USVI
24 Twelve- to eighteen-year-old students from Charlotte Amalie High School, Ivanna Eudora Kean High School, Bertha C. Boschulte Junior High School and Addelita Cancryn Junior High School will put newly-acquired sailing skills to the ultimate test on Saturday, December 5, when they compete in the first annual School Challenge Youth Regatta 2009.
The regatta, held in conjunction with the Carlos Aguilar Match Race and sponsored by the Carlos Aguilar Match Race, Ondeck Ocean Racing and Trident Jewels & Time, will be sailed in Charlotte Amalie's harbor starting at 3:30 p.m.
Teams of six students representing each school will each board one of Ondeck's four sleek-sailing Farr 40s at 2:30 p.m., along with an Ondeck skipper and Ondeck sailing instructor. Each crewmember will receive a T-shirt and hat. The students will spend an hour learning how to sail the vessel. Then, they will sail back into the harbor and take their mark on the same courses sailed by world-ranked match racers who competed earlier in the day as part of the Carlos Aguilar Match Race. Winners, which will be announced immediately following the sailing, will receive a framed photo of the team, medals and bragging rights.
Spectators can watch the fast-paced action live from along the Charlotte Amalie waterfront. There will be tents and limited seating available.
"Its always been a dream of mine to provide access to sailing for local kids," says John Holmberg, Ondeck's St. Thomas-based business manager. "Sailing is a sport I love and this is a way to give back to the islands that have given me so much while I was growing up."
Holmberg and Verian Aguilar, resource teacher at Antilles School and board member of HYPE (Helping Young People Excel) launched the idea for the regatta together.
"Sailing is something I've been passionate about and so was Carlos," says Aguilar. "Monies donated in Carlos' name after his death have benefited youth at risk through a number of sailing events."
HYPE is an organization spearheaded by Sergeant Arlene Chalwell of the Virgin Islands Police Department. The organization's mission is to help youth at risk in multifaceted ways, including by exposure to new and different activities such as sailing.
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