Sailboat racers from the St. Croix Yacht Club led a pack of four Virgin Islands’ teams to win all of their races and secure the Caribbean Challenge Team Race championship on Saturday and Sunday, December 1 & 2. The event was sailed out of and sponsored by the St. Croix Yacht Club. Teams journeyed from St. Thomas and Tortola to compete against two St. Croix teams in an unusual boat racing format held at Teague Bay inside the reef. In addition to the victorious yacht club team, a second St. Croix team participated composed of students from Country Day School.

The St. Thomas team came in second, followed by the British Virgin Islands team in third and the St. Croix Country Day School Team in fourth place.

“The St. Thomas Team was composed entirely of Antilles High School sailors—they will be a force to be reckoned with in the coming years,” said St. Croix competitor Chris Schreiber, who helped organize the race.

Six boats were on the water for any given race, representing two teams sailing three boats each. Two-handed 420 sailboats supplied by the yacht club were used for all 28 races. Each team of six sailors maneuvered its three boats to try and out-sail the other team’s three boats.

Light winds and lumpy seas were the order of the day for Saturday, while a strong 15-18 knot breeze prevailed on Sunday. Early on, racers realized that St. Thomas and the St. Croix Yacht club group were the teams to beat. Solid team racing tactics and boat speed carried both to the top of the leader board, but St. Croix held their advantage led by brothers Peter Stanton and Scott Stanton with team leader Chris Schreiber.

Solid competitors were on the water for all teams, including Mayumi “Mimi” Roller, who won both the single-handed Laser Radial class and double-handed 420 class at the St. Thomas Radiology Regatta on November10 – 12, BVI’s Alec Anderson, who skippered the winning boat, Intac, at the Around Tortola Race on November 24, and Country Day’s Jae Tonachel, who took first place in 420 racing at last August’s Caribbean Dinghy Championships.

A unique feature for the team racing format was the presence of on-the-water umpiring, settling disputes immediately while racing. Chief Umpire Rob Overton kept the races fair with on the water calls, aided by umpires Beecher Higby, Debbie Schreiber, Paul Lordi, and Morgan Dale.

The regatta was instructional for many of the sailors who have had limited exposure to team racing. Post racing debriefs each day helped explain umpires’ calls, and all competitors came away with a greater understanding of the rules than they came in with.

“Team racing is a great combination of match and fleet racing,” Scheiber said. “Never boring, it keeps sailors and spectators on their toes until the very end of every race as teams try to push back their opponents and advance their teammates. Precise boat-handling and quick decision-making are key—and a thorough knowledge of the rules.”

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