A record 100 sailors from 12 islands and countries – all three U.S. Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Anguilla, St. Maarten, Curaçao, Guatemala and the United States – set sail in the 11th Club Nautico de San Juan International Regatta last weekend.
Sailors from six islands and countries took home trophies as six sailors from the U.S. and British Virgin Islands finished in the top three in their respective fleets.
“The regatta couldn’t have been better,” Club Nautico de San Juan Commodore Gustavo Hermida said. “We had great weather, sunny skies with winds 10 to 15 knots all three days, and excellent competition on the water.”
Competition was closest in the beginner Optimist Green Fleet, where only three points separated the first- through third-place finishers. In the end, it was St. John’s Mateo Di Blasi, who sails out of the St. Thomas Yacht Club, who won.
“This is my fifth regatta and the first one I’ve ever won,” 10-year-old Di Blasi said. “It was hard, but I kept trying to always do my best.”
The Advanced Optimist was the largest fleet of the regatta with 31 boats. Puerto Rico’s Ponce Yacht Fishing Club’s Andre Reguero handily won with a 10-point lead.
“I’ve been practicing a lot,” Reguero said. “My goal was to stay consistent and stay on top.”
The CNSJIR is a qualifier for sailors to make Puerto Rico’s national team and compete later this year at the Optimist South American Championships, Optimist North American Championships and Optimist World Championships. Reguero’s performance secured him a spot on the team.
The BVI’s Mollee Donovan finished the regatta with a nearly flawless string of first-place scores to win the Laser 4.7 Class.
“I was fast on the up-winds,” said Donovan, who achieved success in her second regatta in Lasers after a multi-year and successful Optimist career.
Club Nautico de San Juan’s Juan Carlos Perdomo won the Laser Radial Class with an impressive 19-point lead.
“Consistency paid off for me, especially in the heavier air,” said Perdomo, who is looking forward to elite level Laser competitions in the U.S., Europe and Australia this year.
Puerto Rico’s David Alfonso took a semester off from studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to campaign for a 2012 Summer Olympic spot and topped Laser Standards by two points over the Dominican Republic’s Guillermo Flaquer.
In the Club 420, Nikki Barnes of St. Thomas and Agustina Barbuto of St. John won with nine out of 10 first-place finishes.
“I really enjoyed sailing here because the races were well organized, the other racers were eager to compete and we had lots of races,” said Barnes, who with Barbuto, earned the USVI’s first bronze medal at the ISAF Youth World Championships in Croatia last summer in the International 420.
Puerto Rico’s Elvin Aponte sailed for the Borinquen Islands Sailing Association Sur and successfully defended his Sunfish Class title.
“I am very happy and proud to have accomplished this win and defend my title,” Aponte said. “It was fun to have many sailboats on the water, challenging courses and a chance to sail with so many international competitors.”
Finally, PYFC’s Fraito Lugo topped the IC-24 Class.
“We really enjoyed having eight boats in the class this weekend and look forward to the class increasing in the next two months to 13 boats,” Lugo said. “The class is becoming more competitive for me as it grows and harder for me to win, but that’s what I like.”
11th Club Nautico de San Juan International Regatta
Final Results
Optimist Green (21 boats) 16 races
1. Mateo Di Blasi, St. Thomas Yacht Club, 36
2. Emmanuel Esteras, Club Nautico de San Juan, 37
3. Caroline Teare, St. Thomas Yacht Club, 39
Optimist Advanced (31 boats) 12 races
1. Andre Reguero, Ponce Yacht Fishing Club, 11
2. Miguel Monllor, Ponce Yacht Fishing Club, 21
3. Luca Miranda, Club Nautico de San Juan, 24
Laser 4.7 (8 boats) 12 races
1. Mollee Donovan, Royal BVI Yacht Club, 10
2. Matthew Oliver, Royal BVI Yacht Club, 27
3. Victor J. Rodriguez, Club Nautico de San Juan, 35
Laser Radial (14 boats) 12 races
1. Juan Perdomo, Real Club Nautico de Juanky, 10
2. Andrea D. Aldana, Los Sauces, Guatemala, 29
3. Jose Soler, Flako Sailing Team, 30
Laser Standard (6 boats) 12 races
1. David Alfonso, MIT Sailing Team, 13
2. Guillermo Flaquer, Dominican Republic, 15
3. Ramon Gonzalez, PURPS, 29
Sunfish (7 boats) 12 races
1. Elvin Aponte, Brisa Sur, 13
2. Gregg Fyffe, N/A, 28
3. Miguelina Feris, Club Nautico Santo Domingo, 29
Club 420 (5 boats) 10 races
1. Nikki Barnes, St. Thomas Yacht Club, 9
2. Jose Lazo, Ponce Yacht Fishing Club, 17
3. Thomas Walden, St. Thomas Yacht Club/Pleon, 28
IC-24 (8 boats) 11 races
1. Fraito Lugo, Ponce Yacht Fishing Club, 17
2. Gregory Fink, Ponce Yacht Fishing Club, 35T
3. Fernando Irizarry, Club Nautico de San Juan, 35T
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