Pictured above: Paige Clarke and Colin Brego team up for the Commodore’s Challenge on Christmas Eve, a contest pitting Antilles School students vs. alumni. The event was sponsored by the St. Thomas Yacht Club.
Photo courtesy of Carol Bareuther.
ST. THOMAS — Antilles School students, past and present showed off their sailing prowess at the Commodore’s Challenge on Christmas Eve. The event was organized by the St. Thomas Yacht Club.
Twenty teams and 40 sailors paired up in racing competition. At the end, teams of alumni came out on top, but high school sailors kept them from making a clean sweep.
The team of Taylor Ladd and William Bailey won the competition in Division A. The brother-sister team of and Alec Tayler and Jewell Tayler took top honors in Division B.
Thomas Barows and Grace Ann Nicolosi followed in second place, Division A. Thomas Walden and Augustina Barbuto won their division, also in second.
Then came the new crop of Antilles competitors. Teddy Nicolosi and Ryan Hunter won third place in Division A, followed by Robert Hunter and Michael Derrickson in Division B.
St. Thomas Yacht Club Commodore Dan Nicolosi said he staged the Christmas Eve regatta because he knew the alumni sailors would be coming home for the holidays. The commodore said he also knew the rookies would put on a sailing show.
“We have so many great sailors, I thought it would be a good idea for the alumni and current students to interact, to bond and to create a link between them,” he said.
When Antilles graduates came home, joined by alumni under age 30, they came with hardware. There were All American college sailors, Olympic competitors and participants in the Pan Am games. Top competitors included Maumi “Mimi” Roller from Coral Bay. Roller came away from the Commodore’s Challenge both impressive and impressed.
“It’s been years since I sailed here with Antilles School Sailing team,” Roller said. Antilles student Isabelle Austin-Greene said she couldn’t have had a better teammate.
“It was cool to meet her. We’ve never sailed together before,” Greene said.
St. John competitors in the 2016 contest included Mimi Roller, Colin Brego, Kyle Brego, Mateo DiBlazi, Enzo Newhard, Paige Clarke and Agustino Barbuto, who came in second place in Division B, along with Thomas Walden.