St. Thomes International Rolex Cup Regatta - Day Two

"Strong squall decides second race day of Rolex Series"

Despite a strong squall hitting the fleet mid race on day two, Frenchman's Reef, a Melges 24 owned by Chris Rosenburg, stormed to a second class and overall victory by a substantial margin of five minutes. This places Rosenburg in an excellent position to capture the overall series, following a string of victories here in 1986, 1998 and 1999. His ambition is to win three straight regattas in a row. "To win here you need a combination of experience racing in these waters, a good synergy amongst the crew, and an awful lot of luck!" he said after the race.

With a stronger breeze than yesterday of 12-14 knots, again from the South East, the yachts raced a second Olympic Triangle. Squalls of up to 30 knots hit the fleet and this was the primary deciding factor of the race. Dependent on where you were on the course, it was either a benefit or a handicap. Fortunately for Frenchman's Reef, she was able to ride the squall on the downwind leg and pull out a considerable lead.

The 72ft Equation, with Peter Holmberg aboard, improved her performance from yesterday's 8th in Class to take both line honours and Class A victory. Whilst she match raced the 72ft Donnybrook around the course, her better handicap split them between first and 8th place.

In contrast to the bigger boats, John Holmberg, owner and helmsman of Claims Paid an Inter 20 Beach Cat, (and brother to the famous Peter Holmberg aboard Equation) added, "We had a pretty good race today with a class win. The wind was light at the start but picked up during the day, particularly in the squalls. We were flying a hull most of the time till the end. My crew, Bruce White, and I have known each other since we were seven years old so our team work is pretty good. We've raced the cat together for the past 4 years. I think our synergy has been a key to our success today, along with a little local knowledge!".

The International Rolex Cup Regatta, organised by the St Thomas Yacht Club in the US Virgin Islands, is now in its 27th year. It is recognised as one of the best and most fun events in the Caribbean. Steve Burke from Corel 45 Grins commented "Having competed in all the regattas in this area, the Rolex Cup is without question the best one, getting all the competitors together at the Yacht Club, with a central location for everyone to meet and enjoy their magnificent hospitality".

Racing concludes tomorrow for the 100 boat fleet with the final and deciding race.

Results, St. Thomes International Rolex Cup Regatta - Day Two:

Class A:

1. 2:02:12  Equation
2. 2:02:30  Mermaid
3. 2:04:20  Crash Test Dummies
4. 2:05:16  Who's yo Daddy?
5. 2:09:02  Twister  
6. 2:09:07  Grins
7. 2:09:33  Harrier
8. 2:10:18  Donnybrook
9. 2:15:13  Sheerness

Winners of Classes:

B.  Umakua
C.  Frenchman's Reef
D.  Twisted Lizard
E.  Zing
F.  Claims Paid
G.  Orion Pavia
H.  Keep it Simple
I.  Marlyun II
J.  Cold Beer