Final four decided at Carlos Aguilar Match Race

St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands (November 23, 2013) – Sailors, local sailing enthusiasts, school children and even the territory’s Governor came out to watch the second day of racing in the 6th Annual Carlos Aguilar Match Race (CAMR).

The USVI’s Peter Holmberg and USA’s Dave Perry finished the day with 16 and 13 wins, respectively, out of 18 races in the double round robin, to move into the Semi-Finals.

It was a particularly productive day for the USA’s Stephanie Roble and USA’s Don Wilson who after completion of the double round-robin join Holmberg and Perry in Sunday’s Semi-Finals.

“We left the water yesterday feeling good, although it wasn’t reflected on the scoreboard. Today, we had good pre-starts and good crew communication, everything clicked,” explains Roble, the top-ranked U.S. female match and 5^th ranked woman match racer in the world, who competes on the Global Women’s Match Racing Circuit. “The last two years we finished seventh. Our goal this year was to make the Semis. Now our goal is to win.”

Roble finished the 18 race double round robin with 11 wins.

The first time sailing in the U.S. Virgin Islands has proven to be a charm for the USA’s Don Wilson. Defeating Greece’s Stratis Andreadis in the final match of the day by at least a three boat length lead landed Wilson a spot in a Semis. Wilson is without his team’s regular tactician, Sally Barkow, who is training for the Volvo Ocean Race. Barkow won the 2012 CAMR. In her place is Jordan Reece, a talented sailor who in 2012 was the training partner for the Australian Olympic Match Racing Team which won a Silver Medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

“To come down, jump in and sail a new boat, in a new place, with a new crew is challenging,” says Wilson, who is ranked 24^th in the world and is the number one ranked U.S. match racer as well as founder of the Chicago Match Race Center (CMRC). “In these shifty wind conditions, you have to be on your toes and have your eyes out of the boat. I think we did a good job of that today.”

Wilson ended the double round robin with 9 wins.

The winner of the 2013 CAMR will receive a signature timepiece courtesy of Cardow Jewelers, the oldest jeweler in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

A mid-day break in match racing saw 25 children from the Gladys Abraham Elementary School compete in the Carlos Aguilar Youth Regatta. The public school is a trend-setter in the territory for its work in teaming up with watersports professionals who teach all students to swim by the time they graduate from 6^th grade. The students paired with the international skippers and sailed two fleet races.

“I’ve been in a kayak and a power boat, but never a sail boat,” says fourth-grader, Ka’eo Brown, who crewed for the USVI’s Peter Holmberg and won the first fleet race. “I liked that we won. I liked it all. I’d like to do it again.”

Sixth-grader, Me’Kayla Creque, enjoyed sailing in her third Carlos Aguilar Youth Regatta. This year she crewed for Finland’s Antti Luhta, and the team won the second fleet race. “My job was to help put up the sail, but I really wanted to try steering,” Creque says.

U.S. Virgin Islands’ Governor John P. deJongh came out to watch the match racing action in the afternoon.

“This event is very special and it’s named after a man who was special to our community,” says deJongh. “It’s also special in that you can watch the racing from shore. This exposes more of our residents to the sport. I hope more of our people in St. Thomas catch the sailing bug.”

Racing in the CAMR will conclude Sunday with the Semi-Finals and Finals.

Match racing pits one identical boat against another on a short course oftentimes near to shore. On-the-water umpires make instant calls and enforce the rules. The result is very exciting racing up and down the Charlotte Amalie waterfront.

Spectators are invited to watch the racing under tented bleacher seating where there will be live narration. Viewers around the world can watch via a live webcast on www.carlosmatchrace.com. Racing starts at 9 a.m. (GMT – 4 hrs) daily.

Sailors are competing in IC-24s, a local adaptation of a J/24. The CAMR is an International Sailing Federation (ISAF)-provisional Grade Two event.

The Virgin Islands Sailing Association (VISA) is the organizing authority for the CAMR, namesake for the late Carlos Aguilar, who was an avid sailor.

Daily race results and copyright-free downloadable images by Virgin Islands-based photographer, Dean Barnes, will be available for editorial use on the official event website (www.carlosmatchrace.com).

DAY TWO – PRELIMINARY RESULTS
(Number of Wins after Double Round Robin)
Peter Holmberg, ISV, 16
Dave Perry, USA, 13
Stephanie Roble, USA, 11
Don Wilson, USA, 9
Antti Luhta, FIN, 8
Colin Rathbun, BVI, 8
Dave Dellenbaugh, USA, 8
Chris Poole, USA, 7
Stratis Andreadis, GRE, 5
Jennifer Wilson, USA, 2.5

Carol Bareuther reporting