Round the Rocks Race – Registration open

by Carol Bareuther on 17 Dec 2015 St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. Register now for the first-ever Round the Rocks Race! It’s a great way to stir up the fun in advance of the 2016 St. Thomas International Regatta (STIR)! Set for March 24, this one-day event is independent of STIR and features its own point-to-point course around the island of St. John, separate scoring and special prize-giving. It’s a great way for teams to tune up in advance of the main event three-day STIR.

“Sailors tell us they want more racing and we’re known for our professional race management. Put the two together it creates the perfect opportunity to offer a new one-day race. Those who don’t want to or can’t race aren’t penalized since scores in the Round the Rocks race don’t count toward the STIR. It’s just another way to sail in our beautiful U.S. Virgin Islands waters and have yet another way to win!” says regatta director, Chuck Pessler.

Entries to date include a trio of Gunboat 60s. These are Phil Lotz’s Arethusa, Robert Alexander’s Fault Tolerant and Stephen Cucchiaro’s Flow.

The Round the Rocks Race is open to everyone. This includes CSA; IRC; HPR; Multihull; CSA Bareboat; CSA (unmeasured) for boats from the USVI, BVI and Puerto Rico; Beach Cats and One-Design classes with a minimum length of 20 feet.

The Round the Rocks Race course is a circumnavigation of the 19-square mile island of St. John. It’s a route that offers a full range of exhilarating sailing challenges against the beautiful backdrop of an island that is two-thirds pristine national park. Crews will need to keep on their toes with frequent tacks along offshore cays, cross currents and wind shifts around the east end and slalom-like conditions in the downwind. Monohull and multihull, sport boat and ocean racer, spinnaker and non-spinnaker boats will all find something to suit.

Register online now for the Round the Rocks Race.

Register now too for STIR, set for March 25-27, 2016, if you haven’t already! Pay only US $250 up until January 31, 2016. Plus, on the last day of December and January, one entry each will be selected at random from among all entries to date to win customized long sleeved tech shirts for the entire crew.

The 2016 STIR promises challenging courses, professional race management and island-style hospitality.

STIR 2016 is sponsored by Cruzan Rum and Presidente, distributed by Glazer’s Premier Distributors; and the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism.