IC-24 Column - Puerto Rico Next Island to Initiate IC24 Program
Plenty of sailing talent, a longstanding and strong J/24 program, a ratings controversy that dampened handicap racing, and a taste of actually sailing an IC24 via regattas held over the last few years all sewed the seed for an IC24 class to now form in Puerto Rico.
Efrain “Fraito” Lugo, well known for skippering his J/24, Orion, to many Caribbean regatta victories, is spearheading the program. “We would never want to kill the J/24 class in Puerto Rico. After all, it’s the boat used in the Central American and Caribbean Games and Pan American Games. But we are trying to cash in on those sailors here on the island that are not sailing any more. We also want to help grow the class. The IC24 is now the hot class in the Caribbean.”
The impetus that got the Puerto Rican IC24 fleet rolling came in the form of a lucky break finding used J/24s for sale.
“One of my crew, Robbie Ramos, called me one morning and told me he saw on the Internet that the U.S. Navel Academy in Annapolis was selling 12 boats. I told him to find out more information. Then about two hours later, Chris Rosenberg called to tell me the same thing. After that, the rest is history,” Lugo says.
Lugo got his call mid-October and three weeks later 10 of the J/24s were in Puerto Rico.
“My father and I flew up to Annapolis. We spent three days loading the boats and getting them to the port in New Jersey. In the meantime, Stanley Lopez had helped us negotiate a good rate through Crowley Shipping. We paid a rate of $4,500 for a flat rack that held two boats. Add to that that we paid $4,000 for each J/24 and we got a good deal. Normally, a J/24 that is $4,000 is a real junker. These boats were still in sailing condition.”
The J/24s were transported to Ponce once they arrived in Puerto Rico. “They are in my shop. Last summer, when my wife and I were cruising in the British Virgin Islands, we stopped and picked up the mold to make the conversion from the guys at Racing in Paradise. My father and I will start the conversions by mid-November. Our plan is to remove the old deck, build and install the new one and complete the conversions for each boat in about two weeks,” Lugo says.
All 10 of the new IC24s already have private owners. “The Barretto brothers who used to sail Catimba bought one. Michael Serrales bought another. Robbie Ramos, Sr., who used to sail with Eric Tulla on Son of Syndicate, will be our first boat to convert. And Fernando Irizarry, who had Por Fin, is another owner,” Lugo relates.
Puerto Rico’s new IC24 fleet owners are about evenly split between San Juan and Ponce. “We hope we can agree on one place to keep the boats so we can all sail together and have regular races,” Lugo says.
He adds, “We hope to have seven IC’s from Puerto Rico ready to enter the CORT Series and start off with the St. Croix International Regatta in February.”
The addition of the Puerto Rican IC24 fleet could swell the start line at St. Thomas’ International Rolex Regatta, where the IC24 class debuted in 2002, to 25 to 26 boats.
“This was always my dream for the J/24 Class, a lot of boats on the start line. But the most we ever had was 15 boats in 1998,” he says.
In the future, Puerto Rico is looking at adding even more IC24s to its fleet, Lugo says. “We have 8 to 9 J/24s actively being sailed in Puerto Rico and another 5 or 6 boats that are not used. We are looking both on-island and off for hulls and would like to convert another 3 to 4 boats.”
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