National Dinghy Championships next weekend

Young sailors from the St Lucia Youth Sailing Program are training hard for the annual National Dinghy Championships which will be held at the St Lucia Yacht Club from Friday 7th to Sunday 9th June.  Juniors from the ages of eight through 20 will participate in two days of racing in the bay off Reduit Beach, sailing Optimist and Laser dinghies in the culmination of a year which has seen solid growth in the number of participants in the program.

The action starts on Friday afternoon with the ‘Green’ Fleet – a small group of fresh new sailors who will compete in 2 races from 4pm, allowing them to develop their Optimist racing skills for the first time in a competitive environment. On Saturday and Sunday, four Opti and Laser Divisions will race on the same course in Rodney Bay, with staggered starting times to allow the different classes to show off their skills.

This year a number of Martiniquan clubs have signed up to compete in the St Lucia regatta, and competitors from Schoelcher and Le Marin are expected to arrive on Friday. The Martinique clubs have hosted several regattas and training camps this year, and the relationship between the St Lucia Yacht Club and our French neighbours is strong and competitive, which augers well for the competition.

Racing starts at 9:30 am on Saturday, with morning and afternoon sessions, and continues on Sunday from

9 am until 1 pm. The Prize-giving Ceremony will be held at the St Lucia Yacht Club at 4 pm on Sunday, with a BBQ Party to round off the weekend. SLYC Sailing Captain Fredric Sweeney, himself a graduate of the Youth Sailing Program who won several titles in St Lucia and Martinique, is excited about the fixture, and looking forward to seeing the Lucian and

French sailors compete hard this year. Spectators, parents and potential sailors will be hosted onboard the Endless Summer catamaran, which will anchor close to the action throughout the weekend. The spectator boat is complimentary, and all interested persons are invited to come along and see the St Lucia youth sailors in action.

For more information about the St Lucia National Dinghy Championships, please visit www.stluciayachtclub.com or contact Coordinator Lily Bergasse at lilybergasse@yahoo.com.