Calm, cool, and collected proved the strategy to success for the team on Black Pearl, winner of the highly-competitive 22-boat IC24 Class at the 51st St. Thomas International Regatta (STIR). “We made fewer mistakes, and when we did, we took a breath, got everything back under control, and the boat back up to speed,” says St. Thomas’ Teddy Nicolosi, a college All-American sailor at the helm. Nicolosi’s all-star crew included sister and All-American, Graceann, brother-in-law Mac Agnese, who is a member of the US SailGP Team, friend and two-time Olympian St. Thomas’ Thomas Barrows, and father Dan, past commodore of the St. Thomas Yacht Club.
The IC24s were one of nearly 60 boats in six classes, from one-design to CSA handicap, monohull to multihull, 13- to 70-feet, with teams from the Caribbean, US, Europe, and Australia, with everyone from weekend warriors to Olympians and Volvo Ocean winners as crews, that competed in this ‘Crown Jewel’ of Caribbean Yacht Racing. Tradewinds blowing to 20-plus knots over round-the-buoy and round-the-islands professionally-set courses, surfing seas, and bright Caribbean sun with a couple of passing clouds for some wind fluctuation fun created a picture-perfect final day of racing in the 2025 STIR. Ultimately, Black Pearl, Kinship, Tatihou, Flying Jenny, Nuts/Bartlett, and Thunder and Lightning were class winners.
“We are proud to welcome once again an impressive fleet of sailors to the US Virgin Islands for the St. Thomas International Regatta. Congratulations to all this year’s competitors and class winners for an incredible showing on the water. Events like STIR not only celebrate the spirit of competition but also spotlight the natural beauty and vibrant marine culture that make the US Virgin Islands truly unique,” says Joseph Boschulte, Commissioner of the US Virgin Islands Department of Tourism.
Top of The Classes:
In the IC24 Class, Black Pearl also won the 2025 IC24 Caribbean Championship, sponsored by Sea Glass Properties, an event within STIR this year. Puerto Rico’s Marco Teixidor, on Cachondo, finished second, with St. Thomas’s two-time Olympian, Cy Thomas, in third onboard Bill T.
Kinship, a 52′ Baltic skippered by the USA’s Ryan Walsh, won the CSA Racing Class.
“We started the season cruising and then switched into race mode to sail the RORC Caribbean 600, the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta, and now STIR,” says Walsh, whose crew represented a mix of friends and family. “We enjoyed the mix of round-the-islands courses.”
The USA’s Øivind Lorentzen driving Jax, a 43′ Brooklin Boat Yard design, finished second, while El Ocaso, a J/122 with the UK’s Dan McGanty at the helm, ended third.
In the CSA Non-Spinnaker Class, the USA’s Martin van Breems’ Jeanneau 409, Tatihou, raced first, proving that cruising boats can have as much fun as hot rod racers.
“We had good starts and sailed well,” says van Breems, who owns the Sound Sailing Center in Norwalk, Connecticut, and sailed STIR as the finale to his annual spring Bareboat Certification Course. “It would be great to get more cruising boats out next year.”
STIR served as the first leg of the 2005 VX One Caribbean Championship, sponsored by Evolution Sails, which ends next weekend at the BVI Spring Regatta. The USA’s Sandra Askew’s Flying Jenny handily won the class with eight firsts in 11 races. “I loved one-design racing because all the boats are the same,” says Askew. “Today was difficult with the washing machine chop and high winds, but we did well.”
St. Croix native Tim Pitts, president of the VX One North American Class, finished second on his Another Bad Princess, while St. Thomas’ Chris Cilliers and St. Maarten’s Jolyon Ferron, on Easy Breezy Cheesy ended in third.
Thunder and Lightning, a TF10, won the Multihull Class.
“We were only able to sail two races the first day and discovered structural issues with the boat,” says Jim Gibson, captain. “It was a great time, and we look forward to next year.”
Finally, in the 9-boat Hobie Wave Class, the UK’s Ian Bartlett won on Nuts/Bartlett.
“I’ve been sailing in this regatta since 2007,” says Bartlett. “It was great to see some of the younger sailors competing in the class.”
WINN finished second, with St. Thomas teen boys, Finn Hodgins and Will Zimmerman, and High Tide Hooligans third, with St. Thomas’ Mila Melbourne on the tiller.
Full scores for STIR 2025 are posted at www.yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative/16918
