after the bacchanalian festival of fun and games on the beach, great bands and party in the evening, both teams lost a bit of their "racing edge".
Friday dawned with perhaps the most important race of the event. A favorite staple of racing in St Barth’s is the round-the-island race, and today the Les Voiles de St. Barth competitors had their turn. The fleet was sent anti-clockwise on either a 23- or 17-nautical mile course, that included the island itself, as well as neighboring Ile Fourchue. A land-based spectator could easily follow the fleet around – as easily as they could navigate a car along the island’s windy and narrow roads. The volcanic French island offers some impressive views: the start from historic Fort Oscar, midway around at the beachside village of Lorient, and finally from the overlook near Colombier, several hundred feet above the passage to Ile Chevreau, with the fleet by then on a downwind leg, spinnakers and staysails flying.
At the start off Gustavia, an eight to ten knot southeasterly helped send the seven classes off the line. Around the southern end, out of the lee of the island, boats encountered more breeze and bigger swells. Added to that, several rain squalls brought more wind as well, with boats experiencing 20-25 knots in the passing showers. These cells challenged some crews, who struggled to keep in phase with sail changes; those that could react faster, made big gains around the island course.
The
battle brewing in Spinnaker 1 class saw the J/122 LAZY DOG just miss
their third win for the week, correcting out only by 46 seconds behind
the race winner. LAZY DOG's team, all from Puerto Rico, have
successfully sailed together for eight to nine years, winning quite a
few regattas. Sagramoso said, “We know each other from windsurfing
competitively when we were younger, then we all moved to sailing. My
foredeck used to be the best windsurfer in Puerto Rico! We have had an
amazing few days, a great time, great racing and a lot of fun. Probably
the best regatta we have ever been to. I came once as a tourist and
thought that it looked like a beautiful place to sail. This is now our
new favorite regatta in the Caribbean!"
Saturday's
final day of sailing was going to be a cliff-hanger for many fleets,
the outcomes of the racing determining the podium positions for many.
No one said racing in paradise was easy, and on Saturday crews were
again tested with light and variable winds. Tacticians and navigators
found it challenging – as did helmsman and trimmers who were looking for
any advantage in the changeable conditions. Spinnaker 1 class came
down to a battle for first overall, with Sergio’s J/122 LAZY DOG
finished tied on six points, losing the tie-breaker by virtue of their
second place finish! In the Non-Spinnaker class, Tom's J/95 SHAMROCK
VII triumphed over their friendly competitor's mis-adventures. If you
recall, SHAMROCK came straight from the BVI Spring Regatta, where they
won their class. Right after finishing, they delivered the boat to St
Barth’s with barely time to register, let alone practice. Tom
attributed his boat’s win to a combination of bad luck for some of their
competitors and extraordinarily hard work on part of his crew.
Congratulations to all the J/Teams for great sailing and fun-- we hope
to join you next year! Sailing photos courtesy of Christophe Jouany.
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