The Sint Maarten Yacht Club kicked off the first official race day of the St. Maarten Budget Marine Optimist Championship today. A fleet of 44 young sailors, divided into three fleets, battled it out in the Simpson Bay waters. 13 kids sailed in the Green Fleet, which is a fleet for the more inexperienced racers. The Benjamin and Optimist Fleet had 31 competitors. Depending on their age, they are divided with 9 sailors in the Benjamin Fleet and 22 in the Optimist Fleet.
The day began with a coach briefing followed by a sailor briefing, by the Race officer of the Championship: Mathieu Maudet. The young sailors rigged their Optimist in preparation for the specially arranged 9:00 AM opening of Simpson Bay Bridge. With enthusiastic applause and cheers from the spectators at the SMYC Bar and Restaurant, the competitors left the lagoon and went on their way to the course.
Out on the water, the competition was fierce, with nice wind. The wind was a bit shifty, so the competitors had to stay sharp and react quickly. A total of 6 races were completed for all fleets, with the first race starting at 9.30am and the last race finishing at 3.20PM. The young sailors were on the water for six hours straight, facing different weather conditions throughout the day.
The first two races of the day saw steady sailing for most of the competitors. The third race, held just before the lunch break, brought another setback for team St Kitts and Nevis. Greyson Burrell experienced problems with his mast step. As a result, he was unable to finish. Thanks to David de Vries on the jury boat, he was safely assisted back to their coach and teammates.
After a quick lunch break on the water, the race committee started the fourth race. As the competitors hit their stride, heavy rain began to pour and the wind increased. The heavy rain and increasing gusts made the race challenging for all competitors. For some sailors, the heavy showers did not help them in their competition. Others benefited from the increased wind that the cloud brought and were able to take over a few boats. Despite the tough conditions, all the sailors managed to keep steady sailing and successfully finish the fourth race.
Ethan Blanchet from St Barth, has taken the lead in the Green Fleet, achieving an incredible result by winning five out of six races of the day. The current second spot is for Arrun Bissoondutt from the British Virgin Islands, followed by Benjamin Dekker-Aardema from Sint Maarten Yacht Club in third.
In the Benjamin Fleet there was a great competition between number one, two and three. After this first race day, the Benjamin Fleet is led by Stanley Haes, sailing for the Saint Barths Yacht Club. He has been in the lead for five of the six races today, but is closely followed by his clubmate Leo Favreau. These sailors from Saint Barths and Saint Martin were challenged by Oskar Jarrett Versteegden from Sint Maarten, who came in third at the end of the day.
For the Optimist fleet it was very exciting. Different competitors finished first in the races. But after 6 races the lead was taken by Nathan Sheppard from Sint Maarten. The competition is following him closely, with Thomas Magras from Saint Barths coming in second. The third place of this day is captured by Saint Barths Tao Carmona Bouvrais.
To add a strategic twist to the competition, the current top three sailors in each fleet received a special vest to wear over their life jackets during tomorrow’s races. Sailors in first place will wear yellow vests, second place holders will wear blue, and third place will be wearing a red vest. The colorful vests show who to chase as the championship intensifies on day two.
“The energy and enthusiasm I saw on the water today is inspiring,” said Elja van der Horst, Deputy Race & Results Officer. “We are incredibly proud to see such a strong turnout and so many happy faces out there, even though the weather conditions were not always bright and sunny. It’s exciting to think about what the rest of the weekend holds, I am really looking forward to it”.
The championship will continue through the weekend, with many more races to come. Stay tuned to our socials for all updates and results as they unfold.