St. Thomes International Rolex Cup Regatta - Day Three

"Smart sailing steals victory for Crash Test Dummies in final race"

Crash Test Dummies, a Henderson 35 co-owned by Tim Kimpton and Mark Chapman and based in Trinidad and Tobago, clinched a last minute victory in the Rolex Cup in St Thomas last night following a string of protests which delayed announcement of the regatta results. Their victory, achieved through a consistent performance throughout the series, was particularly pleasing for Tim Kimpton: "We set out just to have fun with a bunch of friends. The fact that we won the whole event and a Rolex watch is a massive bonus. We had a very solid crew and a small budget. We concentrated on spending the resources we had on the best equipment we could afford, especially on good sails, and I think that was the right policy. Added to that, the crew were well organised and pulled together as an excellent team".

Frenchman's Reef, a Melges 24 owned and skippered by Chris Rosenberg, was expected to be the overall winner. It would have been Rosenburg's third consecutive victory at the International Rolex Cup Regatta but it was not to be. A disappointed Rosenberg commented, "Conditions were very heavy today, with confused seas and a lot of current making it a tactical race. Racing was very tough out there and more challenging for everyone - even more than I expected!"

The more demanding conditions saw a steady 15-18 knot breeze and the confused sea state was caused by the trade wind swell over inshore currents combined with wash from the numerous power boats, forcing crew's to rethink their strategy.

The Beach Cats, in particular, had to work hard in the conditions, reaching at speed's over 20 knots on the downwind legs. John Holmberg, owner and skipper of Claim's Paid, took overall victory in this class, having sailed consistenly well throughout the regatta. Holmberg commented, "Racing was very tight today. Kevin Raymond on Ocean Spray was faster than us on every downwind leg and then passed us. We had to go and catch him on the last upwind leg so we finished literally within boat lengths of each other, making a very tough and exciting end to the race and regatta."

Donnybrook, a Custom 72 ULDB sled, had a disappointing day having been hit by Calvin, an Aerodyne 38, before racing had even commenced. Although Donnybrook was moving slowly under power before the start and Calvin was under mainsail, the Jury judged the much smaller Calvin to be at fault having taken insufficient avoiding action before the boats collided. The collision resulted in both boats retiring due to hull damage. Bill Sandberg, mainsheet trimmer on Donnybrook commented, "It was a really unfortunate incident and sad that our regatta should be ended in this way. We were forced to retire as when Calvin hit us their sharp bow cut the hull on our port side through to the core, and the risk of water seeping in prohibited us from sailing any further. Apart from this incident, we have had a really great event".

Without doubt, this year's Rolex Cup Regatta in St Thomas has been a tremendous success, combining great sailing amongst a huge variety of boat sizes and designs and a traditional Caribbean social scene ashore. Rosenberg concluded, "It's been a fabulous regatta. The race commitee ran the right races on the right days. Due to the light winds, the first and second day had to be slightly offshore, with the most demanding race in between the islands on the last day. Everyone got to do a little sight seeing and have a lot of fun and a great challenge!"

The next International Rolex Cup Regatta will be held at the St Thomas Yacht Club over Easter weekend 2001.

Overall Regatta Results as follows:

Class A - Spinnaker/Racing:

1:  Crash Test Dummies - Henderson 35
2:  Mermaid II - Custom 40
3:  Who's Yo Daddy - N/M45

Class B - Spinnaker/Racing:

1:  Umakua - J 105
2:  Ex Mero Moto - J 80
3:  Sun Bum II - J 80

Class C - Melges 24:

1:  Frenchman's Reef
2:  Airgasm
3:  Carib Matra

Class D - Spinnaker/Racing:

1:  Twisted Lizard - Mumm 30
2:  Last Horizon II - Olson 30
3:  Magnificent Seven - J 27

Class E -  Spinnaker/Racing:

1:  Sorceress - Tartan 33
2:  Zing - J 30
3:  TSG - J29

Class G - J-24:

1:  Heineken PR
2:  Orion Pavia
3:  Bavissimo 3

Class J - Racer Cruiser:

1:  Polyphagus - Sloop 38
2:  Cold Beer - Tartan 10
3:  Pipedream - Sirena 38

Class H - Non-Spinnaker Racing:

1:  Keep it Simple - J 42
2:  Kracker Jack - Olson 40
3:  Paterno -  C & C 37+

Class I - Jib & Main Racing:

1:  Marlyn II - Ben 30
2:  Mistral - Ben 35S5
3:  Online Vacations - CAL 2-27

Class F - Beach Cats:

1:  Claim's Paid
2:  Ocean Spray
3:  Village Ram