Winners in the three classes of the Cayman Islands Sailing Club (CISC) 2006 National Youth Sailing Championship - Thomas and Niklas Wolfe, Stuart Jennings and Elliot Vernon - were very pleased with their performances and we can look forward to watching these young Caymanian seafarers develop and maybe even represent their country in years to come. Photo by John Evans
The Cayman Islands Sailing Club (CISC) 2006 National Youth Sailing Championships took place over two days on calm seas and in light winds.
Eight boats competed over courses laid out in North Sound just off the CISC clubhouse.
The lightweight, high-performance Byte CIIs had a clear advantage in the conditions and took the first three places. Stuart Jennings taking first place in the Stuarts Walker Hersant-sponsored Bytes with Joe Roberts and Oliver Fogherty taking second and third in Butterfield Bank sponsored boats.
In the RS Feva class the team of Thomas and Niklas Wolfe came in first followed by Hugo McErlean and Roana Jennings in the second boat.
The Pico class was headed by Elliot Vernon with Camilo Bernal and Dominic Davies completing the field.
The Championships are part of an extensive youth training programme implemented by CISC.
After the sport was almost wiped out by Hurricane Ivan, CISC started a major programme designed to rebuild sailing on the Islands. CISC now provides structured training programmes for both children and adults across a range of levels, from beginners who do not yet know a tack from a bowline to more experienced sailors looking to fine-tune their racing skills.
Their Learn to Sail and Learn to Race programmes are offered to young people after school and on weekends. The emphasis is both on the fun aspects of sailing and the more serious side such as skill progression and seamanship.
Students achieve recognised certification as they progress through the various skill levels.
The CISC is optimistic that the programme can help youngsters to develop into possible future Olympic sailors and follow in the footsteps of those Caymanians who have proudly represented the country at the Games in the past.
As part of this aim CISC will look to build a youth racing team able to travel to international events.
The training is open to anyone, both members and non-members of the sailing club.
Youngsters are encouraged to participate in after-school programmes with the hope that a number of local schools will re-establish sailing lessons as part of their Physical Education curriculum, as happened before Hurricane Ivan.
Throughout the school holidays CISC also ran a number of summer sailing camps. During these camps children who had never sailed before learn the basics of the sport, while those with some experience were coached in more advanced sailing skills.
For more information contact the Cayman Islands Sailing Club at sailing@candw.ky or visit their website www.sailing.ky.
