Cayman Islands Sailing Coach wins East End Regatta

(CNS): The annual 2010 Captain Leroy Watson Regatta was held on Saturday and Sunday, January 23rd and 24th 2010. This popular and much anticipated event was the first major sailing event of the year and was a chance for sailors to blow away the cobwebs after the Christmas break. A release from the Cayman Islands Sailing Club (CISC) says fifteen Lasers, four Bytes, and eight Optimists raced in front of the beach in Gun Bay Sound and there was windsurfing racing on the Sunday organized by Red Sail Sports.

After ten races, CISC coach Raph Harvey won the competitive Laser class. Marina Maffessanti won the Byte division while Jamie Williams took top prize in the Optimist fleet. Andrew Cousins won in the windsurfing group.

The first day of racing was held in relatively light, for Cayman, winds, while on the second day the winds strengthened, making for a great mix of sailing conditions over the weekend.

This was the fourth regatta held in memory of the late Captain Leroy Watson. Raised in East End, Capt. Watson rose to become a sea captain of super tankers before retiring. He tragically drowned in an accident in 2006.

The regatta was organized by the CISC Olympic sailor, Donald McLean, and Health Care Pharmacy sponsored the event. The Hon. Arden McLean presented the prizes to the winners.

Special thanks goes to Vivinne’s Kitchen for the use of the beach land and Compass Marine Ltd. for helping transport the boats. CISC club members, Matt Diaz, Peta Adams and Andrew Moon also assisted on the race committee.

The next major event on the sailing calendar is Race Cayman from March 10th-15th 2010. This is the most exciting and prestigious sailing event ever to be held in the Cayman Islands. The Cayman Islands Sailing Club has been chosen to host the North American and Caribbean regional qualifying event for the Youth Olympic Games 2010 in the Byte CII dinghy class. This Olympic qualifying event will be held in conjunction with the highly successful J/22 International Invitational Regatta.

For more information on sailing in the Cayman Islands, please visit the CISC’s website, www.sailing.ky.