{"id":82649,"date":"2025-10-06T14:04:20","date_gmt":"2025-10-06T18:04:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/?p=82649"},"modified":"2025-10-15T15:50:28","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T19:50:28","slug":"stir-it-up-in-st-thomas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/racing\/stir-it-up-in-st-thomas\/","title":{"rendered":"Stir It Up in St. Thomas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n        <section class=\"hydra-container\">\n\n\t\t\t                <div class=\"hydra-canvas\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_0059-1024x768.jpg\" class=\"hydra-image disable-lazyload\" alt=\"St Thomas International Regatta 2025\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\" fetchpriority=\"high\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_0059-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_0059-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_0059-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_0059-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_0059.jpg 2000w\" \/>                <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n            <figcaption class=\"caption margin_top_xs full border_1 hydra-figcaption\">\n                <span class=\"hydra-image-caption\">Local Teddy Nicolosi led his all-star crew to seven of 15 race wins at the St. Thomas International Regatta. Nicolosi\u2019s team included his sister, Graceann, Mac Agnese and Dan Barrows, with his son, Thomas, a two-time Olympian, on the bow.<\/span>\n                <span class=\"article_image_credit italic margin_right_xs\">Ingrid Abery\/STIR<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t            <\/figcaption>\n        <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n<p>Nothing else matters except beating that one boat across the finish line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Which is why I\u2019m maniacally trimming the sail even though it hurts like hell. Every time the winged-out jib folds back onto itself and refills with a violent snap, zingers of pain shoot into my right shoulder. It might be carnage to my rotator cuff, but screw it. I don\u2019t care. Over my shoulder, straight off to starboard 100 feet away, is the pink boat with a crew in matching pink shirts. The two of us are battling it out at the tail end of the 21-boat fleet, as we have been for the past three days. There\u2019s always one boat in every regatta that seems magnetic, right? Voila is that one, and right now we\u2019re mathematically guaranteed to beat them in the regatta. This race is for all the karma marbles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe id=\"x8aa2rgac1\" src=\"https:\/\/Sailingworld.dragonforms.com\/x8aa2rgac1\" scrolling=\"no\" style=\"width:100%;height:165px;border:none;overflow:hidden;\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019re neck-and-neck in the 14th race of the best-kept secret in all of one-design racing. While the two of us are hand-to-hand for our respective points and our dignity, the leaders are already halfway back to Cowpet Bay and the chillaxed St. Thomas YC, where the Cruzan rum and the all-you-can-eat buffet awaits. Here at the back of the fleet on the sand-colored Stinger, my teammates and I are broken, but we\u2019re not quitting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With me is our skipper Ian Scott, the finest gentleman yachtsman anyone could ever sail with. I\u2019ve been his bowman on the J\/24 Crack O\u2019 Noon for exactly 37 years. Practically cradle to grave. On jib and spinnaker trim is Herb McCormick, who\u2019s been cross-sheeting Crack O\u2019s genoa sheets for more than 40 years. The two of them are lifelong Aquidneck Island mates. They\u2019re brothers, as far I\u2019m concerned. Both raised me to be the sailor I am. Which I guess makes them my sailing fathers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n        <section class=\"hydra-container\">\n\n\t\t\t                <div class=\"hydra-canvas\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_8918-1024x768.jpg\" class=\"hydra-image\" alt=\"Cy Thompson and crew\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_8918-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_8918-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_8918-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_8918-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_8918.jpg 2000w\" \/>                <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n            <figcaption class=\"caption margin_top_xs full border_1 hydra-figcaption\">\n                <span class=\"hydra-image-caption\">Past champion skipper, Cy Thompson, with his team sailing one of St. Thomas YC\u2019s IC24s, <i>Bill T<\/i>, finished third overall. The weekend\u2019s windy conditions and big waves challenged even the best of the teams.