The Hoedemaker Series, the third and final two-day series of the Grant Thornton Dinghy Season Championship, continued on Saturday, March 22nd, with the second race day. Organized by the Sint Maarten Yacht Club, the event brought together twenty-five boats from various clubs, all competing for the win in two mornings of racing.
Divided into six fleets, participants completed a total of eleven races over the two race days: six on the first day and five on the second. After some days of light winds earlier in the week, Saturday brought a welcome breeze, providing excellent conditions for competitive racing in Simpson Bay, near the airport side of the Causeway Bridge.
The races were led by Race Officer Elja van der Horst, who had this role for the last time, before returning to the Netherlands later this month. Reflecting on the day, she shared, “It was another fantastic morning of racing. Unfortunately, my last one, but I really enjoyed it. It was amazing to witness the excitement at the busy start line as we started the ILCA, Sunfast, and Quest fleets at the same time.”
In the Optimist fleet, eleven young sailors put their skills to the test. Nathan Sheppard dominated, winning 9 out of 11 races to claim first place. Oskar Jarrett-Versteegden took second, followed closely by Chris Meekhof in third. All three represented the Sint Maarten Yacht Club.
In the Optimist Green fleet, five young sailors competed. Benjamin Dekker, from the Sint Maarten Yacht Club, was the winner, also taking 9 out of 11 victories. Robert Gumbs, also from the Sint Maarten Yacht Club, secured second place, while Neo Barbet from AS MDA finished third.
The ILCA fleet saw five sailors battling over two days. Massimo Lapierre from the Sint Maarten Yacht Club took the win, with Merlin from AS MDA in second and Clement Le Normand from Club de Voile de Friars Bay in third.
In the RS Zest class, five teams raced in close competition. In the end, Hunter Radican and Nick Meekhof took first place, followed by Luke Little and Ekamjot Singh in second. Isabelle and Charlotte Little secured third, all representing the Sint Maarten Yacht Club.
In the RS Quest class, Alain and his daughters competed solo, securing the win.
To add even more excitement, the Sunfast fleet joined for the second race morning. Three teams competed, with Garth Steyn taking first place. Team Gaby Eman followed closely in second, while team Neil Maher rounded out the podium in third.
In addition to the series winners, an overall champion was crowned for the Grant Thornton Dinghy Season Championship. This year, that title goes to Nathan Sheppard, who dominated the season by winning the most races across all events.
A big thank you to all the volunteers and to Budget Marine for providing a safety boat.
For detailed results and photos of Hoedemaker Day 2, visit the Sint Maarten Yacht Club website.
The Grant Thornton Dinghy Season Championship may be over, but the racing continues! Up next: the National Dinghy Championship 2025. See you there!