[dropcap]P[/dropcap]ersevere Diabolicum, Sy Cricket, Die Hard and DigiLife were the big winners over the weekend, during the sixth edition of the Mango Bowl Regatta which took place at Rodney Bay.
Saturday was tailor made for sailing, but conditions on Sunday were a bit trickier with intermittent showers and gusts but crews were up to the challenge.
In the Racing Class Persevere Diabolicum from Martinique with skipper Jean Michael Figueres placed first; followed by Blue, St Lucia (Skipper James Ward); with Gaya, St Lucia (Skipper Simon Handley) in third.
Sy Cricket won the Cruising Class, Antigua (Skipper Sandy Mair). Second place went to Tulaichean, Grenada (Skipper Mike Bingley), followed by Papgayo, St Lucia (Skipper Ben Thompson).
In the J24 Class Die Hard, Grenada (Skipper Robbie Yearwood) led the way, with Jabal, St Lucia (Skipper Nick Forsberg) second and Attitude, St Lucia (Skipper Fredric Sweeney) in third.
Digilife, Martinique (Skipper Vianney Saintnoy) won top honors, followed by La Morrigane, Martinique (Skipper Jean Francois Terrien) in second and Denebola, Martinique (Skipper Delice Nouel) finished third.
Digilife also won the J24 Surprise Combine class. Second was Die Hard with Jabal finishing third.
Commenting on the Mango Bowl Regatta Commodore Gene Lawrence said: “It was a real success this year. Thank goodness the conditions were excellent for sailing. You could not have asked for better conditions, particularly on the first day [Saturday]. What was very encouraging to see was the number of young people who are still involved in sailing. We had some youngsters aged eight to 12 taking part.”
Lawrence feels their presence can only enhance sailing here in the future, given the fact that there is a shortage of young competitive sailors.
He went on to say: “Yachting is becoming a big industry and apart from the pleasure derived you can make a living out of it. We are anxious to see more youngsters come into the club. The Mango Bowl Regatta is good for showing them how exciting sailing can be and what can be done.”
Commenting on St Lucia’s performance he noted: “We did not place first in any category, but we were second and third in several others.”
Lawrence was disappointed that more people did not take advantage of the spectator boat, in this case Sea Titan from the Dive Centre. It was available free of charge Saturday and Sunday for the public to view the action up close. One thing for sure, media personnel did not pass up this opportunity and were present on both days.
