May 11, 2003 – St. Thomas competitors sailed away with four of the six first-place awards at the weekend's 2nd annual B.V.I. Dinghy Championships, hosted by the Royal B.V.I. Yacht Club on Tortola. And St. John sailors took second place in two events.
"This event is the second largest in terms of boat participation for the Royal B.V.I. Yacht Club, second only to the B.V.I. Spring Regatta," renowned B.V.I. sailor Robin Tattersall said as the award ceremony began Sunday afternoon. "It's very important for us. We're glad to see so many sailors from other islands."
Racing was aboard Optimists, Lasers, Picos and Wayfarers.
The weather was picture perfect as the 56 sailors from St. Thomas, St. John and Tortola competed Saturday and Sunday with only a slight chop on the seas, mostly sunny skies and winds fairly steady at 10 to 14 knots.
"I played the shifts right and paid attention to my boat, the wind and my boat speed," William Bailey of St. Thomas said. He aced the Optimist Silver Fleet, for sailors 11 and under, with a string of five first-place finishes over the six races.
Stefan Hebert of St. Thomas also scored five out of six first places, in the Optimist Gold Fleet, for sailors 12 to 15 years old. "I got a bad start in the last race. That's how I got the second," he said. Placing second was St. John's Mimi Roller.
B.V.I. sailor James Woods, dominated the Laser 4.7 Class, also finishing first in five out of six races. "He's sailed Lasers for just over a year, mainly at regattas," his mom, Diana Woods, said. "But since January, he's been out every weekend."
Laser Radials were the biggest class of the event, with 17 competitors. "The competition is really stiff," Tortola's Bob Phillips, who is usually on the race committee end of things, said. He finished a respectable fourth in class.
Thomas Barrows of St. Thomas went undefeated throughout the Laser Radials racing except for one second-place finish — to St. Thomas colleague Cy Thompson. "Cy was my main competition," Thomas said. "He beat me in the third race and looked like he was going to do it again in the fourth — until his mast broke."
In the Laser Standard Class, Brett Clark of St. Thomas easily led the pack with a win by six points over second-place finisher Dick Burks of St. John.
The other two boats raced in the event, Picos (12-foot Laser-like sailboats) and Wayfarers (three-person dinghies with spinnaker), are unique to the B.V.I. among fleets in the northern Caribbean. Deane Fonseca of the B.V.I. won in the Pico class, while the entire three-boat Wayfarer Class received the Sportsmanship Award — a bottle of champagne.
"We had some equipment breakdowns in the Wayfarers," event co-director Alison Knights said. "Every time something happened, the whole class went in to the beach and helped make repairs so the whole class could get out and race together. That embodies the kind of sportsmanship that sailing is all about."
Knights and Colin Bramble are Royal Yachting Association instructors at the B.V.I. club and were the directors of the dinghy event.
Results – top 3 in Class
Optimist Silver
1. William Bailey, St. Thomas
2. Olin Davis, St. Thomas
3. Ian Barrows, St. Thomas
Optimist Gold
1. Stefan Hebert, St. Thomas
2. Mimi Roller, St. John
3. Tyler Rice, St. Thomas
Laser 4.7
1. James Woods, Tortola
2. Kyle Benjamin, Tortola
3. Jamie Bibby, Tortola
Laser Radial
1. Thomas Barrows, St. Thomas
2. Emma Paul, Tortola
3. Angelo Raimondi, St. John
Laser Standard
1. Brett Clark, St. Thomas
2. Dick Burks, St. John
3. Dane Tarr, St. John
Picos
1. Deane Fonseca, Tortola
2. Elsa Meyers, Tortola
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