Please select your home edition
Edition
Mackay Boats 728x90 TOP

USA's Screve wins 21st International Optimist Regatta

by Carol Bareuther on 24 Jun 2013
Close competition in the Advanced Optimist Class. Credit: Dean Barnes - International Optimist Regatta Dean Barnes
Covering the fleet and staying in front proved successful strategies for 15-year-old Romain Screve. Screve won the 21st International Optimist Regatta presented by Glacial Energy and held out of the St. Thomas Yacht Club, U.S. Virgin Islands, from June 21 to 23. At the conclusion of today’s final two races, the San Francisco, California-based sailor lengthened his lead from three points to a very comfortable twenty. That’s quite a feat considering the keen level of competition in the 81-boat Advanced Optimist fleet and wind conditions that ranged from barely breezy to gusty in squalls.

'I had good results and moved into the lead yesterday,' Screve explains. 'Today, I went out there and covered my two closest competitors. I had good starts and good boat speed too.'

Screve not only won the overall championship, but also the 13- to 15-year-old Red Fleet.

In the 11- to 12-year old Blue Fleet, it was 12-year-old Severin Gramm, from Delray Beach, Florida, who finished first. This is the first time Gramm has sailed in the Virgin Islands.

'The clinic helped me to understand the pattern of winds here and get use to them, and that helped me during the regatta,' Gramm says. 'My overall strategy was to stay consistent, play it safe and don’t do anything risky that would push me deep into the fleet.'

British Virgin Islands 10-year-old, Rayne Duff, won the age 10 and Under White Fleet.

'Hiking out was something I learned to do better in the clinic,' says Duff, who finished second in this division last year. 'Hiking was really important in the regatta because it was windy.'

The trophy for Top Girl was awarded to 14-year-old Paige Clarke, from St. John, USVI. Clarke also finished an impressive eighth overall.

'I felt more confident this year,' says Clarke, who has the experience of a number of continental Optimist championships now under her belt. 'I called every shift and always saw what was coming.'

A record 33 junior sailors competed in the Green or Beginner Fleet this year, which bodes well for the future of the sport. In the end, it was 10-year-old Will Jackson from the Cayman Islands who emerged victorious.

'I like the heavy wind,' says Jackson. 'Today, when the wind dropped mid-morning, I went from going fast to slowish-fast. Still, I had a lot of fun and met a lot of new friends.'

The USVI’s Clarke also won the Pete Ives Award, given for a combination of sailing prowess, sportsmanship, determination and good attitude both on and off the water.

Meanwhile, it was the USA’s Thomas Rice who earned the Chuck Fuller Sportsmanship Award.


A total of 113 sailors competed in the Advanced Red, Blue and White Fleets and beginner Green Fleet. The Advanced Fleets completed 10 races and the Green Fleet a total of 18 races over the three days of competition. Sailors hailed from 9 nations – Antigua, the British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Mexico, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, St. Maarten and the USA and USVI.

The International Optimist Regatta presented by Glacial Energy is organized under authority of the Virgin Islands Sailing Association and it is a Caribbean Sailing Association-sanctioned event.

The week started off with the Sea Star Clinic, run by local coaches and coaches from OptiSailors.com, and included the one-day Sea Star Team Race. The team race was won by the Pilo 1 Team made up of Mexico’s Henry Saavedra and the USA’s Romain Screve, Matt Logue and Wiley Rogers. The team is named for the sailor’s coach, Esteban ‘Pilo’ Rocha.

Major event sponsors include Glacial Energy and Sea Star Lines as well as Gill North America, the exclusive importer and distributor of Gill-brand foul weather gear in North America including Caribbean, the U.S. and Canada.

For full results, visit here.

