6th Annual Carlos Aguilar Match Race

St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands (November 13, 2013) – Ten Open teams representing some of the best match racers in the Caribbean, U.S. and World, both men and women, will put their skills to the test in the 6th Annual Carlos Aguilar Match Race (CAMR), November 21-24, 2013.

“Expect a high level of competition that combines younger talent with older rock stars,” says regatta director, Bill Canfield. “This year should be the most interesting to date with no clear favorite.”

Peter Holmberg, formerly the world’s top match racer, 2009 CAMR winner and U.S. Virgin Islands native, may be among the toughest to beat.

However, three currently top-ranked men skippers confirmed to compete with a real shot at the win include the USA’s Don Wilson (24th), number one ranked U.S. match racer and founder of the Chicago Match Race Center (CMRC); Finland’s Antti Luhta (25th), and the USA’s Chris Poole (27th).

These up-and-coming sailors will go head-to-head against highly experienced veterans such as the USA’s Dave Dellenbaugh and Dave Perry. Dellenbaugh most recently won the 2013 U.S. Match Racing Championships beating four-time winner, Perry, author of Understanding the Racing Rules of Sailing Through 2016.

Greece’s Stratis Andreadis and the British Virgin Islands’ Colin Rathbun will both be back to sail.

Equally exciting are the two women match racers. The USA’s Stephanie Roble (5th) is the top-ranked U.S. female match racer and competes on the Global Women’s Match Racing Circuit, and the USA’s Jennifer Wilson, winner of the 2013 U.S. Women’s Match Race Championships, is a founding member of the CMRC with brother Don.

Past winners of the CAMR read like a Who’s Who of sailing: the USA’s Sally Barkow and Finland’s Staffan Lindberg won the Open Division in 2012 and 2011, respectively, while the USA’s Genny Tulloch triumphed in 2008 and 2010 and France’s Claire Leroy in 2009 in the Women’s Division, and it was the USVI’s Taylor Canfield in 2008 and Peter Holmberg in 2009 and Portugal’s Alvaro Marinho/Seth Sailing Team in 2010 that won in the Open Division.

The CAMR is known for introducing young sailors to the sport, working cooperatively with the V.I. government and V.I. Department of Tourism in its efforts to get more kids out on the water. In 2013, each Open team will have a V.I. high school (under age 18) sailor as a member.

The CAMR is an International Sailing Federation (ISAF)-provisional Grade Two event. The event will be raced in IC-24s, a one-design modification of a J/24, provided by Island Sol.

The Virgin Islands Sailing Association (VISA) is the organizing authority for the CAMR, namesake for the late Carlos Aguilar, who was an avid sailor and match racer. The CMRC is a major sponsor.

“The Chicago Match Race Center is proud to support the 2013 Carlos Aguilar Match Race,” says Tod Reynolds, CMRC program director. “With the Chicago sailing season over for the year our members, fans and event participants are looking forward to some fantastic racing in St. Thomas. It is exciting to see that this year’s the top ranked U.S. Open and Women’s match racing teams will be competing in this international field.”

Supporting sponsors of the CAMR are the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism; Heineken Beer and Captain Morgan, distributed in the U.S. Virgin Islands by Bellows International; Budget Marine; Hooters; Patron, distributed by Glazer’s Premier Distributors, LLC; Choice Communications; Bolongo Bay Beach Resort; Yacht Haven Grande; Gill and St. Thomas Yacht Club.

For more information, Notice of Race and to download photos of last year’s event for editorial use, visit: www.carlosmatchrace.com

Carol Bareuther reporting