<\/span>\n                <span class=\"article_image_credit italic margin_right_xs\">Ingrid Abery\/STIR<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t            <\/figcaption>\n        <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n<p>That said, I\u2019ve never sailed or raced with my own father, even though he\u2019s the one who cast me off into the sport as a wee lad. That is something I regret, which is why I\u2019ve recruited my 21-year-old son, Tim. He never liked sailing when he was young, and I never pushed it. Given his towering height, basketball naturally became his thing. Before we step foot on Stinger for a day of practice, he doesn\u2019t know a vang from tang, a guy from a twing, or a tack from a jibe, but after a few practice laps, he\u2019s plenty up to speed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Show-Up-And-Race<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>So, that\u2019s the four of us: Ian, Herb, Dave and Tim. Team Crack O\u2019 Noon, checking in from Newport, Rhode Island\u2019s J\/24 Fleet 50, where the legends and Read brothers once ruled. We\u2019re here for spring training\u2014because we said we would be over too many beers seven months earlier. Our boat for this exercise is the aforementioned Stinger. It\u2019s one of a dozen IC24s that are owned by the St. Thomas YC and used extensively for its adult racing, member gunkholing and the annual St. Thomas International Regatta, which everyone simply refers to as STIR. The regatta, which is always held in March when the trade winds reliably blow, is the club\u2019s marquee event. And the marquee fleet is the IC24, which is essentially a modified J\/24. Think of it as a mashed J\/24, J\/22 and J\/80. There\u2019s no genoa to rake across the rig. Just a happy little jib, a symmetric spinnaker, and legs inboard at all times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The IC24 is a brilliant concept conceived by St. Thomas local Chris Rosenberg. As the class story goes, after Hurricane Marilyn wiped everything the club had, Rosenberg had the wisdom to reimagine and remake a J\/24 as a comfortable, five-person, user-friendly interclub keelboat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n        <section class=\"hydra-container\">\n\n\t\t\t                <div class=\"hydra-canvas\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GPTempDownload-7rt-1024x768.jpg\" class=\"hydra-image\" alt=\"Skipper Ian Scott\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GPTempDownload-7rt-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GPTempDownload-7rt-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GPTempDownload-7rt-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GPTempDownload-7rt-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GPTempDownload-7rt.jpg 2000w\" \/>                <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n            <figcaption class=\"caption margin_top_xs full border_1 hydra-figcaption\">\n                <span class=\"hydra-image-caption\">Skipper Ian Scott, who\u2019s been racing J\/24s for nearly 40 years, adapted quickly to the chartered IC24.<\/span>\n                <span class=\"article_image_credit italic margin_right_xs\">Dave Reed<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t            <\/figcaption>\n        <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n<p>The interclub part of Rosenberg\u2019s vision spawned the interisland IC24 phenomenon. There are now fleets in St. Croix and Puerto Rico, which is where the hot boats reside\u2014dialed-in, dry-sailed. Across the fleet, \u201cone-design\u201d is \u201cclose enough\u201d for laid-back Caribbean class racing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But that doesn\u2019t mean the slick-looking Puerto Rican IC24s are inherently faster than St. Thomas YC\u2019s heavily used charter boats, which are available for STIR at a cost just north of $3,000. For that, and a $200 monthly yacht-club membership, we get unlimited use of the IC24, as well as the club\u2019s Hobie Waves and Sunfish. With this deal, you can have one heck of a St. Thomas sailing vacation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But it gets better. Hundreds of rentable condos flank the club, all of them with sweeping hillside views of Cowpet Bay and pristine islands in the near distance. From our four-bed condo with a balcony, for which we paid $3,000 for the week, we can walk exactly 87 steps to the club, straight to the launch, to the boat, to the racecourse and back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n        <section class=\"hydra-container\">\n\n\t\t\t                <div class=\"hydra-canvas\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_8609-1024x768.jpg\" class=\"hydra-image\" alt=\"IC24 fleet\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_8609-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_8609-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_8609-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_8609-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_8609.jpg 2000w\" \/>                <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n            <figcaption class=\"caption margin_top_xs full border_1 hydra-figcaption\">\n                <span class=\"hydra-image-caption\">The IC24, a modified J\/24, is unique to the US Virgin Islands. With a blade jib and legs-in hiking rule, the boat is ideal for visiting teams looking to charter for the regatta from St. Thomas YC\u2019s fleet.<\/span>\n                <span class=\"article_image_credit italic margin_right_xs\">Ingrid Abery\/STIR<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t            <\/figcaption>\n        <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s no reason to cook dinner at the condo because the club\u2019s nightly buffet spread\u2014pasta night, barbecue night and meat night\u2014is all you need to race, eat, drink, sleep and repeat. That\u2019s how it flows in St.