San Pedro Tops National Optimist Regatta

Like leafcutter ants busy on a tree limb, the Optimist dinghies sailed across the sea in front of Caribbean Villas during the Belize National Optimist Championship Regatta that took place in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, Belize on November 12, 2011. The most impressive thing was that the skippers were children between the ages of 8 to 14.

Ambergris Today was very impressed at the skill, enthusiasm, discipline and energy this group of children from around Belize displayed during a grueling day of competition. It was a gloomy and chilly day but that did not down the enthusiasm of the young sailors who were eager to race. Approximately 20 Optimist sailing dinghies and 40 skippers from communities throughout Belize competed in this all day event – the first ever of its kind to be held in Belize.

The host organization for this regatta was the San Pedro Sailing Club, an affiliate of the Belize Sailing Association. Two qualification races took place early in the morning with five races followed which made up the nationals. Each race consisted of two laps around an Olympic regulation triangular course.

The wind picked up and the sea got choppier during the last legs of the finals which made sailing even more challenging for the young sailors. There were torn sails, a lot of bailing water and a few optimists even capsized. It was quite a challenge for the children, but they all proved to be very determined to stick it out until the very end. Everybody was very impressed at their performance.

An awards ceremony took place at the end of the day which had San Pedro boasting top winnings in the competition. Boasting the trophy of the best sailor was Alexander Rhaburn of the San Pedro Sailing Club Barracudas. Alexander was also member of the top winning team which included teammates David Verralls and Mitchell Sersland.

Second Place:
Individual – David Puc
Team – Sea Scouts (Joshua McKenzie, Joshua Pott, Nathaniel Avila)

Third Place:
Individual – Jushua McKenzie
Team – San Pedro Sailing Club Permits (David Puc, Blanca Velasquez, Beverly Medrano)

Winners were also rewarded with an invitation to represent Belize in the 2012 Optimist Regional and World championships. The 2012 North American championship will be near Mexico City; the 2012 World Championship will be in Santo Domingo. According to the Belize Sailing Association, “funding support is available from ISAF and Belize Olympic and Commonwealth Association. See www.optiworld.org. Congratulations to all the young sailors on a job well done.