This past weekend two Anguillian Sailors, Kendal Richardson and Thomas Maccow traveled with Coach Paul Koeniger to Puerto Rico for the 12th Annual Club Nautico San Juan International Regatta. The February 1st to 3rd regatta hosted by Club Nautico de San Juan welcomed over 140 sailors in 102 boats racing in 10 classes. San Juan Bay provided ideal sailing conditions as competitors raced in winds ranging from 12-20 knots and consistently blue skies.
Kendal and Thomas raced in the Laser Radial class, one of the most competitive of the respective fleets. From day 1 it was evident how stiff the competition would be over the course of three days of racing. The Caribbean’s upper echelon of Laser sailors hailed from 6 different islands and top finishers from Puerto Rico, BVI and St. Maarten. Regatta Chairman Luis Fabre commented, “What is so good is the participation of sailors from so many islands and in so many classes. It really levels the playing field and creates a great competition.” On Day 2, Richardson adapted to the unfamiliar waters and broke the top 5 finishing 4th place in the 4th race. Part of what makes the Laser Class so grueling is how high performance and straining these boats can be to sail for long periods of time. Each race lasted 25-40 minutes and as winds gusted up to 18 knots, Thomas Maccow’s fitness and training paid off as he began to crack the top half of the fleet. Going into the last day of the regatta Kendal trailed behind 5th place by 15 points, an almost insurmountable lead to break with only 2 races remaining. This did little to deter his focus as he took advantage of light breeze and tallied a 1st prize in the 10th race, his best of the regatta.
The Anguilla Sailing Association would like to thank Jose Mendes for sponsoring 2 of our flights to San Juan, making it possible for our young sailors to compete in this event. Club Nautico San Juan and Jose Berrios deserve much of the credit for providing housing, boats, sails and rigging as well. The Anguilla Youth Sailing Club looks forward to next years regatta in San Juan and will be looking for further sponsors to assist in giving more children the opportunity to travel and race abroad.
– Press Release
(Published without editing by The Anguillian newspaper.)
