ALL AT SEA
– Advertisement –
St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. Fourteen-year-old Tanner Krygsveld focused on maintaining his lead as he started the third and final day of racing in the 28th International Optimist Regatta (IOR), hosted at St. Thomas Yacht Club (STYC), June 18 to 20. The St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands sailor led the event from the first day, and despite a strong field of fellow competitors representing 6 nations – Antigua, Canada, the Cayman Islands, Puerto Rico, U.S.A, and all three U.S. Virgin Islands – and winds 15- to 18-knots, Krygsveld finished the day’s first race in second and ultimately won the 10-race regatta by 16 points. This makes Krygsveld the third U.S. Virgin Islander in the IOR’s nearly three-decade history to champion the event, with Cy Thompson, Teddy Nicolosi and Mia Nicolosi having done so in 2000, 2015 and 2016, respectively.
Smookler Top Angler, Just Fish Top Boat in VIGFC’s Annual Dolphin Derby
St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. The catch of a 39.5-pound dolphin fish (mahi-mahi) earned St. John’s Francis Smookler the Top Angler prize at the Virgin Islands Game Fishing Club’s Annual Dolphin Derby held April 25.
Top Boat Winner – Just Fish – L to R Jennifer Tyler, Joshua Bourg, Francis Smookler, Carlos Lindquist, Sarah Dennis, Johnathon Doran – Credit Dean Barnes
Fishing aboard the St. John-based 42-foot Liberty, Just Fish, with Captain Joshua Bourg at the helm, Smookler caught his winning fish south of St. John.
“We had an idea it was a bigger one than the other fish we’d caught, so we thought we had a chance (at the top prize),” says Smookler, an avid fisherman yet first-time tournament winner.