USVI sailor Canfield in spotlight
Published: October 13, 2012
Font size: [A] [A] [A]
It has been an eventful week for U.S. Virgin Islands sailor Taylor Canfield, and he capped it off Thursday with his second piece of hardware in five days.
Canfield, a 23-year-old St. Thomas native, led his Chicago Match Racing Center team as they took top honors in the King Edward VII Gold Cup at the 2012 Argo Group Gold Cup in Hamilton, Bermuda, on Sunday.
As a result of his breakout performance - Canfield is a non-tour card holder - he was also awarded the second annual Jordy Walker Trophy earlier this week.
The Jordy Walker Trophy recognizes the most improved young match race sailor who competes in Alpari World Match Racing Tour events or other events that automatically qualify a skipper for a Tour event.
"Winning the Jordy Walker Trophy is a highlight for me," Canfield said in a prepared statement. "I'd like to thank the Match Racing Association for the award. Jordy has had a huge impact on youth development of sailing in Bermuda but also throughout the Caribbean."
The Match Racing Association, formerly known as the World Match Racing Association, donated the Jordy Walker Trophy in 2011. Mary Walker presented the trophy to Canfield in memory of her late husband B.W "Jordy" Walker.
"Taylor Canfield has earned this recognition through his performance in match race events like the Chicago Match Cup, the automatic qualifier events in the Grand Slam Series and his victory here at the Argo Group Gold Cup," Brian Billings, president of the MRA and chairman of the Argo Group Gold Cup, said.
Canfield posted a 18-3 record against the world's best match race sailors and was the clear winner of this year's Jordy Walker Trophy.
"The passion of people like Jordy has raised the bar for modern day match racing," Canfield said. "It is an honor to receive this award in Jordy's memory."
Canfield is one of the brightest stars to come out of the St. Thomas Yacht Club. His predecessors include Peter Holmberg, who won the King Edward VII Gold Cup in 2001. Canfield came to Bermuda for the Renaissance Re Junior Gold Cup with Holmberg in 2003 and got his inspiration for match racing then.
After he graduated from Antilles School, Canfield led the Boston College sailing team to many collegiate championships and has now has devoted himself to match race sailing. He is the current sailing director at the Chicago Match Race Center and was ranked 11th in the open ISAF rankings going into the Gold Cup.
Canfield recently won in the four-event 2012 Grand Slam Match Race Series, winning the Chicago August Grade 2, coming second in the Detroit Cup, finishing seventh in the Knickerbocker Cup and taking second place in the Oakcliff International Grade 2 event.
Canfield made his presence known on the Alpari World Match Racing Tour and is now ranked ninth after he finished 12th at the 2011 Gold Cup. This year, he finished fourth at the AWMRT's new event, the 2012 Chicago Match Cup, and took third at the 2012 Congressional Cup.
His steady climb this year should earn an invitation to the AWMRT championship at the Monsoon Cup in December as he is expected to bid for a 2013 AWMRT Tour Card.
Stanton headed to Sun Fish World Championship
St. Croix native Peter Stanton will compete in the 2012 Sunfish World Championship at the St. Petersburg Yacht Club near Tampa Bay, Fla. The weeklong event starts today.
Stanton qualified for the championship as a world council member and is one the cusp of an international comeback in the sport.
The 2012 Fleet Captain at the St. Croix Yacht Club, Stanton also represented the USVI at the 2003 and 2007 Pan American Games. At the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games, Stanton just missed the podium and finished fourth in the Sun Fish Class.
The 2010 CAC Games was his last international regatta appearance. Stanton has devoted his time to grooming young USVI sailors, starting a new Optimist program at the St. Croix Yacht Club, and he is currently instructing more than 20 young sailors ages 8-14 and is also working with a high school sailing team.
On the local sailing level, Stanton won the Sun Fish fleet at the 10th annual Cruzan Open One Design Regatta in May.
