Twenty teams representing 12 countries competed this year at
the Grey Goose ISAF (International Sailing Federation) Team Racing World
Championships at New York Yacht Club in Newport
Rhode Island.
Team
Racing is a fast growing alternative to fleet racing, where teams of three
boats attack each other and gain position by setting blocks and traps at each
mark and at the start and finish line. The objective is not to win the race as
an individual sailor but rather to create a situation where your three boat
team wins the race.
The USVI
was represented by and extraordinarily young team as contrasting the many
seasoned veterans from the US,
England,
Ireland, Italy,
Japan,
Australia and
New Zealand. Four of the members of
Team VI came from the Antilles
School sailing team who
recently finished 2nd at the High school Team Racing National
Championship. Boat 1 from the VI was sailed by the youngest skipper and oldest
crew at the event, Taylor Canfield and Carlos Aguilar. The second VI boat was
skippered by Cy Thompson and crewed by Nathan
Rosenberg both seniors at Antilles
School. Tom Barrows from
Antilles steered Boat 3 with Sarah Swan from St. John
and Eckerd
College serving as crew.
Team VI
impressed all with a 1st place in the Silver fleet. The four teams
from the United States and
England dominated the finals with the
US finishing 1st and 2nd
on their home waters with England
in 3rd and 4th. After over 400 races in
a week of racing the Virgin Islands showed the rest of the contenders that we
will be a force to be reckoned with at that next world championship to be
sailed in Bombay,
India.
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