Club Racing

Nine IC-24 class boats sailed from the St. Thomas Yacht Club to the Charlotte Amalie Harbor Sunday to kick off the Carnival Water Sports Day. Starting at 10 a.m. the nine wind-only powered vessels ran four closely contested races.

The usual easterly trade winds shifted to the south setting the course with one turning mark just off the Waterfront, giving the gathering crowd a close view of the action as three and four boats jostled for position at the mark.

The IC-24 class, 24- foot boats were crewed by between three to five sailors, all of whom were happy to run as many races as time would allow. That ended up being four races.

When the results were tallied, Old and Gray came in 1st, Boat Drinks was 2nd, and a three-way tie developed for 3rd between Green Boat, No Expectations and Red Dog. Counting back to the best races for each boat, Green Boat was 3rd, No Expectations was 4th and Red Dog, 5th.

The sailors finished the event with a sailing parade down the Waterfront throwing Mardi Gras beads to the crowd as the buoys were set for the power boat racers.

Roller coaster seas and a stiff breeze packing blustery gusts created conditions in Cowpet Bay that made the all-alike sailboats look like bucking broncos at the starting line. But the excitement at the IC24 Invitational Regatta, hosted by the St. Thomas Yacht Club Saturday and Sunday, wasn't just at the start; it went right down to the last race.

Throughout the weekend's nine races, it was "consistency and being focused" that earned the St. Thomas team with Carlos Aguilar at the helm the regatta win, crew member Verian Aguilar said later. Twelve teams from St. Thomas, St. Croix, Puerto Rico and Dallas competed in the event, with local IC24 owners pitted against visiting skippers in two heats of multiple races.

Read more: Weekend IC24 Regatta Is A Race To The Finish

Ready to round the windward buoy for the last time, in the last race of the IC24 Invitational Regatta hosted at the St. Thomas Yacht Club (STYC) in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Doyle Sherman and his Team Barefoot crew from the Rush Creek Yacht Club (RCYC) in Dallas, TX, battled 20 knots-plus of breeze, three- to five-foot swells and keen competition as they tried to make a tight mark rounding.

The leeway was just too short, and the Texas team smacked stern to midship, disqualifying both themselves and the other visiting team from the Virgin Island of St. Croix. That was the bad news, especially since both boats were tied for second in a field of 12 teams. The good news is that Team Barefoot came so close to the winner's circle after stepping aboard an IC24—a modified J/24 design—for the first time only two days before the regatta. "It's a blast and a user-friendly design I'd like to take home," said Sherman.

Read more: Caribbean IC24 catches Texas sailor's interest