&nbsp;Thomas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Relaxation Earned The Hard Way<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Such is the rhythm we settle into after our first day of racing, which we toast to with balcony beers. We\u2019re solidly midfleet. We\u2019ve had some good races; we\u2019ve been in the mix with the top local boats at the first mark, but we\u2019re losing boats on the run by not jibing soon enough. Our race-committee honcho is Dick Neville, a white-haired Aussie from Annapolis who\u2019s the king of running races in the Caribbean. Because of the record-size IC24 fleet, there\u2019s no room for Neville to set up in Red Hook Bay, where the IC24s normally race during STIR, so we\u2019re wedged in around the corner in Nazareth Bay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Neville has his race-committee boat parked 50 feet or so away from the coral-pocked headland. A short finish line is set on his starboard side, even closer to solid ground. He\u2019s kind enough to enlighten us before the start of the first race that we should jibe immediately after finishing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n        <section class=\"hydra-container\">\n\n\t\t\t                <div class=\"hydra-canvas\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GPTempDownload-24rt-1024x768.jpg\" class=\"hydra-image\" alt=\"Herb McCormick and Tim Reed\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GPTempDownload-24rt-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GPTempDownload-24rt-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GPTempDownload-24rt-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GPTempDownload-24rt-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GPTempDownload-24rt.jpg 2000w\" \/>                <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n            <figcaption class=\"caption margin_top_xs full border_1 hydra-figcaption\">\n                <span class=\"hydra-image-caption\">Veteran genoa trimmer Herb McCormick (on left) was happy to have the jib for two days of strong winds. Tim Reed (on right), sailing his first regatta, mastered the pit and enjoyed the fleet\u2019s close racing.<\/span>\n                <span class=\"article_image_credit italic margin_right_xs\">Dave Reed<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t            <\/figcaption>\n        <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n<p>By the nature of the race committee\u2019s parking job, Neville has favored the committee boat end, but there\u2019s not a lot of wiggle room or runway for either a barging or Vanderbilt-style start. The one bit of local knowledge that everyone seems to know is to go left for the lift off the shore at the top of the beat, but with a 1.2-mile leg and a long line, starting at the pin end is a fast pass to the middle fleet, which is where we end up at the end of the day. The locals are crushing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The first day\u2019s friendly trade winds allow us to ease into the regatta, but the following morning, the palm fronds are hissing. Breeze on. Back home in New England, 25 knots often feels like a lot more. The air is colder, heavier, and punchier. In the Caribbean, 25 feels perfect: warmer, gentler, with diamond-filled puffs flitting across the blue. Don\u2019t bother bringing foul weather gear to St. Thomas. But do bring gloves, because the salt-caked ropes carve bare-skin crevices to the bone. And pack your swim trunks for an after-race pit stop in Christmas Cove for a swim and the fresh-out-of-the-oven Easy Peasy Cheesy from Pizza Pi boat anchored in the cove.<\/p>\n\n\n\n        <section class=\"hydra-container\">\n\n\t\t\t                <div class=\"hydra-canvas\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GPTempDownload-28-1024x768.jpg\" class=\"hydra-image\" alt=\"Pizza Pi\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GPTempDownload-28-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GPTempDownload-28-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GPTempDownload-28-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GPTempDownload-28-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GPTempDownload-28.jpg 2000w\" \/>                <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n            <figcaption class=\"caption margin_top_xs full border_1 hydra-figcaption\">\n                <span class=\"hydra-image-caption\">An after-race visit to Pizza Pi, anchored in nearby Christmas Cove, finds the regatta\u2019s VX One sailors properly debriefing.<\/span>\n                <span class=\"article_image_credit italic margin_right_xs\">Dave Reed<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t            <\/figcaption>\n        <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tears, Beers and A Bully<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Twenty-five knots is what we get for the next five races. Tim is an overnight sensation at remembering the mechanics of getting the spinnaker out of the hatch without snagging on the shrouds, and then back into the boat during windy and chaotic leeward-gate roundings. While he\u2019s blissfully learning and bleeding, the rest of us are having our issues: Ian\u2019s oversize tiller extension keeps getting caught in the backstay. Herb is on doctor\u2019s orders to not destroy his recently rehabilitated rotator cuff again. He has no winches for the highly loaded kite sheets, and he\u2019s playing them straight from their respective