The NSA was delighted to have the first 4 students ever to qualify to be part of an overseas delegation to travel as Team Antigua to the Caribbean Dinghy Championships. Senior Instructor Josh Daniels says, “Its moments like this that make all the hard work worth it. It means everything to me to see our students qualify, get the experience of travelling and competing at a higher level and understanding better the opportunities available to them.”
Competitors were challenged with light conditions during the final day of the 2022 Caribbean Dinghy Championship in St. Maarten. However, the Race Committee was able to complete three races.
“The whole weekend was a big success, said Race Officer Paul Henriques, I saw some great progress building up during the regatta by different teams, especially the younger duo handed teams. Teamwork and communication improved which made the racing even closer. Boat balance, patience and good tactics were the most important factors in today’s light wind conditions.”
In the laser 4.7 fleet Jordan Pieterse, representing St. Maarten, ended on the third place. Emma Lennox from St. Maarten and Jules Fortunati from Saint Barth ended up in a tie for first and second place. Lennox sailed a consistent regatta during day one and two, but Fortunati sailed better during the last day. With Fortunati winning the last race, he won the tie and took home first place in the Laser 4.7 class.
In the Laser Radial Fleet, Ozani Lafond, representing Antigua, dominated and took first place. Lafond his worst results were a second place. Cindy Brin, from Saint Barth took second place and third place went to Pascall Belle, from Saint Martin.
Jolyon Ferron from Sint Maarten took third place in the Laser Standard Fleet. Ferron stepped in 2 days before the event, to replace Frits Bus. The second place went to Benoit Meesemaecker, representing Saint Barth. The first place ended up in the hands of Rhone Kirby, representing Antigua, with only 12 points in 13 races.
Frits Bus is a skilled local Laser Standard sailor and Commodore of the Sint Maarten Yacht Club. Bus: “I was very motivated to be part of the competition in the Laser Standard Class but couldn’t participate because of a shoulder injury that happened a few days before the event. It was great to watch the racing on the water and see all the competition going on.
As a Yacht Club we are proud that we were able to host the CDC and the CSA Conference on Sint Maarten at the same time, a unique set up.
Whilst Regatta organizers, yacht club managers, program managers and sailors are sharing their knowledge to create a stronger structure for sailing in general in the Caribbean, the sailors do what we love so much: Race!
The racing showed a high level and I’m happy to see that the local sailing programs are creating these great sailors and educating the sailors of the future.” Bus continues.
Deshawnte Durat and Jahvon Hector from Antigua took third place in the RS Zest Class. Rio Stomp and Dax Henriques, representing St. Maarten, sailed consistent and ended up in second place. Paul Pages and Jules Lamort from Saint Martin proofed themselves the strongest by winning the class, 9 points ahead of number two.
In the RS Quest Fleet, Bernard Sillem and Henry Krugler, representing Saint Martin, took third place. Sint Maarten took second place with Joris van den Eynde and Alex Speetjens competing. In this class Saint Barth’s team took the win with Christophe Maxor and Lucca Magnan, 8 points ahead of number two.
In the optimist fleet, 7 competitors battled for the win. Correntine Corroy, from Saint Martin, took third place. Sarah Michaux was rewarded with second place, but the win went to Emily Gilliard, representing Antigua. Gilliard was the only competitor who won all races in her class during the event. A very impressive result!
Besides the individual prizes, the island with the best results was rewarded with the Nations Cup. The third place of the Nations Cup was for Sint Maarten and second place was for Saint Barth.
After their win in 2018 and 2019, Antigua proved themselves the strongest by taking the win in 3 out of 6 classes and took home the Nations Cup again!
“On behalf of the Sint Maarten Yacht Club, we would like to congratulate Antigua and the individual winners of this weekend! It was a pleasure to host this great event and see all familiar faces again after a period full of difficulties”. Said Saskia Revelman, Event Manager of the Sint Maarten Yacht Club. “We are thanking all volunteers and sponsors that made this high-quality racing event happen”.
Final results can be found here. Pictures, made by Edward Penagos can be found here.
About the Sint Maarten Yacht Club:
Established in 1980 with the goal to promote sailing on the island of St Maarten. It organizes multiple sailing events throughout the year, with the St Maarten Heineken Regatta as its crown jewel. A youth sailing program stimulates local youngsters to become part of the sailing community, teaching them life skills like team work, perseverance and confidence. Always looking to further develop sailing on St Maarten, the Club is active in promoting the sport, as well as the beautiful destination it is located at. For more information visit www.smyc.com
