First place team sponsored bt Budget Marine Antigua, Karl James, Ashley Rhodes and Bishop Rhodes.

Karl James' number one Antiguan team turned in a typically masterful show to win the two day Marlow One Design Caribbean Keelboat Championship that concluded Sunday, never dropping below third in any of the eighteen heats sailed. It was consolation for James, a top Caribbean sailor and former Olympian who couldn't get a handle on the light conditions at last week's Laser Championship, finishing third overall. He relished this weekend's confused mixture of downpours, and blustery conditions in the Simpson Bay Lagoon that made racing the Sunfast 20s more unpredictable than ever.

Despite sailing well for the most part, it was that unpredictability of shifts that resulted in Frits Bus' St. Maarten team finishing in second place for the fourth time in a row. Tied at 28 points with Bus, Chris Marshall’s Gill team finished third.

"It's frustrating us but it also shows the quality of sailing at this event," Bus concurred afterwards. "But you need some luck too. You can easily be on the wrong side of the course, the wind is so fluky. You need a bit of luck to get it right but it didn't work out. It was extremely shifty both days and when you make the wrong choices you go from first to fifth in a heartbeat."

Simon Manley steered Scuba Shop Team into a very respectable fourth place while fifth place went to the only youth team in the regatta skippered by 15-year-old Jolyon Ferron. He was joined by crew Saskia Looser, Stephen Looser, and Rhone Findlay and much to their credit they matched their peers tack for tack, winning two races and finishing in second place twice.

"We were expecting last or second last, so we're very pleased," said Ferron who added it was the first time the four had sailed together as a team. "We were used to the shifty wind but in the heavy weather we thought we would lose it but in fact we handled it pretty well."

The youth team represent the new blood in St. Maarten sailing and were deservedly praised for their efforts.
The Trinidad team Enzyme finished in sixth place with Robbie Ferron's Sea Jet Team in sixth. The two St. Barths teams and two remaining Antiguan teams didn't fare so well despite the pedigrees of their skippers.

A total of thirteen teams participated including six from St. Maarten and seven from Antigua, Curacao, Trinidad, and St. Barths.

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