Young Opti sailors race under stormy conditions.

Saturday 13th June, thirteen of St. Lucia's top junior sailors battled it out in the St. Lucia Optimist Championships. The young sailors took to the stormy seas in Rodney Bay to demonstrate the racing skills they had learned through the Youth Sailing Programme sponsored by the St. Lucia Yacht Club from coaches Rob Hemming, Chris Lowe & Katie Yeo. The morning schedule was for three races; driving rain with variable winds up to 20 knots made for some tough conditions but the juniors persevered. In the end, the weather cleared, the winds settled and six races were run. After a hard fought battle, Marcus Sweeney took the overall first place.

In the morning, the young sailors fought hard, with Marcus Sweeney (13) coming out with two strong victories. Stephanie Lovell (13) took the other race followed closely by Thomas Meixner (13) and Marion Bardies (14). The afternoon's weather improved considerably with sunny skies and steady winds making the racing very competitive with the lead changing many times.

Going in to the last race of the day, the overall trophy was still up for grabs with Marcus Sweeney leading Stephanie Lovell by two points. Sweeney got off to a terrible start and had to battle back from the back of the fleet. Lovell did everything she could to hold onto the lead went on to win the race. In the end, Stephanie won the race but Marcus was second and second was all he needed to finish the series in first place. Stephanie Lovell completed the series second overall and took the Girls trophy. Luc Chevrier sailed a consistent regatta to take home the 11 & under Trophy.


Overall Results:

Overall:
1st Marcus Sweeney
2nd Stephanie Lovell
3rd Thomas Meixner

Girls:
1st Stephanie Lovell
2nd Marion Bardies
3rd Raina Bergasse

11&Under:
1st Luc Chevrier
2nd Richard Beausoliel
3rd Jason Cox

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