On Thursday morning the 19th of May, 12 Team SXM sailors left Sint Maarten, accompanied by coach Sam Peeks, to compete and participate in a 4 day event in St. Barths, the Mini Bucket; 2 days of training and 2 days of racing.
They faced rough seas, high winds and stiff competition from sailors from St. Barths, St. Martin and Guadeloupe.
On Saturday, race day 1, the race committee organized 5 races and on Sunday, the race committee challenged the sailors with 1 long race.
The Sint Maarten Yacht Club was well represented in the ILCA class, a total of 20 boats competed against each other. The following SXM sailors competed in this class; Rio Stomp with an overall position in 7th place, Frits Bus in 8th place, Emma Lennox in 11th place, Melina de Vries in 16th place and Maya Speetjens in 18th place. Emma Lennox took home the prize for the best female in the ILCA class.
The Optimist class saw 21 competitors; Nathan Sheppard ended in 9th place, as best SXM sailor in this class and 3rd in the Benjamin Class (a class for the younger sailors). Harper Treadwell came in 13th position. The conditions were a bit too rough for Oskar Jarret, Adilyn Treadwell, Axel van den Eynde and Ayla Bus, but they all tried every day and learned a lot from the 2 training days.
On Sunday evening, May 21st, all competitors, Coach Peeks and involved parents sailed back on Frits Bus his Catamaran, which provided transport and accommodation.
“It was great to see how the sailors and parents became a team, said coach Peeks, everybody helped each other with taking their boats out of the water, getting ready on time, etc. It was an exhausting weekend for the sailors as the conditions were so rough, but the energy was great. It’s a great experience for the team to race against sailors from different nationalities and experience different regatta’s, they grow from every minute on the water and have learned a lot. Thanks to the Saint Barths Yacht Club for organizing, and thanks to all the parents and volunteers involved to make this weekend happen”.
The Racing Season is almost coming to an end, the grande finale is planned for June 3 and 4, as the SMYC is hosting the St. Maarten National Dinghy Championship.
Find all pictures on smyc.com/photos