RESULTS (Top 3)

RED FLEET (31 boats)
1. Romain Screve, USA, 33
2. Wiley Rogers, USA, 53
3. Henry Burnes, USA, 56

BLUE FLEET (36 boats)
1. Severin Gramm, USA, 56
2. Thomas Rice, USA, 78
3. Dylan Ascencios, USA, 132

WHITE FLEET (14 boats)
1. Rayne Duff, BVI, 238
2. Mateo Di Blasi, St. Thomas, USVI, 265
3. Madeleine Rice, USA, 339

GREEN FLEET (33 boats)
1. Will Jackson, CAY, 61
2. Victoria Flatley, St. Thomas, USVI, 74
3. Rider Odom, St. Croix, USVI, 76

Barton Marine Pipe GlandsNorth Sails Loft 57 PodcastCyclops Marine 2023 November - FOOTER

Related Articles

Rolex Fastnet Race: SVR Lazartigue wins
SVR Lazartigue is the first of three Ultim 100ft foiling trimaran, to finish the 2025 Rolex Fastnet SVR Lazartigue is the first of three Ultim 100ft foiling trimaran, to finish the 2025 Rolex Fastnet Race, and is the first home in the 450 boat fleet. There has been a lead change in the supermaxis
Posted today at 7:44 am
European Sailors Shine at 2025 ILCA 4 Youth Worlds
Concluding in dramatic fashion off the Californian coast The 2025 ILCA 4 Youth World Championships concluded in dramatic fashion off the Californian coast, where six days of competitive sailing saw European athletes rise to the occasion—and dominate.
Posted today at 6:13 am
Ultim Trimaran SVR Lazartigue takes line honours
Finishing the Centenary Rolex Fastnet Race at 04:38:04 this morning The 32m Ultim Trimaran SVR Lazartigue, skippered by Tom Laperche together with with Franck Cammas (co-skipper), Peter Burling, Antoine Gautier, Amélie Grassi and Emilien Lavigne has taken Multihull Line Honours at 04:38:04 this morning.
Posted today at 5:18 am
2025 iQFOiL Youth & Junior Worlds, day 3
Golden day for Rajuan, Senol and Lillelund in Brest Day 3 of the 2025 iQFOiL Youth & Junior World Championships kicked off with a celebration of a historic milestone: a record-breaking 101 women are competing in this year's edition, among a total of 375 athletes from 36 nations.
Posted today at 4:49 am
Of Ospreys, Eagles, Falcons, and Moths
Birds of prey. Insects. All of them airborne? How does it all apply here? Time to find out! All are airborne. The first three are birds of prey. The last one is an insect. All are so completely different. The first three have also had their name, formidable qualities and fantastic reputations applied to fantastic aircraft made by Boeing.
Posted on 27 Jul
Rolex Fastnet Race Start - Jason Ludlow Gallery
A superb gallery of some of the fastest offshore yachts in the world We're used to seeing Jason's photos at SailGP events, and here he concentrated on the fastest yachts in the Centenary edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race. Enjoy these amazing shots of some of the fastest offshore yachts in the world!
Posted on 27 Jul
Rolex Fastnet Race Start - Ingrid Abery Gallery
Centenary events don't come around very often, so enjoy these photos! Centenary events don't come around very often, and the Rolex Fastnet Race is only once every two years anyway, so it's worth adding a lot of photo galleries from our favourite photographers! Enjoy Ingrid Abery's photos here.
Posted on 27 Jul
Snipe Women's World Championship overall
A game of who could grab the lead and hold it on the final day The final day of the Snipe Women's Worlds came down to a game of who could grab the lead and hold it between Yoshida/Miura (JPN) and Vitturi/Borgen (CRO).
Posted on 27 Jul
Rolex Fastnet: Day 2 - First Ultims round Fastnet
The first boats in the 2025 Rolex Fastnet race have rounded the Fastnet Rock. The first boats in the 2025 Rolex Fastnet race have rounded the Fastnet Rock, and are on the second of the three legs of the 695nm course.
Posted on 27 Jul
Rolex Fastnet Race Day 2
Australian first timers in the chocolates Compared to the morning after the start of the last two Rolex Fastnet Races, this year's special centenary edition has seen just a tiny number of retirements as the frontrunners fan out across the Celtic Sea.
Posted on 27 Jul