Members of the Cayman Islands national Optimist sailing team recently hit the waters in Florida – competing at the 14th annual Miami Race Week Regatta against world-class athletes from over 20 countries.
The international competition, held from 17-18 March, at Coral Reef Yacht Club, attracted 265 participants, including 18 from Cayman – many of whom were racing abroad for the first time.
Caymanian Allie Capasso had a standout performance in the ILCA4 class, claiming first in one of her races and ending the two-day event at third-place overall – a performance where she bested sailors from top countries like the US and Canada.
“The competition challenged the sailors but all showed exceptional resilience and raced hard for all of their seven races,” Raph Harvey, Cayman’s national sailing coach, told the Compass.
Sailors like Jasper Nielsen had strong showing in the Laser ILCA 6, placing third. Laser ILCA4 sailors Lyndon Pickering, Victoria Rowlette and Rosie Dijkhuizen all finished mid fleet.
Alexander Butterworth, who is 8 years old, also had a noteworthy performance for team Cayman, finishing in the top 30 in a 108-boat fleet.
Coach Kelvin Brown said he was happy with the grit and determination shown by all the Cayman sailors competing in the Opti Championship Fleet, including Cameron Lloyd, Marisa Miller, Katerina Butterworth, Ebba Collins, Thomas Yard and Lucas Calleja.
The Green Fleet comprised Juliette Juric, Lucas Burke, Sebastian Calleja, Myles Miller, Alexander Butterworth, Cailan Lloyd and Liam Czeremuszkin.
The Cayman Islands Sailing Club noted in a release that the event was an all-round success for sailors and coaches.
The sailing club will host its 60th Easter Round the Island Sailing Regatta on Friday, 29 March. The event will begin in the North Sound and sailors will race 42 miles to the finish line along Seven Mile Beach.
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