USA's Wenokur Wins 33rd International Optimist Regatta - St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands
by Carol Bareuther 22 Jun 05:59 BST
June 14-21, 2026
IOR 2026 Champion, the USA's Joshua Wenokur © Kendall Hebert Photography
Sailing fast, great tactics, and spotting opportunities led the USA's Joshua Wenokur to win the 33rd International Optimist Regatta (IOR), hosted at the St. Thomas Yacht Club (STYC), June 14-21, 2026.
Fifteen-year-old Wenokur races out of the South Coast Corinthian Yacht Club in Marina del Rey, CA, USA, and is part of JK Sailing. He one of nearly 100 sailors from Bermuda, Brazil, the British Virgin Islands, the Dominican Republic, France, Peru, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Spain, St. Croix, St. Thomas, and Trinidad & Tobago, and the U.S. states of California, Florida, Maine, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island, which competed in this three-day regatta in 8-foot, single-sail Optimist dinghies, with conditions averaging 12- to 15-plus knots of breeze under sunny skies.
The Winners
The top three sailors overall after 10 races in the 2026 IOR Championship Fleet were Wenokur first; Florida's Jonah Watson, with Coach Pulio Sailing, second; and Connecticut's Brooks Pardi, from LISOT/Riverside Yacht Club, third.
Wenokur's first-place overall also put him at the top of the 13- to 15-year-old Red Fleet.
"My game plan was to sail as fast as I could and control as many variables as possible," he says. "Going into the final day, I knew I only needed to beat Jonah in one of the two races to win overall. In the last race, I spotted a sag in the middle of the starting line, got out front early, and held the lead to the finish. Winning both races today sealed the victory."
Consistency was the key all week for Watson, age 11, who also won the 11- to 12-year-old Blue Fleet.
"The pin end was usually favored, and about a quarter of the way up the course, there would be a big left shift that I was able to use to get over the top of some of the other sailors," he says. "The energy and competition from the fleet really pushed me to sail beyond my limits and perform better than usual."
Finishing fifth in the Blue Fleet and 13th overall out of 44 boats in the Championship Fleet, Puerto Rico's Cecilia Christiansen earned Top Female. Christiansen sails for Club Nautico de San Juan.
In the age 10 and under, White Fleet, New York, USA's Caleb Goldman, from LISOT/Centerport Yacht Club, landed in the lead.
"I sailed in the Green Fleet last year, so I already knew what to expect from the conditions," says Goldman. "On the first day, the pin end was favored, but I started in the middle of the line and finished 27th, which thankfully became my throw-out. What really helped was that the conditions stayed pretty consistent all week, with 15 to 18 knots of oscillating breeze and 3- to 4-foot swells. Even when a squall pushed the wind to 20 knots today, I just focused on boat speed and pointing as high as I could, and it worked."
Forty-three sailors competed in the beginner Green Fleet, completing 23 races over four days. When the final scores were tallied, Florida's Avery Cherng, representing the Coral Reef Yacht Club, emerged as the champion.
"My game plan every day was simple: do my best and not worry about the numbers," says Cherng. "I just went out, tried my hardest, and focused on enjoying the racing."
Additional awards included the Peter Ives' Perpetual Trophy, won by 14-year-old Aerin Westlake, representing the BVI's Royal BVI Yacht Club, and the Chuck Fuller Sportsmanship Perpetual Trophy, earned by Puerto Rico's Club Nautico de San Juan's Daniel Christiansen. Both Ives and Fuller participated in early IORs at the invitation of STYC's Henry Menin, one of the regatta's founders.
A Week of Sailing
The 7- to 15-year-old sailors began the week by training at the three-day TOTE Clinic, held from June 15 to 17. The Clinic concluded with a Volvo Ocean Race VI-style, in which sailors completed four legs around the east end of St. Thomas and its offshore islands. Florida's Marius Garbayo Ante, representing the Lauderdale Yacht Club, won the Championship Fleet title in the Volvo, while Cherng captured top honors in the Beginner Green Fleet.
Some of the best Optimist coaches conduct on-the-water training sessions and instructive on-land debriefs for both Advanced (age-divided Red, White, and Blue Fleets) and beginner (Green Fleet) sailors. This year's coaches included Manuel 'Manny' Resano, head coach for the U.S. National Team; Esteban 'Pilo' Rocha, Lauderdale Yacht Club, Florida, USA; Mike Dowd, CERT Team USA; Agustin 'Argy' Resano, St. Thomas Yacht Club (STYC), USVI; Mykel Alonso, Coral Reef Yacht Club, Forida, USA; Nikki Barnes, STYC, Coral Reef Yacht Club and 2020 Olympian in Women's 470; Emily Verdoia, STYC; Coby Fagan, STYC; Audry Zimmerman, STYC; Emma Walters, STYC; and Mila Melbourne, STYC.
The one-day TOTE Team Racing Championships took place on June 18.
The champion LISOT Black team members are Brooks Pardi, Riverside Yacht Club/Connecticut; Ryan Breck, Riverside Yacht Club/Connecticut; Leah Goldman, Centerport Yacht Club/New York; Thomas Alexopoulos, Riverside Yacht Club/ Connecticut; and CC Alamgir, Bellport Yacht Club/New York.
Greer Scholes (ISV) served as the Principal Race Officer for the IOR, while the International Jury included chair Don Makowiecki (BVI), David Pelling (CAN), Bruce Cook (USA), Mike Chapell (USVI), Pat Bailey (USVI), and Ruth Miller (USVI).
Strong Sponsor Support
The IOR is sponsored by TOTE, Switlik Survival Products, and the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism, and supported by Simmons Boatworks, Buddha on the Fly, Budget Marine, St. Thomas Restaurant Group, Christie's International Real Estate, and Colie Sails.
This year's event will follow an eco-friendly theme. Each sailor receives a reusable metal water bottle to reduce waste. Sailors are also encouraged to keep all lunch bags and wrapping out of the water, pick up trash on shore, and refrain from using straws when accepting drinks.
The IOR is a Caribbean Sailing Association-sanctioned event.
For more information, Email: or call (340) 775-6320. Or, for the Notice of Regatta (NOR), Registration Form, IOR scores, and other information, visit the St. Thomas Yacht Club website or Regatta Network. Please also see the International Optimist Regatta on Facebook and Instagram @internationaloptiregatta.