blocks. I\u2019m constantly fighting with the spinnaker pole, which won\u2019t stay on deck, and through the leeward gate, I\u2019m high-stepping through and around Tim and Herb to get back in time to hand-over-hand the mainsheet through the turn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s a miracle we make it through all the tacks, jibes and corners without issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But we\u2019re far from perfect. At some point in the blur of Neville\u2019s five rapid-fire races, we whiff one windy jibe and wrap the spinnaker sphincter-tight around the headstay. It\u2019s a bummer of a mistake because we\u2019re having our best race yet. When you\u2019re tired and beaten, St. Thomas\u2019 25 suddenly feels like a New England 25. For the last race, we cry uncle and shift to jib-and-main. We\u2019re comfortable with our place and our purpose. We\u2019re not here to win it, and a voice of reason in my head is loud and clear: Don\u2019t make Tim hate this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Just one more race. Let\u2019s make it a good one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019re in the mix for the first lap, but without a spinnaker, we\u2019re eventually at the back of the fleet. Approaching the weather mark for the second time, we\u2019re on the port-tack layline, and out in front of us, two starboard tackers easily cross our bow. Behind them is a gaping hole in front of the next boat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What do you know? It\u2019s Voila. Of course it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As soon as the shouting starts, I know where this is going. They are way overstood, their jib is eased to the rail, and the leeward telltale is pointing skyward. Clean and easy, I think to myself. No problemo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ian pushes the tiller away to tack, as he has a million times before, but this time, the annoying extension gets lodged in the backstay cascade. It\u2019s not a pro tack, but it\u2019s good enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s a foul!\u201d someone bellows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cNo way!\u201d I retort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Enraged words fly as we round the weather mark, and the shouting continues down the entire offset leg. We split jibes after the rounding, and try as we might to out wing-on-wing them, they beat us easily across the finish. Oh well. I think. We\u2019ll get \u2018em tomorrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Back ashore, as we saunter down the quay toward the club bar, parched, sunbaked, wind-whipped, smarting and deflated, the pink boat\u2019s skipper, still fuming, advises me of his intent to protest the incident. Paperwork is already filed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our futile argument carries on and over to a waiting area outside an air-conditioned shack in the parking lot where the jury is in session. I cannot convince him of the senselessness of the exercise. He beat us, we\u2019re both at the bottom of the standings, and we\u2019re both sticking to our stories. Besides, the rum is flowing, and there\u2019s a rigged Hobie Wave on the beach with my and Tim\u2019s name on it. Christmas Cove is calling, and the sun\u2019s going down. This isn\u2019t the world championship, pal. What are we doing here?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Go Have a Hobie Day<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Thankfully, the committee promptly disallows the protest on account of Voila failing to display a protest flag. And thanks to that glorious technicality, Tim and I are soon zippering catamaran wakes with a rapid exit out of Cowpet Bay, water splashing through the trampoline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once clear of the mooring field, Tim takes over, nervously holding the tiller bar and beginning his journey to sailing bliss. He\u2019s kind of a natural, and the smile on his face as the little cat takes off is a memory forever placed into the happy-memory drawer of my mind. He gets his Pi slice, and I get him a T-shirt to memorialize this precious father-son experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The ol\u2019 boys back at the condo are duly impressed by our willingness to go back out to sea in the Hobie Wave after such a physically and mentally draining race day. YOLO, indeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The palm fronds are sizzling again as we ramble down the steps from our condo the following morning. It\u2019s another glorious Caribbean race day, and we\u2019re ready for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n        <section class=\"hydra-container\">\n\n\t\t\t                <div class=\"hydra-canvas\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_7227-1024x768.jpg\" class=\"hydra-image\" alt=\"Musicians playing at the St. Thomas YC\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_7227-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_7227-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_7227-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_7227-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_7227.jpg 2000w\" \/>                <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n            <figcaption class=\"caption margin_top_xs full border_1 hydra-figcaption\">\n                <span class=\"hydra-image-caption\">The St. Thomas YC has hosted its marque regatta for 51 years and remains one of the finest and most laid-back \u00adCaribbean events on the circuit.