April 22, 2004 – Sailors from the St. Croix Yacht Club and the Frederiksted Community Boating, Inc. engaged in friendly competition in mid April.
The Frederiksted group hosted an invitational on Saturday, April 17th from the Changes in L’Attitude Beach/Restaurant.
For the first time in the three years of the event, Frederiksted was able to offer competition using two fleets: wooden prams for beginner sailors and a sunfish fleet for the seasoned skippers
The sunfish were donated by individuals and refurbished by the students in the Marine Technology Program at the St. Croix Educational Complex, under the direction of instructor Francois Cousins.
According to a press release from Frederiksted Boating Community, the winners of the East vs. West event were as follows:
Pram Class
First place, Challis Diaz , St. Croix Yacht Club
Second place, Jake Curtis, St. Croix Yacht Club
Third place, Haley Allick, Frederiksted Community Boating Inc.
Sunfish
First place, Jay Tonachel/Shane Ryan-Battelier , St. Croix Yacht Club
Second place, Curtis Diaz/Billy Gibbons, St. Croix Yacht Club
Third place, Stephanie Melanga/Josh Curtis, St. Croix Yacht Club
"We congratulate the St. Croix Yacht Club sailors and will wait for a rematch next year," said Wilfred Allick, head coach of Fredriksted.
The coach elaborated, "Presently our sailing team cannot easily practice to prepare for these events. Although we have a site designated for our headquarters, next to the fisherman’s pier in Frederiksted, the cost of a security system to allow us to keep the boats and equipment on the site is daunting. However, we are proceeding with whatever it takes to secure the area and encourage the neighborhood to be receptive, supportive, and learn to sail in the new facility."
The next scheduled event for the Frederiksted racing team is the Sunfish Championship Regatta at SCYC during the Memorial Day weekend.
The summer sailing camp is currently registering children between eight and 15 years of age. Contact information can be obtained from the FCB website at www.ussailing.net/fcb.
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