WIMS Series Finale in US Virgin Islands

Carlos Aguilar Match Race (CAMR) will host the Women’s International Match Racing Series (WIM Series) Finale, to be held November 30-December 3 in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.

The CAMR, presented by the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism, is known for bringing some of the best international match racing talent, from America’s Cup veterans to Olympians, to sail in the scenic yet challenging Charlotte Amalie Harbor.

“St. Thomas is one of the best places on earth we have ever sailed,” says Netherlands Olympic match racing star, Renée Groeneveld, who with her Dutch team of Annemieke Bes, Lobke Berkhout and Mijke Lievens, won their first-ever WIMS event at the 2016 CAMR. “The scenery is beautiful, there are great sailing conditions and the event is so well organized.”

CAMR and WIM Series organizers are excited to bring another world-class sailing event to St. Thomas.

“The Carlos Aguilar Match Race is looking forward to hosting the WIMS final event for the second consecutive year,” says Verian Aguilar Tuttle, who co-directs the CAMR with Bill Canfield. “We are honored that these top international teams want to come back and look forward to the skippers, crew and for many of their families visiting our beautiful Virgin Islands once again.”

A strong contingent of teams is expected to compete for the highly-coveted 2017 WIM Series title. The Series kicked-off June 16 with the Women’s Match Racing World Championship in Helsinki, Finland, won by Great Britain’s Lucy Macgregor. Next up is the Lysekil Women’s Match, August 7-12 in Lysekil, Sweden, followed by the Busan Cup Women’s International Match Race, November 13-18, in Busan, South Korea and WIMS @ CAMR.

WIM Series teams represent the five continents of North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

“The WIM Series cannot wait to be back in St. Thomas for the season finale at the 2017 CAMR,” says Liz Baylis, WIM Series manager. “All the sailors had a fantastic time in 2016 and were already planning their return trips before they left the islands! Every part of the event was a great experience: from the racing in beautiful and challenging Charlotte Amalie Harbor to the great organization and race management to the fun and entertaining social activities to the fun racing with the kids from the Marine Vocational Program as part of the CAMR Youth Regatta. We can’t wait to be back in December!”

The WIMS @ CAMR is a World Sailing (WS)-provisional Grade One event. The format will feature a full round robin of all teams followed by knockout quarterfinals for the top 8, then knockout semi-finals, petit-finals and finals. The event will be sailed in IC 24, a modification of J/24.

The Virgin Islands Sailing Association (VISA) and St. Thomas Yacht Club (STYC) are the organizing authorities for the CAMR, namesake for the late Carlos Aguilar, who was an avid sailor. Past winners of the Open Division in the nine-year-old CAMR reads like a Who’s Who of sailing, including the USVI’s Taylor Canfield and Peter Holmberg, USA’s Sally Barkow and Genny Tulloch, Finland’s Staffan Lindberg and France’s Claire Leroy. Sponsors for the regatta include the US Virgin Islands Department of Tourism, Yacht Haven Grande, Bellows International and K3.

Series details – Event details

Background: The 2017 Women’s International Match Racing Series is in its fifth season, providing a four-event professional sailing circuit organized by the Women’s International Match Racing Association for the world’s leading women match racing sailors.

2017 Women’s International Match Racing Series
June 16-21 – Women’s Match Racing World Championship – Helsinki, Finland
August 7-12 – Lysekil Women’s Match – Lysekil, Sweden
November 13-18 – Busan Cup Women’s International Match Race – Busan, South Korea
Nov 30-Dec 3 – Carlos Aguilar Match Race – St Thomas, US Virgin Islands