The K3 Company On-Board as Sponsor of 2022 St. Thomas International Regatta, March 25-27, 2022

St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. Protect your gear in a K3 bag. Organizers of the 48th St. Thomas International Regatta (STIR) are pleased to announce the sponsorship of The K3 Company, a global manufacturer of premium outdoor gear and accessories, which specializes in waterproof gear and accessories. STIR, set for March 25-27, 2022, is hosted by the St. Thomas Yacht Club in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The territory earned the title, Yachting Destination of the Year, in Caribbean Journal’s Caribbean Travel Awards 2022.

“For decades, athletes competing in the St. Thomas International Regatta have exemplified the values we hold strong within our company—drive, dedication, determination, and hard work—and we commend the sacrifice and excellence put forward by every competitor in the race,” said K3 General Manager Lisa Keogh. “Each year we look forward to supporting the event while celebrating the deep tradition of the Regatta.”

A few of the products offered at STIR 2022, including as prizes, are the Stoic K3 Excursion Duffle Backpack, the versatile Poseidon 20-liter dry bag backpack, and the 15-liter K3 Icon Sport Dry bag. All K3 bags are catered towards sport, travel, and the adventurous sailing community.

“K3 is and has been a valuable sponsor of STIR and other St. Thomas Yacht Club (STYC) events for the past several years,” says Pat Bailey, co-director of STIR 2022, with Greer Scholes. “K3’s sponsorship, as well as other strong sponsors coming on board, and registration that is ahead of even pre-COVID numbers to date, is a sign that STIR 2022 is shaping up to be a spectacular event. If you haven’t registered yet, I invite you to do so now. As we say here at STYC, ‘We Love It Here’ and you will too!”

Sneak Peek at Early Entries

Nearly 20 sleek racing yachts are registered for STIR 2020 as of mid-December, a number higher than pre-COVID. This includes vessels from 24- to 65-foot, in CSA Spinnaker, CSA Non-Spinnaker, and One-Design classes, with crews hailing from the Caribbean, USA, and Europe.

“We are looking forwards to the tradewinds breeze and some swell to get her going,” says Johnny Mordaunt, a Great Britain-based member of the New York Yacht Club and Royal Cork Yacht Club, who raced in STIR five years ago on a former boat and has now entered his new Tschuss, a Fast 40 originally built for the F40 class sailed in the Solent. “The team is made up of a great mix of people from the Volvo world, America’s Cup world, and top-end big boat sailors. Our most recent highlights were sailing in Newport, Rhode Island during the summer of 2019, including competing in Block Island Race Week. As a team, we love supporting Clubs and events. Everyone at the St. Thomas Yacht Club has been so helpful in assisting us. We can’t wait to get there, to meet everyone and go racing.”

Tschuss will compete in the CSA Spinnaker Racing Class. A sampling of other entries in this class includes the USA’s Jim Madden’s Swan 601, Stark Raving Mad VII; Antigua-based Ondeck’s Farr 65 race charter, Spirit of Juno; Puerto Rico’s Jaime Torres’ Melges 32, Smile and Wave; the USVI’s Peter Corr’s Summit 40, Blitz; and the USA’s Donald Nicholson’s J/121, Apollo.

“We are looking forward to STIR as it will be our first Caribbean event of the year,” says Denise Bienvenu, manager of the Apollo team. “We have some new crew this time around, new to Apollo but not new to sailing. We will have a local sailor sailing with us, which will help us with strategy. Knowing where the rocks and coral are located is a huge plus. My advice to other teams is that if you want to race in the Caribbean then STIR is the best introduction there is to this circuit. Amazing racing, great competition, and awesome regatta administration and Race Committee.”

There are 8 entries to date in the One-Design IC-24s, a class that can have up to nearly 20 boats on the start line. The USA’s Christina DiLoreto, from Jacksonville, FL, represents one of two teams from that city that have has race-chartered an IC24 from the St. Thomas Sailing Center.

“I participated in the North U course last February, where I learned about this event. The IC-24 was the boat I learned to sail on. Bringing a group of sailors from Jacksonville just seemed like a ton of fun. Our J/24 Fleet 55 from Jacksonville, which sails out of the Florida Yacht Club, has chartered two boats and is bringing 8 people to St. Thomas for STIR. Sailing an IC24, gathering with friends in a tropical location, and sailing against new competition is what we’re looking forward to.”

