Skill, and an early flight to Spain, put Cy Thompson at the top of the overall fleet at the Scotia Bank Optimist Regatta held in St. Thomas June 15 to 18. A tie between Thompson and Jaume Tous of Spain was broken in favor of Thompson who had more second place finishes.
Unfortunately Tous was unable to race the 10th and final race of the regatta due to requirements of his trip home. All sailors were allowed to discard their two worst scores. Tous was able to throw out that final race and a 7th place finish. Had Tous stayed and scored better than a 4th place, he would have flown home with the trophy. Tous and fellow Spaniard Luis Paris did finish first and second in the Red class, which is limited to the 'older' competitors aged 13 to 15.
The conditions in the racing area were described as challenging by experienced adult local sailors. Strong winds, especially on Saturday afternoon, combined with a short steep chop to cause problems for the 7 to 15 year olds in their 8 foot blunt bowed prams. The occasional capsize would usually be followed by a quick righting of the Optimist, if not there was lots of assistance standing by. A flurry of bailing meant someone had just taken a wave over the bow. An additional challenge was the strong current in the area of the windward mark.
The Scotia Bank Caribbean Optimist Regatta is not only for competition centered advanced sailors. The largest class in the regatta is the Green class of beginning racers. The Green class has a separate start from the White, Blue and Red racing classes. Chutney Molher of the U.S.V.I. was first, followed Katrina Packer of Trinidad and Stephanie Malanga another Virgin Island sailor. Trinidad, Antigua, British Virgin Islands, St. Maarten, and France were all represented in the Green class.
Defending champion Cullen Shaughnessy of the USA placed third in the Red class behind the Spanish duo.
In the Blue class of 11-12 age group, Cy Thompson was first, followed by cousins Marco and Carlos Texidor of Puerto Rico.
There was a limited fleet of four in the White class of 10 and under, with most sailors in that age group still in Green class. This did not stop close competition with a three way tie for first going into the final day, and the last race deciding the regatta class winner. Phillip Alley of the USA was first followed by Andrew Lewis of Trinidad and Curtis Diaz of the Virgin Islands.
The International Optimist, although only 8 feet long, is the largest class in the world with over 300,000 boats on the class registers. This may be one reason that the results of the Scotia Bank Caribbean Optimist Regatta were posted on the International Sailing Federation's Web site's Breaking News section just a few paragraphs away from the winner of the Single Handed Trans-Atlantic race and updates from the Bermuda Race.
Most participants, however, will not be coming back looking for fame. They will be coming back looking for the friends they made from around the world at the biggest little regatta in the Caribbean.