<\/span>\n                <span class=\"article_image_credit italic margin_right_xs\">Ingrid Abery\/STIR<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t            <\/figcaption>\n        <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n<p>That is, until the mainsheet swivel-cam base explodes on the way out to the racecourse. Ian saves the day with a spare shackle that\u2019s in his little plastic zipper bag of spare hardware. But as the day goes on, we\u2019re not the only ones handicapped with breakdowns. At some point in another blur of five races, Voila blows its vang, and in the third race, our jib halyard skies to the top rig (the shackle tape job didn\u2019t hold, I promise).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Voila and Stinger are now both playing in the jib-and-main minor league, and in the next race we\u2019re at each other\u2019s throats again, all around the course. On the final leg, they\u2019ve got a jump on us, so I\u2019m fighting the sheet and cursing at the jib, wishing for a spinnaker to make the pain in my shoulder stop. But they\u2019re faster, have a better angle in the waves, and slip ahead halfway down the run. I\u2019m cursing under my breath. We can\u2019t lose to them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Because Every Point Counts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>But miracles do indeed happen, and just as it appears we will lose this battle, mere boatlengths from the finish, they spin out of control and head-to-wind, sails flogging in the wind. Behind the boat pops up its pink-shirted skipper, flailing in the water and waving the broken tiller extension in the air as his crew scrambles to stop and get him back on board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s been a long time since I felt such true joy in someone else\u2019s misfortune. But we\u2019ll happily take that point, thank you very much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They must have sensed my smugness, or they simply have it out for us, because in the next and final race, they seek us out in the final 30 seconds of the start, intently tacking to leeward and shouting at us to head up. As they would, they stuff us head-to-wind, driving us into a pile of boats above us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Like, come on, man. Is that really necessary?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our hopes of a good start, and to finish the regatta on a high note, are toast. We\u2019re pinned against their windward quarter as we cross the line. There\u2019s nowhere to bail out, and there\u2019s a long starboard tack ahead of us. We\u2019re screwed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Until Neville mumbles a set of OCS numbers over the crackle of the VHF. Our friends are soon peeling off and heading back to the line to&nbsp;restart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With an open course, the four of us collectively dig in deeper for a keeper. Through sheer persistence, we\u2019re rewarded with our best finish. Viola is nowhere in sight the entire race.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the saying goes, we are only as good as our last race, so that night, over the last of our Cruzan-and-Ting \u201cCrack-O Stingers,\u201d we groan out our aches, empty the box of adhesive bandages, and raise our glasses to the wisdom of our spring-training block\u2014and one to our friends on Voila. Racing is nothing without our rivals, and we met ours with poise. We\u2019ve stirred it up, all&nbsp;right.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The St. Thomas YC IC24 \u00adcharter deal makes it easy to show up and race at the club\u2019s marquee spring regatta. The hard part is leaving.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":82653,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"BS_author_type":"BS_author_is_guest","BS_guest_author_name":"Dave Reed","BS_guest_author_url":"","hydra_display_date":"","hydra_display_updated":false,"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"","_yoast_wpseo_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","arc_story_id":"","arc_website_url":"","custom_permalink":"","arc_subtype":"","arc_exclude_from_feeds":false,"sponsored":false,"sponsored_label":"Sponsored Content","sponsored_display_label":false,"sponsored_image":false,"post_right_rail":true,"post_right_rail_ad_1":true,"post_right_rail_ad_2":true,"post_right_rail_ad_3":false,"post_right_rail_ad_4":false,"post_right_rail_recirc":true,"fixed_anchor_ad":true,"post_top_ad":true,"post_off_ramp":true,"post_taboola":false,"labels":true,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":"","ad_settings_ads_on_this_page":true,"ad_settings_automatic_ad_injection_into_the_content":true,"ad_targeting":"","alternate_title_newsletter":"","alternate_content_newsletter":"","sponsored_url":"","social_share":true},"categories":[159],"tags":[3003,178,1317,3046],"class_list":["post-82649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-racing","tag-print-summer-2025","tag-sailboat-racing","tag-st-thomas","tag-st-thomas-international-regatta"],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82649"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82649\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}