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MAY <strong>2009</strong> CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 12<br />
5TH ANNUAL CULEBRA HEINEKEN INTERNATIONAL REGATTA<br />
Record Participation, Light Winds<br />
by Carol Bareuther DEAN BARNES<br />
Rain doesn’t stop the Carnival and neither did lack of wind on the last day of sailing stop<br />
the fun at the 5th Annual Culebra Heineken International Regatta, held March 20th<br />
through 22nd, out of Puerto Rico’s offshore island of Culebra. “The weekend was all about<br />
good friends and good competition,” says regatta director, Angel Ayala.<br />
A near-record 61 big boats ranging from a Santa Cruz 70 to a Hobie 16 competed on offshore<br />
courses set south of Ensenada Honda, while a record 73 dinghy sailors — kids helming<br />
Optimists, Lasers and International 420s — raced in the 5th annual Culebra Heineken<br />
International Dinghy Regatta, which was held at the same time and inside the bay.<br />
Six- to ten-knot winds the first day allowed most classes to get in two to three races. Yet<br />
come the second day, flat calm saw the fleet towed by powerboats in a conga line rather<br />
than racing around the island.<br />
In the Spinnaker A class, it was Chris Stanton from St. Croix — a master of light air sailing<br />
— who with his brothers and friends drove their Melges 24, Devil 3, to a first in class.<br />
“A smooth bottom, good crew and luck” is how St. Thomas’ John Foster sums up the secret<br />
to the success of his Kirby 25, The Good, The Bad & The Ugly, in the Spinnaker B class.<br />
Close competition in the Racer-Cruiser Class turned into a wide gap on the scoreboard<br />
when Puerto Rico’s Sergio Sagramoso sailed his swift Beneteau First 44.7, Lazy Dog, on the<br />
wrong course during the second race of the day. This led Antigua’s James Dobbs’ J/122,<br />
Lost Horizon, to an easy win. “It’s a bad way to lose. It’s also a bad way to win,” says Dobbs<br />
partner, Nicola Pears.<br />
It took a tiebreaker to determine the winner in the Performance Cruiser Class. Winner, St.<br />
Croix’s Jeff Fangman, sailing his Thomas 35, El Presidente, sparred with fellow islander,<br />
Tony Sanpere, who was driving his J/36, Cayennita Grande. “We were better upwind and<br />
he (Sanpere) beat us downwind. We’d catch him, and then he’d catch us, back and forth. It<br />
was close,” says Fangman, whose El Presidente won the tiebreaker by winning the second<br />
and final race of the regatta.<br />
Puerto Rico’s Pedro Quinones, aboard Bravisimo, won handily in the highly competitive<br />
J/24 Class. “We all raced Optis together,” says Quinones, about his crew, “then we went off<br />
to college and now we’re all back sailing together.”<br />
A one-point lead over the BVI’s Colin Rathburn’s Lime gave Puerto Rico’s Fraito Lugo,<br />
aboard Orion, the win in the IC-24 Class. “I was disappointed that there were only four<br />
IC-24s. I hope we’re not seeing the death of the class.”<br />
In the Jib & Main Class, Edwin Romero’s Hunter Legend 43, Nemesis, led with a duo of<br />
bullets. “My boat sails best in light winds,” says Romero, who added that he sails with<br />
longtime crew who include his sons and friends.<br />
Puerto Rican Olympic sailor, Enrique Figueroa, sailing his DRD-Suzuki, won the One<br />
Design Hobie 16 Class.<br />
The Culebra Heineken International Dinghy Regatta marked the first regatta in the<br />
<strong>Caribbean</strong> to host an International 420 Class. St. John, US Virgin Islands’ sailor Alex Coyle<br />
and crew Jozsi Nemeth, won the four-boat class. The regatta was a qualifier for the Puerto<br />
Rican team selection to attend the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship in Brazil this<br />
summer. Raul Rios and crew, Antonio Sifre, won the selection.<br />
In the dinghy event, Puerto Rico’s Juan Carlos Franco Monllor championed the Optimist<br />
overall, while fellow islander, David Alfonso, won the Laser Radials.<br />
The Culebra Heineken International Regatta is the second leg of the Cape Air <strong>Caribbean</strong><br />
Ocean Racing Triangle (CORT) Series, which began with the St. Croix International Regatta in<br />
February and concluded with the BVI Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival in April.<br />
For full results, visit culebra.result.vg.<br />
Yacht at Rest,<br />
Mind at Ease<br />
Waiting for wind on the last day didn’t<br />
deflate the spirits of crews in this year’s<br />
Culebra event<br />
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DEAN BARNES
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