2010 Scotiabank Youth Nationals

(CNS): Windy conditions made for exciting racing at the 2010 Scotiabank National Youth Sailing Championship. The regatta, which determines Cayman’s best youth sailors, was held on the 30 and 31 of October at the Cayman Islands Sailing Club (CISC). Racing was held in the Optimist and Pico classes. After 25 races, Prospect Primary School sailing star, Allena Rankine, who won the Optimist class in 2009 again retained the 2010 title. In second place was Savannah Primary School racer, Matthew Whorms followed by Jhonny Wight from St. Ignatius who finished in third place. Cayman Prep student, Ben Williams, topped the Pico singlehanded division, followed by his schoolmates Florence Allen and Thomas Bishop.

The racing was closest in the Pico doublehanded fleet. On the final day of racing, Cayman Prep sailors, Gabbi Nelson and Doug Rowland overtook the Prep/Prospect Primary School team of Adrian Pasquali and Walden Kidd. Prep sailors Sammy Bailey and Keegan O’Connor finished third.

This year’s event was comprised of many novice sailors racing for their first time.

Sailing Director, Michael Weber, noted that the number of young sailors is a promising sign for Cayman. “Some of our top racers are now too old for youth sailing and are busy planning their adult sailing careers. The good news is that we still have a very large base of sailors ready to start racing.”

Some of the winning sailors were handpicked by the CISC’s Talent Identification Programme. Allena Rankine, Matthew Whorms, and Walden Kidd all hail from the Club’s school sailing lessons, which is funded by the Cayman Islands Ministry of Sport.

Weber also thanked Scotiabank for its continued sponsorship, “It really means a lot to the CISC that Scotiabank sponsors this annual event and we are grateful for its continued support for youth sailing in the Cayman Islands.”

For more information, please visit its Facebook page: Cayman Islands Sailing Club.