For the second year in a row, the T&T Youth Sailing Team managed to bring home the Caribbean Dinghy Championship Team Trophy. The Youth Sailing Team out-performed teams from Antigua, St. Maarten, Martinique and the host country, Barbados, to claim back this prestigious challenge trophy. This year’s Caribbean Dinghy Championship was held August 15 and 16 on the waters of Carlisle Bay in front of the Barbados Yacht Club and was organized by the Barbados Sailing Association and sanctioned by the Caribbean Sailing Association.
The best result for team T&T came from 11-year-old Myles Kaufmann who managed to win all nine races in the Optimist Junior class for the eleven-and-under sailors. Following his lead was 12-year-old team member Derek Poon Tip who took the top honours in the Optimist Senior class for the twelve-to-fifteen year olds by winning seven out of nine races in his class.
However the parade of trophies won by team T&T didn’t stop there. In the Laser Standard class, Stuart Leighton had his hands full against Olympian sailor Karl James from Antigua who he finally managed to beat in the last race after coming in second in most of the races of the Championship. With these results Stuart Leighton took home the second place trophy in this class, as did Vessigny Vikings former Optimist sailors Daniel Briggs (skipper) and Dekife Charles (crew), who competed for the first time in a two-man dinghy boat.
Former Optimist sailor Wesley Scott made his first appearance in the Laser Radial class this year and, even though at times the gusty wind on the first day of the Championships was rather strong, he still came in third place overall.
In congratulating the team on their splendid showing, the President of the Trinidad and Tobago Sailing Association, David Leighton, also thanked the Sport Company of Trinidad and Tobago for their tremendous support.
