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Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesVI SAILOR INVITED TO UMPIRE AMERICA'S CUP

VI SAILOR INVITED TO UMPIRE AMERICA'S CUP

Local sailor and businessman Henry Menin has been invited to be one of the 14 international umpires overseeing the America's Cup races this winter in New Zealand.
In an interview with St. Thomas Source, Menin said, "I have been asked to arrange my time to be available for the entire event."
This is a big commitment. The Louis Vuitton Challengers selection series starts Oct. 18 and the America's Cup series is scheduled to begin Feb. 19, 2000. Menin expects to be in New Zealand for as much as five months.
Menin has been very active in local sailing on all levels. He won the Rolex Cup regatta in 1989 and has served as commodore of the St. Thomas Yacht Club for two terms. He served as chief umpire at the 1998 Marriott's Frenchman's Reef International Match Race, and his participation in the 1997 event helped insure that the umpiring area was filled by top names in the sport.
Menin called his founding of the Scotia Bank International Optimist Regatta his "favorite local achievement." This regatta brings young sailors from across the Caribbean and the United States to compete in St. Thomas. The top age for sailors to compete in the Optimist class is 15.
In the past few years, Menin has dedicated more of his time to serving as an international judge at top Caribbean, U.S. and International sailing events. His desire, he said, was "to reach the level of expertise and experience required to serve as an umpire" at the pinnacle of the sailing sport.
Top local and international sailor Peter Holmberg, also planning on being in New Zealand this coming winter, called the selection of Menin "a great measure of Virgin Island sailing. His rise to the top of the sport shows just how good our sailors are here."
Holmberg said he has benefitted from having a top umpire close by to ask technical questions about the sometimes complicated and evolving match racing rules.
"This is similar to chatting off field with an umpire in baseball," Holmberg said. "He can tell you where the strike zone is this year, but don't question a call when you are at bat."
Menin said he and his wife, Fredelle, are working feverishly to try to get a little ahead at Island Business Forms, their business in St.Thomas.
"There will be several one- to two-week breaks in the America's Cup schedule this coming winter and we plan to return to help our partner, Bill Newbold," he said.
When asked how he would keep in touch with home from 17 time zones away, Menin said he will rely on E-mail for business and St. Thomas Source for island news.

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