St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands (December 4, 2010). Top-ranked and first-time sailors headlined day three of the Carlos Aguilar Match Race, (CAMR), presented by Ulysse Nardin/Trident Jewels & Time.
In the Women’s Division, Great Britain’s Lucy MacGregor beat the Netherland’s Klaartje Zuiderbaan twice in the first two races of the first-to-three-points Semi-Finals, while the USA’s Genny Tulloch similarly earned two bullets over the USA’s Sally Barkow.
In the Open Division, the U.S. Virgin Islands’ Peter Holmberg finished neck-and-neck with the USA’s Dave Perry after both sailors each won a race in the first two Semi-Final races. Similarly, the USVI’s Taylor Canfield and Portugal’s Alvaro Marinho/Seth Sailing Team each won a race and lost a race.
The winds continued unseasonably light and shifty as the Open teams took to the race course set in Charlotte Amalie harbor in the morning and the Women in the afternoon.
In the Open Division, the Race Committee abandoned a few of the last remaining matches due to lack of time.
“Those matches would not have affected the final result,” says principal race officer, Bill Canfield.
Portugal’s Seth Sailing Team posted two wins for the day and earned entry into the Semi-Finals, a position that skipper Alvaro Marinho was pleased.
“We are used to strong winds and not so shifty,” says Marinho. “In these conditions, no race is ever over until the finish. But we’ve been sailing better each day and in each race.”
Laurie Jury’s team from New Zealand didn’t make the top four, but they did win two races for the day. “I’ve got a new crew and it has been a learning curve for us,” says Jury, who added, “Our boat handling was definitely better today.”
In the Women’s Division, the USA’s Genny Tulloch looked on the positive side. “You don’t often get conditions like this, so it’s good training.”
Tulloch has one eye focused on fellow USA sailors, whom she will compete against for a berth into the 2012 Olympics, and the other on the international skippers whom she may meet in London. Likewise, Brazil’s Julianna Senfft was closely watching fellow Brazilian Renata Decnop, as well as the rest of the fleet.
“I really like the fast-paced action of match racing,” says Senfft, who added that this event is good practice for the Brazilian Nationals, which are part of the country’s Olympic trials, which will start mid-December.
In between the action, nearly a dozen local teenagers got their first taste of handling a tiller and calling tactics in the Budget Marine Youth Regatta.
“I got to steer, it was so much fun,” says 13-year-old Shamoi James.
Davis Polius, Jr, also age 13, called tactics. “I’d like to do it again.”
The young sailors were all members of HYPE (Helping Young People Excel).
Racing will conclude on Sunday with the Semi-Finals and then Finals.
Up for grabs is an Ulysse Nardin Lady Diver and Ulysse Nardin Maxi Marine Diver precision timepiece for the top Women’s and Open skippers, respectively. In addition, the Open winner receives an invitation to the prestigious Stena Match Cup Sweden, in Marstrand, July 4-10, 2011. The CAMR is an Official World Tour Qualifier (WTQ) for the 2011 World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) (www.worldmatchracingtour.com
Spectators are invited to watch the racing under tented bleacher seating where there will be live narration provided by America’s Cup-sailor-turned commentator, Geordie Shaver. Arm chair viewers around the world can watch via a live webcast on www.carlosmatchrace.com. Racing starts at 9 a.m. (GMT – 4 hrs) daily.
The St. Thomas Yacht Club (STYC) and the Virgin Islands Sailing Association (VISA) are the organizing authority for the Grade 2 CAMR, namesake for the late Carlos Aguilar, who was an avid sailor and match racer. The U.S. Virgin Islands is no stranger to hosting world-class match racing events, having hosted six major regattas of this type in the last twelve years.
Match racing pits one identical boat against another on a short course oftentimes near to shore. The most recognized example of match racing is the America’s Cup. On-the-water umpires make instant calls and enforce the rules. The result is very exciting racing up and down the Charlotte Amalie waterfront.
The CAMR is presented by Ulysse Nardin, exclusively distributed by Trident Jewels & Time. Major sponsors include the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism, Frenchman’s Reef & Morning Star Marriott Beach Resort, Heineken Beer, distributed in the U.S. Virgin Islands by Bellows International Ltd., Budget Marine, and Yacht Haven Grande.
Daily race results and copyright-free high-resolution downloadable images by Virgin Islands-based photographer, Dean Barnes, will be available for editorial use on the official event website at: www.carlosmatchrace.com/pr.php
DAY THREE RESULTS
(Number of Wins-Losses)
WOMENS DIVISION – FINAL ROUND ROBIN STANDINGS
Lucy MacGregor, GBR, 13-1
Sally Barkow, USA, 13-1
Genny Tulloch, USA, 9-5
Klaartje Zuiderbaan, NED, 7-7
Julianna Senfft, BRA, 5-9
Renata Decnop, BRA, 5-9
Sandy Hayes, USA, 3-11
Kelly O’Brien-Uszenski, USVI, 1-13
OPEN DIVISION – FINAL ROUND ROBIN STANDINGS*
Peter Holmberg, USVI, 12-1
Taylor Canfield, USVI, 10-3
Alvaro Marinho/Seth Sailing Team, POR, 9-3
Dave Perry, USA, 7-5
Colin Rathbun, BVI, 5-9
Laurie Jury, NZL, 4-9
Chris Van Tol, USA, 3-10
Stratis Andreadis, GRE, 2-12
*Some matches abandoned in last two flights
WOMENS DIVISION – SEMI-FINALS AFTER TWO RACES
Lucy MacGregor, GBR, vs. Klaartje Zuiderbaan, NED, 2-0
Sally Barkow, USA, vs. Genny Tulloch, USA, 0-2
OPEN DIVISION – SEMI-FINALS AFTER TWO RACES
Peter Holmberg, USVI, vs. Dave Perry, USA, 1-1
Taylor Canfield, USVI, vs. Alvaro Marinho/Seth Sailing Team, POR, 1-1
ABOUT THE SPONSOR
Trident Jewels & Time is a family business started by Peter and Nina Alwani in 1980 in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. Since then their two children, Satish and Girish Alwani, have established the company as the store of two sensations: jewelry and watches. Trident has two branches in St. Thomas (Main Street & Yacht Haven Grande Marina) and three branches in Aruba (Little Europe and Times Square). Trident carries all varieties of jewels including loose diamonds, sapphires, emeralds and tanzanite. The company is also the exclusive authorized retailer for a selection of some of the most exquisite timepieces in the world: Ulysse Nardin, Harry Winston, Franck Muller, Bovet, Jaquet Droz, Bell & Ross, U-Boat, Graham and Technomarine.
