Escuela Deportiva de Vela de Carolina

Now that the dust have settled it is time for thank you’s. Regattas may look beautiful from the shore but it takes a lot of effort to pull it off. From the creation to completion it is a challenge in many ways. First where do we want to sail? Offshore was the answer and with this the game begins. The water depth is an issue, from anchoring of the start boat, finish boat and bouys.

Support crew which is crucial to the success of any event. My idea was to recruit the help of all the former olympic PR sailing team members from the past and create a regatta for the sailors by the sailors. Then comes the greatest challenge of all, equipment. With all the interest on the regatta from outside PR we needed a large number of competitive boats (Optimist) to supply the overwhelming demand. Food, drinks, trophies, permits, beach crew and all the town agencies involved resembled a puzzle that needed to be put together.

I have to start with PROA (PR Optimist Dinghy Association), from the beginning their support and vision proved to be an invaluable asset to the ex*****on on this regatta. Their expertise was crucial, their support unwavering and their believe inspiring. Cacho and Cristina spearheaded this team and my hat goes off to them.

Then on to get the town involved. I first contacted Nestor Calzada, administrator of the Balneario de Carolina, he immediately knocked on all the right doors with the Municipio de Carolina getting its Departamento de Recreacion y Deportes secretary Luis Reyes on board and along with Luis his assistant Rodsan Rodriguez. Their support was incredible since they have never worked on a project of this kind and I am pleased to announce that they are committed to support us in all of our future events.

Now we have to get the permits to host the event from the Departamento de Recursos Naturales (DRNA). Anyone that has dealt with government agencies knows how challenging it can be, specially during Christmas time. Mr. Luis Marquez stepped up to the plate and vowed to help us get it done and so he did.

The next step was getting the Federacion de Vela de PR involved. The call was answered by its president Graham Castillo who’s expertise proved to be the glue keeping everything together.

Now comes the regata crew and we start with the support boats. Captain Luis Escudero is an invaluable asset to the sailing community in PR donating his time and boat to many regattas in the San Juan/Carolina area and this regatta was no exception by providing his boat for the finish line on course A . On board with Luis was Osvaldo Alcaide, gold medal winner at Central American and Caribbean Games (CACG) and his son Felipe. Eduardo Ortiz, former president of the FVPR was also on board providing some expert assistance and Dr. Antares Ramos marine ecologist from Sail 4 Reefs.org was also along for the ride. Javi Diaz provided us with some great images throughout the weekend. Pablo Mendez (PROA) took on the challenge of setting the race marks with the assistance of Jeniffer Allora on the FVPR’s dinghy. Pablo is one of those sailors mentioned at the beginning, CACG Champion himself. I cannot thank him enough for his input, ex*****on and commitment to the event.
Dr. Alfredo Torruella, Oceanographer and Physics professor from the Universidad de PR donated his time and boat for the green fleet course and with him the Olympic windsurfing legend Kiko Dalmau as the PRO.
On the race committee I had the pleasure to host one of my mentors, friend of over 45 years and Olympic Competitor Mr. Ronnie Ramos and his lovely wife Babbie. Ronnie and Babbie’s expertise and knowledge was and invaluable asset to have onboard. Childhood friend and sailor for life Luis Balzac was also with us keeping a sharp eye on the fleet. Last but not least my daughter Paula Figueroa joined us and completed this super team.

Gregg Fyffe, another world class sailor and brother from another mother was on hand as the beach captain/Taco/Paella man making sure everything on shore was under control. Alex proved to be indispensable in organizing the onshore activities. From music, set up and trophy presentation Alex was the man.

With the amazing interest in this regatta from overseas sailors there was a big challenge, where are we going to get 20+ Optimist dinghies for them. Here comes Cacho Rivera to the rescue supplying the boats necessary to make it happen. Again without Cacho and Cristina none of this would have ever happened.

The racing marks were donate by sailforreef.org a non profit organization that aims to provide a bridge between water-based sports and the conservation of marine resources, mainly coral reefs, through education, interaction with the ocean and habitat restoration work.
These marks were beautifully labeled by the Collazo Group. Thank you Christian and Yaritza for making us look good not only in the water but on land with all the banners as well as for providing the beautiful podium for the trophy presentation.

There is no possible to thank and mention everyone who in one way or another was involved in this regatta but I will try.

Double Trouble - Start Optimist Advanced (PRO)

Coquito - Finish Optimist Advanced

Plankton - Start/Finish Optimist Green

Support and security boats:

* Pescaito
* Calypso 23
* Dry Fish
* Raton Veloz
* Cobia
* Team CNSJ
* Team EDVC
* Team Marlin
* Team USA
* Team USVI
* FVPUR

Last but not least to all the parents who enjoyed the weekend with us, it was a pleasure having you on our beach and look forward to seeing you again.

Viva Carolina!

Quique

Meet the winners. Congratulations!!!

Scenes from the beach.

Regata de Gigantes 2024 will go down on the history books as one on the largest Optimist Advanced dinghy regatta in PR in over a decade! Sailors from USA, USVI and PUR competed for this years title and the conditions did not disappoint. Sunday produced the superb sailing condition Carolina is famous for. Sun, wind and waves greeted the sailors on the offshore course with challenging starts and fierce competition. 8 races were completed during the 2 day event for the Advanced sailors, while on the Green fleet sailed 11 races! EDVC would like to thank .optisailing Balneario de Carolina and all the volunteers that made this event possible.
See you next year!

Wind, rain, waves, current, no wind, wind shift, all in the span of 1 hour.
The sailors were greeted with some challenging conditions at the 1st Annual Regata de Gigantes hosted by at the .
The racing got underway in big waves and some light winds. A rain-squall passed south of course A and with it the wind shifts.
Finally the day settled into a hot and sunny afternoon in the tropics. The last two races were held in perfect conditions, 13-15 knots of steady breeze, 3’ waves perfect for some downwind surfing and some great competition.
Stay tune for more tomorrow.

And the winners are…
Felicidades a todos los participantes del Winter Cup Regatta 2023. Pero en especial al Equipo de Vela de Carolina, ni el viento ni la lluvia detienen a estos campeones!
Vamos por mas…

Vamos a Paris 2024!
Felicidades Pedruco estamos super orgullosos de ti. Puerto Rico celébralo

Felicidades a todos los integrantes del equipo Opti PUR en el 2023 USODA Southeast Championships.
En especial a Isabella e Ines (con su lucky hat) que se colocaron entre los primeros 15 de 268 niñ@s!
Estamos super orgullosos de todos. También quiero felicitar al mejor “ground crew” del mundo (todos los padres y madres) que sin ustedes nada de esto seria posible. Y ultimo pero no menos importante a Jonas por tan buena labor en el agua. Joder!
Tienen 1 dia de descanso que el miercoles vamos pal agua!