Privateer, Blitz, Flying Jenny, Lady M, Bill T and FiDeLa Class Winners at 49th St. Thomas International Regatta

Smart starts. Minimal mistakes. Fast finishes. These are among the successful strategies of class winners at the 49th St. Thomas International Regatta, better known as STIR, which concluded Sunday.

Nearly 50 yachts, racing in CSA handicap and one-design classes, spanning from 24- to 70-foot vessels, and with skippers and crews hailing from the Caribbean, USA, Europe, and Australia, raced around the natural markers of islands, cays, and rocks in 12-15 knots of east-southeast breeze. Perfect conditions, professionally set racecourses, and parties ashore each evening proved why STIR is known as the “Crown Jewel” of Caribbean yacht racing.

Class Winners and Podium Placers

Privateer, the USA’s Ron O’Hanley’s Cookson 50, finished first over the USA’s Jim Madden’s Carkeek 47, Stark Raving Mad IX, by a mere two points.

“We raced this event last year and knew there were great conditions,” said O’Hanley, from Boston, Massachusetts. “What I’m most happy about is that when we made mistakes, we recovered quickly. The team has sailed together for a long time and communicated well. That was important since we had a fleet start with two other of the CSA classes, but once off the start line it turned into a match race between us and Stark Raving Max IX.”