Over the weekend of March 12th and 13th,
nineteen laser sailors came to Antigua to participate in the 4th
Annual Antigua Laser Open. Particularly exciting about the Open this year was
the participation of the Hampton University Sailing Team from the United
States. With local students attending Hampton University on scholarship, eleven
students found the Open a fantastic opportunity to see the Caribbean and sail
on their spring break. While only three members of the team actually competed,
all went out to practice in Falmouth Harbour and enjoy the Antiguan sunshine.
Five races were
set to run over the two days of competition with three races completed on day
one. Sailing Olympic Triangle and sausage (Windward/Leeward) courses, the
general consensus was that the racing was exciting with a lot of changes in
position. According to Tony Maidement, “everyone had a chance of winning. The
skill set among the competitors was evenly distributed. They all had the speed
but Karl James had the consistency.” At the end of racing on Saturday, Karl
James, Omari Scott and Ray Potter held the top three positions.
On Sunday, the
Lasers began trickling out to course at 9:15. A beautiful day with good winds,
the two remaining races of the event were quick ones. By 10:45 the competitors
came in to the Club to receive the final results. Sunday’s races did have their
moments of excitement as the competition was getting fierce and protests were
verbalized.
When all had died
down, the final results for this year’s Open were as follows; local Karl James
placed first, Omari Scott placed second and Shawne Malone took third place. Ray
Potter, in third at the end on day one, slipped to fifth place in the final
results. James was “happy with the turn out for this year’s event and felt that
all the competitors were good sailors.”
Look at the
Antigua Yacht Club website www.antiguayachtclub.com
for notices regarding the Laser Team Championships coming in October.
