Youth Sailing Championship

(CNS): Variable conditions made for intense racing during the 2009 Scotiabank National Youth Sailing Championship and sixteen year-old Oliver Fogerty proved that he is Cayman’s fastest youth sailor by winning the Byte class. The regatta was held at the Cayman Islands Sailing Club (CISC) on October 24th & 25th 2009. Fogerty won six out of nine races, beating Cayman’s top youth racers, Marina Maffessanti, Chris Delaney and Matthew Courtis, according to a CISC release.Shane Ebanks from Scotiabank said, "Scotibank is proud to be the sponsor of this annual event, and to lend support to the Sailing Club who hosts it."

He continued, "The Youth Sailing Championship not only provides a fun and competitive event for enthusiasts of all ages, but also has a strong link to Cayman’s past and our history at sea. On behalf of Scotiabank congratulations to all of the winners and all of the competitors of the event."

Other winners included eight year-old Prospect Primary student, Allena Rankine, claiming first place in the Optimist division and fifteen year-old Cayman Prep student, Victoria Crawshaw, winning the Pico class.

Seventeen year-old Stuart Jennings beat Alex Walton in the two boat Laser class.

In total twenty young sailors raced in the challenging two-day event which has been held annually since 2004 and determines Cayman’s top under-18 year-old sailors.

CISC sailing director, Michael Weber, noted that the regatta is both a competition and a celebration of youth sailing. “As sailing becomes more popular we are seeing both an increase in the number of participants and an improvement in the level of sailing. The fact that we have sailors of all ages and from different schools is a sign that sailing is a sport enjoyed by a broad spectrum of Cayman’s young population.”

Weber also thanked Scotiabank for its continued sponsorship. “Scotiabank’s generous support for youth sailing over the last few years has defined the regatta as one that young sailors look forward to each year.”

The next youth sailing event is the schools regatta on November 27th 2009 followed by the Christmas regatta on December 20th.

Anyone interested in youth sailing should contact Mike Weber at sailing@sailing.ky.