Roller takes second in B Division college regatta
St. John native Mimi Roller, a senior on the nationally ranked St. Mary's College of Maryland sailing team, competed in the Fall Women's Intersectional and Carl Van Duyne MAISA Men's Singlehanded Championships at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., last weekend.
The scores from the A, B, and C divisions were tallied together to make up the final score. The B division sailors for St. Mary's included Roller, Allie Smith and first-year Marissa Golison as the trio claimed second place.
Roller was one of two USVI laser sailors to compete at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
St. Mary's will be back in action this weekend at the Navy Fall Intersectional in Annapolis, the Yale University Women's Intersectional, and the Central Fall No. 2 at Washington College.
- Contact sports writer Aaron Gray at 714-9102 or email agray@dailynews.vi.
offense came on the ground as Edwards finished with 111 rushing yards on 15 carries. Dyami Isles opened the game with a 35-yard burst up the middle and another 12-yard gain, but both runs were negated because of CAHS penalties. He finished with 37 rushing yards on six carries.
Chickenhawks coach Francisco Jarvis said Joseph will start again next week against the St. Thomas Private School Arawaks (1-0) because regular starter Elisha Arnold, a senior, is serving a two-game suspension for breaking team rules.
"My main concern was keeping our rookie quarterback comfortable," Jarvis said. "We gave him some throws, and he did OK. He can only get better. Our game plan was to run the ball and control the clock."
Joseph completed 7-of-19 pass attempts for 98 yards. He also rushed for 28 yards.
On that opening drive, Joseph connected with Edwards for a 21-yard touchdown pass, but he later fumbled an exchange with a running back, which resulted in a turnover on the Kean 18-yard line in the third quarter.
The lost fumble could have been costly as it gave the Devil Rays a chance to tie the game. Evan Wallace Jr. pitched the ball to Tu'Shouney Phillips on a reverse that gained 27 yards for Kean, but the drive sputtered three plays later when CAHS linebacker Rashawn DeCastro picked off a Shunnel Greenaway pass in the middle of the field.
"We played a lot better than last week," said Kean High coach Elroy Donovan Jr., whose team fell to the Arawaks last Friday, 44-0. "I think our line played better and gave Shunnel more time to pass the ball. We still have a lot of work to do, though."
Greenaway finished 3-for-13, passing for 24 yards.
The contest between St. Thomas public school rivals was mostly a battle for field position and was marred by penalties. CAHS committed nine penalties and the Devils Rays were flagged for eight more.
Still trailing 6-0, the Devil Rays got the ball back on their own 15 with 1:42 left in the game. Once again, the CAHS defense rose to the occasion and pushed Kean back on its first two plays of the drive. The third play was an incomplete pass and then the Devil Rays punted from deep inside their own red zone.
A personal foul penalty against Kean on the punt gave CAHS the ball on the Devil Rays 9 and Edwards wasted little time.
On the very next play, Edwards cut to the right side and found daylight before leaping over the goal line in celebration. The touchdown came with just one second left on the clock, and then Edwards rushed up the middle for the two-point conversion.
"We played well, but there are some things we still need to work out," said Edwards, who also caught three passes for 33 yards. "The running game was OK, but I have to give it up to our defense. They kept us in the game tonight."
Chickenhawks 14, Devil Rays 0
Eudora Kean (0-2) 0 0 0 0 - 0
Charlotte Amalie (1-0) 6 0 0 8 - 14
First Quarter
CAHS - Edwards 21 pass from Joseph (Joseph run failed)
Fourth Quarter
CAHS - Edwards 9 run (Edwards run)
- Contact sports writer Aaron Gray at 714-9102 or email agray@dailynews.vi.
To comment you must first create a profile and sign-in with a verified DISQUS account or social network ID. Sign up here.
Comments in violation of the rules will be denied, and repeat violators will be banned. Please help police the community by flagging offensive comments for our moderators to review. By posting a comment, you agree to our full terms and conditions. Click here to read terms and conditions.
