VIMSIA Sailors compete in Buccaneer Blast Regatta

From the Article:

USVI junior sailors compete in Buccaneer Blast Regatta

A half-dozen junior sailors from the St. Thomas Yacht Club competed over the weekend in the 13th annual Buccaneer Blast Regatta, held in Key West, Fla.

The highest-finishing Virgin Islander in the Optimist Championship division was St. Thomas’ Audrey Zimmer- man, who finished 30th overall with 80 points. She had one top-10 finish in six races, coming in seventh in the third race.

Other USVI junior sailors competing in the Buccaneer Blast were:

• Howard Zimmerman of St. Thom- as finished 43rd overall and third in the White fleet with 106 points. His best finish came in the first race when he came in 11th.

• Emma Walters of St. Thomas finished 44th overall with 107 points. She had two top-10 finishes – a sixth place in the fourth race, and 10th place in the third race.

• Coby Fagan of St. Thomas finished 57th overall with 121 points. He had the best finish among the six USVI sailors — a pair of fourth places, in the second and fourth races — but his fin- ish was hampered by disqualifications in the first and third races.

• Mariana Brunt of St. Thomas finished 60th overall with 131 points. Her best finish was seventh place in the third race.

• Samantha Anderson of St. Thomas finished 92nd overall with 184 points. Her best finish was 30th in the sixth race.

Florida’s David Coates, a member of U.S. Sailing’s junior national team, won the Opti Championship division. He won twice and finished second in two other starts for a total of 10 points. He finished one point ahead of fellow Floridian Daniil Riabykh (11 points) and seven points ahead of third-place finisher Wylder Smith of Connecticut (17 points).