Getting good starts and sailing fast led the USA’s Daniel Skutch Tyson to win the 32nd International Optimist Regatta (IOR), hosted at the St. Thomas Yacht Club (STYC), June 13-15. Thirteen-year-old Tyson, who races out of the Annapolis Yacht Club, in Annapolis, MD, was one of nearly 90 sailors from the U.S. Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, several USA states, and Argentina that competed in this three-day regatta in 8-foot, single-sail Optimist dinghies where conditions averaged 10-to 15-knots of breeze under sunny skies.

“Congratulations to all the young sailors who competed in this year’s International Optimist Regatta. Your talent, determination, and sportsmanship continue to make the U.S. Virgin Islands proud. Events like this not only highlight our world-class sailing conditions, but also bring together families, cultures, and communities from around the world,” says Joseph Boschulte, Commissioner of the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism.

THE WINNERS

The top three sailors overall after 10 races in the 2025 IOR were Tyson first; Rhode Island’s Christian Petersen, representing Saunderstown Yacht Club, second; and Texas’s Maxime McCulloch, from Lakewood Yacht Club, third.

Tyson’s first place overall also put him at the top of the 13- to 15-year-old Red Fleet after 10 in the Championship fleet.

“I don’t always have good starts, but I did today. And I’m good at handling the wind shifts,” says Tyson. “I was nervous this morning because I wanted to stay in the lead. So, I tried to focus on my sailing.”

Puerto Rico’s Valeria Perez-Hermida finished third in the Red Fleet, after Tyson and Petersen, but ended as the IOR’s Top Female Sailor. The position earns Perez-Hermida her name inscribed in the perpetual Founders Trophy.

“This is my fifth year sailing in the IOR, so I know the conditions well,” says Perez-Hermida, age 13. “My strategy is to do my best, and if I don’t do as well in a race as I’d like, to learn from it in the next race.

The three-day TOTE Clinic that preceded the IOR played a role in 12-year-old McCulloch’s win in the ages 11-12 Blue Fleet.

“The clinic prepared me for the racing because I learned about the different conditions, the winds and waves here, and the other competitors,” McCulloch says.

Ten-year-old Jonah Watson, a member of Florida’s Jensen Beach Race Team, finished first in the age 10-and-under White Fleet. Watson also finished fifth overall.

“My strategy was to start on the favored side, sail the best I could, and stay focused,” he says.