CARIBBEAN SAILING ASSOCIATION

This CSA event took place over the weekend of 10th – 12th August at the Antigua Yacht Club.  There were visiting teams from Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados and St. Maarten as well as two teams representing Antigua.

There were classes for Optimist sailors under 12 years, Zoom sailors under 16 years and open classes for Laser Radial, Laser Standard and Laser Pico (2 man teams) so six sailors for each team.

During the day on Friday, teams took the opportunity to practise until mid-afternoon when AYC hosted a “beach bash”.  This included games on and off the water which were “anything but sailing”.  Rowing races were held using the sea cadet boats as well as kayak races.  Additionally, several silly beach games took place including a tug-o-war.

Saturday morning saw the start of racing in very blustery conditions with winds at times gusting 30 knots.  This resulted in virtually every competitor capsizing at some point.  The  youngest competitor (age 10)  Jalese Gordon, who showed indomitable spirit at her first regatta.  One of the senior competitors commented that he had never spent so much time upside down in the water in his life!!

Racing continued through Saturday afternoon and by Saturday evening results were very close with all to play for on Sunday morning.  A convivial supper evening was held at the AYC which finished unexpectedly early as all the competitors were so tired they could not stay awake after 9 pm.

Sunday morning saw less wind and calmer waters and by 11:30 am racing had concluded.  Lunch was followed by prize-giving where Team Antigua 1 was the winner in the Optimist and Pico classes.  The Laser Standard class was won by Barbados and the Laser Radial and Zoom 8 classes were won by Trinidad.  The overall team prize was, as in 2011, won by Antigua. 

Antigua Yacht Club would like to thank all those who helped out both on and off the water – in particular the race officer Tony Maidment and his team and Patsy White and her team who managed to keep all the hungry sailors, volunteers, coaches and chaperones well fed during the event.

Full results can be found on Antigua Yacht Club's website at: www.antiguayachtclub.com.