2019 Caribbean Dinghy Championships

The 2019 Caribbean Dinghy Championships (CDC) was held October 18-20 with a variety of conditions in Falmouth Harbour, Antigua. Four classes were represented at the CDC 2019: the Optimist (for the under 16s), Laser Standard, Laser Radial, and RS Feva. The championship was open to entries from across the Caribbean region with competitors from St Maarten, Trinidad, Barbados, and St Kitts & Nevis.

“It feels good to win this,” sums up Jules Mitchell, who took first place in the Laser Standard class. “I was a little worried that Rhone (Kirby) was right behind me on performance but I managed to stay ahead.” Jules took 10 wins out of the 15 races, cementing his position as a top performer.

Mauriceson Valentine and his crew Nahio James not only won the RS Feva Class but also took the title of Caribbean Regional RS Feva Champions. “The light winds were a challenge for us on the first two days,” says Valentine. Both he and James are Antigua sailors.

“We’ve been learning as we go along,” says Nahio, who learned his racing skills at Antigua’s National Sailing Academy. “We only started sailing together four weeks ago and it was also the first time we had sailed in an RS Feva, so we’ve been learning as we go along.”

Hard training also helped Daniel Smit to his win in the Laser Radial class. “I sail the boat four times a week here in Antigua, so I was well prepared going into this event,” Smit report. Ten wins secured his win against runner up Amy Cox from Barbados.

Perhaps the greatest victory of the series belonged to Izano Lafond. Age 15 and also from Antigua, Izano took first in all but four of the 15 races in the largest fleet, the Optimists. Shaping themselves as potential future champions Patrick Greensmith, 11 from Antigua and Kayman Floyd, 10, from St Kitts & Nevis put in strong performances but were unable to catch Izano.

Short windward leeward courses were the format of the event, in the perfect sheltered setting of Falmouth Harbour.

Results: https://caribbeansailingweek.com/cdc-results/

Source: CSA