(George Town, St Barths)- The final day of racing at Les Voiles de St.
Barth served up lively conditions for the fleet, with 20+ knots of wind
whipping up four to six foot seas. The race committee sent the
Spinnaker 1 and 2 classes on a 17 nautical mile course along the western
side of the island, somewhat protected by the lee of the land but
nevertheless providing shifty conditions. Spinnaker 3 and Non-Spinnaker
classes sailed a 26 nautical mile course around the islands off the
north and east side of St. Barths, fully exposed to the fresh breeze and
ocean swell.In Maxi/Racing, new J/70 owner Jim Swartz sailed his TP52 VESPER to a string of bullets to win the class. Swartz said, “This week has been pretty typical: constant wind, 15-17 knots, predictable but shifty, with challenging and nice waves on the backside of the island. Kind of a sailor’s paradise; the race committee does a great job, the people are terrific.”
In
the Spinnaker 1 class, the standings going into today were close for
the class leaders. In the end, past J/105 Champion tactician Steve
Cucchiaro along with long-time J sailor Jack Slattery (North Sails)
sailed DEFIANCE to a solid 1-1-2-2 score line, but sadly faded on the
last race to settle for a second overall. Loving the reaching
conditions of the last race was the J/125 HAMACHI sailed by Greg
Slyngstad, taking second in the race but not enough to snag third place,
missing by 4 pts and having to settle for fourth instead.Sergio Sagramoso’s J/122 LAZY DOG returned to form, posting a first in the last race to take Spinnaker 2 racing class. The ebullient Puerto Rican sailor said, “This was probably our best season in the Caribbean: we won the Heineken Regatta, BVI Spring Regatta, were 2nd at International Rolex Regatta, and we’ve won this!”
Sagramoso
goes on to say, “I think in sailboat racing, especially when you do it
with the same crew year after year – and these are friends who are not
professionals, there are no professionals on board – everything has to
click. I’ve had a year like this before, but you can go five or six
years without having a year like this. When everyone is on top of their
game physically, mentally, and the boat is ready, everything clicks and
then you start winning. I think we are in one of those years, it takes a
long time to get there, but we have it now.”In Spinnaker 3 racing class, the "girls boat", the J/109 LES VOILES AU FEMININ ST BARTH sailed by Sophie Olivaud to a fourth overall, just two points out of third!
In the Non-Spinnaker class, it was another tough competition for these teams. Finishing in the money again was Tom Mullens' J/95 SHAMROCK VII, taking second place and getting yet another podium finish in as many Caribbean events they've participated in over the last few weeks. Hanging in there for fourth overall was the custom J/120 JAGUAR ISLAND WATERWORLD sailed by Ben Jelic. Sailing photo credits- Tim Wright/ Photoaction.com. For more Les Voiles St Barths sailing information
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