About Us
Anthony Kotoun grew up on a large cruising sailboat near St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. As a youngster he spent his days exploring the islands on his windsurfer but it was competitive sailing that caught his attention. He hitched rides on anything that floated at St. Thomas Yacht Club and was often found representing the Virgin Islands throughout the US and Caribbean in various one design classes.
From the beginning Anthony knew that he would make his living sailing boats but the competition and opportunity were not available to him on St. Thomas so he spent his summers sailing all over New England where he was able to test his skills on a national level. He took a big step by moving to Newport, RI on his own to finish high school and hone his skills against some of the US’s best sailors showing a great deal of maturity and self discipline for one so young.
His collegiate years were spent at St. Mary’s College in MD were he distinguished himself by winning three national championships, being named All American twice and finishing as a finalist for College Sailor of the Year. In addition he was Captain of the St. Mary’s Sailing Team.
After college, Anthony continued to travel between the Virgin Islands and Newport but began to win numerous National and North American Championships in one-design classes. Most recently Anthony skippered a J-24 to a 1st place at the 2005 J-24 Worlds in England.
Anthony now spends his time as a professional sailor traveling the world, learning new boats and perfecting his skills. When not sailing, which seems a rare occurrence, he spends his time in the Virgin Islands with his family as well as enjoying the New England summers in Newport, Rhode Island.
Cy Thompson was born and raised on St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. With parents and grandparents that sailed it was only natural that Cy would take to the water at an early age. At five he was actively sailing his Optimist in the cool trades off St. Thomas Yacht Club and at the remarkable age of nine he finished 1st in White Fleet and 12th overall at the US Optimist Nationals in Gulfport, Mississippi. For the next 4 years he was a perennial winner in Opti fleets and after his 14th birthday transitioned into the Laser Radial.
Success followed Cy in that class with wins at the US Sailing Youth Champs and the competitive Buzzards Bay Regatta. A year later it was another switch to Laser Full Rig with a respectable 6th at the Volvo Youth Worlds in South Korea in 2005 and 7th overall at the US Laser Nationals the following year. A month later, Cy was awarded the Gold Medal in the Laser Class at the Caribbean and Central American Games in Colombia. This was the only gold medal won by the US Virgin Islands at these Games.
In addition to fleet racing Cy has shown a keen interest in team racing leading Antilles School to a 1st place at the US High School National Championship this spring and a 9th at the ISAF Team Racing Worlds in Newport, RI the previous fall.
Cy is currently attending Roger Williams University in Bristol, RI as a freshman. He is transitioning into both collegiate sailing and the cold New England winters. In addition he is teaming up with former world champion sailor, Anthony Kotoun, in a 49er campaign that he hopes will culminate with a medal in the 2008 Olympics.