Last week Team INTAC represented the territory at the Melges 32 World Championship in Newport, Rhode Island. The Virgin Islands team placed sixth, eighth and 10th in three of the 10 championship races.

Team INTAC includes VI sailors Mark Plaxton (helmsman), who assembled the team, and Mark Stephenson (bow). Serving as Tactician for the team is Olympic silver-medalist and America’s Cup champion Peter Holmberg of the US Virgin Islands. Anthony Koutin also of the USVI, who last month placed second out of 125 sailors in the Moth Worlds in Lake Garda, Italy, is a member of the team.

The 2012 Melges 32 World Championship was a five-day competition and included a record 33 teams.

Team INTAC faced strong competition from the United States, Japan, Italy, Bermuda, Turkey, Switzerland and Sweden. Overall the VI team finished in 17th place.

“This really has been a milestone for us as a team,” Mr. Plaxton said.  “Team INTAC is the first BVI sailing team to compete in the world championships. I’m delighted that we were able to secure a top 10 finish in three out of 10 races in our first ever world championship.”

Team Samba Pa Ti from the US was the overall winner of the Melges 32 Championship. The team included Olympic gold-medal winner Paul Goodison and Jason Carroll, the first boat owner to win two consecutive US National championship titles.

The leaderboard was filled with some of the world’s best sailors including USA sailing series moguls John Kilroy Jr. from the winning Team Samba Pi Ti and Steve Howe from Team Warpath, who was named the 2012 Melges 32 USA Sailing Series Champion last week.

“Our participation proved that we are a strong team and have the ability to compete at a very high level,” Mr. Plaxton said. “The team worked really hard and although we would have wished to place higher, I am overall quite proud of our accomplishment. We really are delighted to have been a part of this year’s Melges 32 Championships and are looking forward to competing in next year’s world championship”.

The weather conditions were a challenge for the sailors. With more than 30 knots of breeze and a steep chop on the third day of the event, the racing was called to a halt because the conditions exceeded the regulations set by the International Melges Class Association.

“It was definitely an experience to compete in such harsh weather conditions,” said Mr. Stephenson. “We had our work cut out for us and had to work much harder than usual to keep up with the challenging weather conditions. Day three was the most memorable, the race came to a halt and we were guided back to shore as it was too dangerous to continue the race offshore. Unlike several other boats we did not suffer any blown-out spinnakers or other damages so [we] were able to maintain a balance of both sailing safely and speedily.”

The Melges 32 Fleet will be coming to the VI as a result of the efforts made by INTAC Global Investments.

Mssers. Plaxton and Stephenson have had a hand in the VI hosting the upcoming 2013 Winter Regatta Series.

“We are looking forward to seeing a boost to the local economy as a result of the upcoming winter series,” said President of INTAC Global Investments Tim Vermeulen.

More than 20 teams are expected to participate with about 300 participants. The Winter Regatta Series is comprised of four regattas, which run over a period of three months. Three out of four events will be held in the VI.

“We love to promote the BVI and next year’s sailing series will be a great way to introduce the magic of the BVI to people from all corners of the globe,” Mr. Vermeulen said. “This really is a remarkable opportunity for the territory and if it proves to be successful as we anticipate, it may become a regular biennial event.”

For more information about Team INTAC and the upcoming Winter Regatta Series go to: www.facebook.com/Melges32.

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