Register Now! Early Bird Discount Ends in January

Register Now! https://yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=14738 STIR 2022 invites CSA (Caribbean Sailing Association-handicap rule), racing, cruising and bareboat classes; ORC; Multihull; PHRF, racing, cruising and Jib & Main classes using the 2021 South East Florida PHRF handicap system; Hobie Waves and One-Design classes with a minimum length of 20 feet. Five one-design entries are required for a class. Pay only US $170, or 50% off the regular entry fee, between now and January 31, 2022. From February 1 to March 24, the entry fee increases to US $340 and for IC24s and Hobie Waves to US $230. A limited number of Hobie Waves and IC24’s are available for charter.

Also, sign up for the March 24 Round the Rocks (RTR) race (https://yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=14737). The U.S. Virgin Islands is fortunate to have many islands, cays, and rocks to sail around. The racecourse will be determined by weather conditions on race day. Entry is US $50 per boat.

Bring your own boat (BYOB) or charter! Chartering especially makes it easy to fly in, jump on a race-ready yacht, and set sail! Over half a dozen outfits are offering vessels to charter either by boat or crew spot for STIR 2022.

The St. Thomas Sailing Center (stthomassailingcenter.com/st-thomas-international-regatta) has a limited number of IC-24s available for race charter for STIR 2022. The charter fee is US $2900 with new sails (no more than used in one previous regatta), US $2500 with very good sails. This fee includes the use of an IC-24 for the Friday through Sunday event, a practice day on the preceding Thursday, and a 30-day Bluewater Membership in the St. Thomas Yacht Club. To reserve, Email: info@stthomassailingcenter.com or call (340) 690-3681.

If you love this, you’ll love:

• IC24 Column: Morgan Avery the Original IC-24 Builder
• IC24: To fly a Spinnaker or Not
• What is an IC24?
• The Sink-Ing Feeling

Beyond this, the J/120, J-aguar, is available by the yacht or crew spot from www.caribbeanraces.com or Email: mrbenjelic@gmail.com. So is the J/122, El Ocaso, from www.caribbeanyachtracing.com or Email: chris@rawsilk.co.uk Ondeck (www.ondecksailing.com) in Antigua is chartering its Beneteau First 40.7, Ortac, by the yacht either bareboat or skippered, by Emailing: peter@ondecksailing.com

UK-based LV Yachting (lucy@lvyachting.com, www.lvyachting.com) has several yachts available to charter for STIR, including Pata Negra, a Marc Lombard 46; Wings, J/121; Phan, GP42; Escapado; Beneteau First 40.7; Hermes, Pogo 12.5; Hypr, Volvo 70; and Defiance, Swan 68.

Book Flights and Accommodations Now!

Hands-down, STIR is the easiest to reach of all the Caribbean regattas. Host destination, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, welcomes daily non-stop flights on six major airlines from U.S. mainland gateway cities. These include:

• American Airlines (Charlotte, Dallas-Fort Worth, Miami, New York, Philadelphia)
• Delta (Atlanta, New York)
• Frontier (Miami, Orlando)
• JetBlue (Boston, Newark, New York)
• Spirit (Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Orlando)
• United (Chicago, Houston, Newark, Washington-Dulles)

Air Sunshine, Cape Air, and Sea Flight are airlines that operate within the Caribbean with service to St. Thomas.

Accommodations on St. Thomas include resorts, hotels, inns, bed and breakfasts, and timeshares. Plus, there are approximately 600 villa units and 200 charter yachts on St. Thomas/St. John. Airbnb listings number over 1,000 on St. Thomas. For more information, visit the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism’s website at www.visitusvi.com

All travelers to the USVI must comply with any travel restrictions listed on https://usvitravelportal.com/. Please plan your travel accordingly and check the travel portal for updates regularly as requirements may change at any time. In addition, all competitors, crew, and guests must comply with all USVI and St Thomas Yacht Club COVID guidelines at the time of the event. These will be updated on the regatta website.

For information, visit www.stthomasinternationalregatta.com, Email: stycisv@gmail.com or Regatta Co-Director Pat Bailey at simpleislandboy51@gmail.com, or call (340) 775-6320. Check STIR out on Facebook (www.facebook.com/stirvi), Twitter @stirvi, and Instagram #STIRVI

Strong Sponsor Support

STIR organizers thank the USVI Department of Tourism; West Indies Company; The Moorings; K3; and Ocean Surfari for strong sponsor support.

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