Fifteen participants raced on the first day of the Hope Ross Series last Saturday, April 13. The Hope Ross Series is part of the Grant Thornton Dinghy Season Championship and is hosted and organized by the Sint Maarten Yacht Club. On this first day of the series, competitors from the racing teams from MDA, Saint Martin Voile Pour Tous and the Sint Maarten Yacht Club joined the regatta.

The race committee, led by SMYC sailing instructor and race officer Windy Celine, was able to start 4 races for 2 different classes: ILCA and Optimist.

“It was a beautiful day with very good wind conditions. We were lucky to have no rain during the races,” said Windy Celine. “Despite the absence of the sailing team of St Barth, we still had a great turnout with SMYC and MDA sailors.”

In the ILCA class, eight sailors participated. The top positions currently belong to Massimo Lapierre from SMYC in third place, Frits Bus, the SMYC commodore, in second, and Emelien Le Nomand, from Saint Martin Voile Pour Tous, currently in first place.

Seven Optimist sailors battled it out on Saturday afternoon. After the first Hope Ross Day, Oceane Chilou ended in third place, Oskar Jarret Versteegden in second, and Nathan Sheppard in first place. Top 2 sailors are representing SMYC.

While trophies are yet to be awarded, excitement is building for the next race day when the winners will be officially recognized. Stay tuned to see if all racers can secure their current positions. The second day of the Hope Ross Series will be sailed on Saturday, May 4th.

Thanks to all volunteers and competitors for yet another great Dinghy Race.

The results for Hoedemaker Day 1 can be found on the Sint Maarten Yacht Club Website as well as the pictures.