Puerto Rican sailors proved their prowess by sweeping many
of the award categories at the 3rd annual Valentine’s Day
Optimist Regatta, sailed out of the St. Croix Yacht Club on February 18 and 19.
It was
13-year-old Jose Nigaglioni who dominated the
competition and won both the Overall and Red Fleet prizes. Interestingly, Nigaglioni only won one out of the ten race series, but
aced the regatta with a top five finish in every race.
“The first day, many wind shifts made it challenging. I liked the
heavier winds of the second day. I really got good speed downwind,” Nigaglioni said.
The BVI’s Alec Anderson finished second in the 13- to
15-year-old Red Fleet, while St. Thomas’ William Bailey ended third.
The 11-
to 12-year-old Blue Fleet held some of the closest competition. In fact, Puerto
Rico’s Fernando Monllor and fellow islander
Ramon Gonzalez tied with 22 points, with Monllor
winning the toss due to a greater number of first place finishes.
Puerto
Rico’s Juanky Perdamo
won the age 10- and under White Fleet, followed by Armando Collazo
second and St. Croix’s Mack Bryan in third.
The
beginner Green Fleet, dominated in the winner’s circle by St. John KATS sailors,
showed lots of promise. Aspen Moore finished first with nearly straight
bullets. Abel Phillips ended second, with Coral Bruening
third.
This
regatta marked the third of three qualifying events Virgin Islands sailors
needed in order to qualify for the four slots allotted by the International
Optimist Dinghy Association for the Optimist North American Championships
(Opti NAM). Sailors who won those slots were Ian Barrows,
Billy Gibbons, William Bailey and Nikki Barnes. The Opti
NAM’s will be held July 1-7 in Ponce, Puerto
Rico.
Regatta
director, Karen Stanton, summed up the event best when she said: “There
was a lot of talent out there on the water this weekend. That bodes well for
the future of local sailing.”
RESULTS
RED FLEET
1. Jose Nigaglioni, Puerto Rico
(19)
2. Alec Anderson, BVI (55)
3. William Bailey, St. Thomas, USVI (74)
4. Carmen Rivera, Puerto Rico (92)
5. Nick Weber, New York (183)
BLUE FLEET
1. Fernando Monllor, Puerto Rico
(22)
2. Ramon Gonzalez, Puerto Rico (22)
3. Raul Rios, Puerto Rico (27)
4. Ian Barrows, St. Thomas, USVI (40)
5. Billy Gibbons, St. Croix, USVI (40)
6. Alex Coyle, St. John, USVI (69)
7. Nikki Barnes, St. Thomas, USVI (80)
8. Alejandro Monllor, Puerto Rico
(85)
9. Alec Taylor, St. Thomas, USVI (86)
10. Gabriela Serrano, Puerto Rico (145)
WHITE FLEET
1. Juanky Perdamo,
Puerto Rico (66)
2. Armando Collazo, Puerto Rico
(68)
3. Mack Bryan, St. Croix, USVI (109)
4. Challis Diaz, St. Croix, USVI (119)
5. Jaime Ramon, Miami, FL (140)
6. Manuel Gonzalez, Puerto Rico (149)
7. Andre Regero, Puerto Rico (158)
GREEN FLEET
1. Aspen Moore, St. John, USVI (9)
2. Abel Phillips, St. John, USVI (18)
3. Coral Bruening, St. John, USVI
(27)
4. Jozsi Nemeth, St. John, USVI
(31)
5. Addison Hackstaff, St. Thomas,
USVI (32)
6. Lillian Mallory, St. Croix, USVI (43)
7. Harry Hoffman, St. Croix, USVI (49)
8. Justin Doran, St. John, USVI (55)
9. Eric Norton, St. Croix, USVI (65)
