If there were a brochure showcasing the best place in the world to sail, today would have been the day to create it in St. Thomas. Ideal conditions set the stage for the opening day of the 52nd St. Thomas International Regatta, delivering an almost flawless experience for competitors.
“There were perfect conditions with 10-15 knots of breeze, a brief squall, and some current differences here and there to make it interesting, but the course was square, the line was square, and it was an absolutely perfect day,” says Dave Franzel, who crewed aboard Boat Drinks alongside skipper Bill Liddle of Nantucket, Massachusetts.
Nearly 40 boats, racing in CSA Spinnaker Racing, CSA Non-Spinnaker Racing, and three one-design classes: IC24s, Hobie Waves, and Sunfish, are racing in STIR 2026. Sailors hail from all three U.S. Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and St. Maarten; several U.S. states, ranging from Massachusetts to California; and the UK and Ireland. Today, the Spinnaker, Non-spinnaker, and IC24 classes took to the seas, with the Sunfish and Hobie Waves racing on Saturday and Sunday.
Sailing in the CSA Spinnaker Racing Class, Exodus, a Melges 24, helmed by Puerto Rico’s Enrique Figueroa, navigated a varied and tactical set of courses off St. Thomas. The day’s racing featured three courses: the first, a longer round-the-buoys race out to Packet Rock on St. Thomas’ southeast shore, followed by shorter courses around Little St. James and Dog Island, using the natural marks of rocks, cays, and islands.
“We sailed our own race, with good starts,” says Figueroa. “The J/105 (Freelance) and J/100 (Kairos) in our class were most similar to us, and these boats were sailed really well, so we kept an eye on them.”
Exodus finished the day first in the class, followed by the USA’s Ron O’Hanley’s Cookson 50 Privateer second, and the USA’s Donald Nicholson’s J/121 Apollo third, with only three points separating these boats.
The 14-boat One-Design IC24 Class is the biggest of the regatta, and hands-down the most competitive, with several lead changes throughout the day. In the end, Puerto Rico’s Marco Teixidor’s Cachado is first, followed by the BVI’s Mark Plaxton’s INTAC second, and St. Thomas’ Teddy Nicolosi on Bill T in third.
“This is the regatta for IC24s, the top of the top race here,” says Mike Bertolino, commodore of the St. John Yacht Club, who raced aboard Bravissimo.
Puerto Rico’s Ramon Gonzalez, helmsman of Sembrador, looks forward to building momentum after a challenging day on the start line. “We had trouble at the start—we’re a bit rusty. We had to use some tough tactics to get back in front. It was good enough today, but we definitely need to improve our starts.”
The 8-boat Sunfish Class participated in an instructional clinic today, led by Peter and Scott Stanton of St. Croix. The former is a Sunfish Youth World Champion, the current Master’s World Champion, and holds a bronze medal from the Central American and Caribbean Games in 2018, while the latter is President of the International Sunfish Class Association in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and a talented dinghy and keelboat sailor.
“The clinic with the Stanton brothers today was outstanding,” says Joyce Campbell, of St. Croix. “In the morning, we worked through rigging to maximize speed, then applied it on the water in the afternoon. The improvement was immediate—it paid off. It’s also exciting to be sailing here in St. Thomas, where the first Sunfish World Championships were held in 1970.
Real-time results for STIR results are posted at yachtscoring.com/emenu/50483
Schedule of Events – Sea & Land
STIR Racing kicks off at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 4, for the second day of STIR racing. Racecourses will be set off the southeast, northeast, and east end of St. Thomas and in Pillsbury Sound between St. Thomas and St. John, with specific courses for each class designated daily by the Race Committee based on weather. STIR competition follows on Sunday, with an 11 a.m. start, and a 5 p.m. Awards Ceremony at the St. Thomas Yacht Club.
After each day’s racing, shoreside festivities feature refreshing drinks, food for purchase, and live music. On Saturday, the Aperol Spritz takes center stage, offering a bright, citrusy toast to the day’s racing. Dinner runs from 5–7 p.m., followed by music from Roxnonstop from 6–10 p.m. Sunday wraps up with Mount Gay Regatta Rum Punch, and live music by Tim West to close out the regatta.
