NEMWIL Regatta chance for young TT sailors

THE 2003 NEMWIL Southern Caribbean Invitational Regatta to be held from December 28-30 will be the perfect chance for students of the Trinidad and Tobago Sailing Association’s (TTSA) Sailing School to exhibit their skill against South American and regional opposition.

The Trinidad and Tobago training programme began in February this year coinciding with the association’s training programme which taught local coaches to properly train their charges. A Southern Caribbean team was assembled at the end of the two month training period to compete in the 35th Sailing Week of Schoeler hosted by Martinique in March, the team placed in the top ten out of a field of 32. This year’s regatta will see participation from teams from Martinique, St Lucia, Curacao, Venezuela, Grenada, Bequia, Barbados and world-ranked teams from Peru and Argentina. The Peruvian and Argentinean teams will compete in the optimist class, which boasts 20,000 racers worldwide, while the Southern Caribbean will compete in the SR Max, MR 15 and Laser classes.

The Trinidad and Tobago contingent will defend the home waters against this  potent mix of experience and competitive spirit in the four classes when the teams take the water on from the TTSA head quarters. A twelve race itinerary will be run along three days from 10am-5 pm on each day with the competition officially opening on December 27 with a march past of teams in the TTSA courtyard. All races will be run along a course between Five Islands and Tembledora, the five-mark course has been designed to bring out the most skillful of the bunch. It begins with a direct assault on the windward side, which may decide the rest of the race, a rewarding breeze through the reach mark, a slightly challenging sail down the leeward side and return to the starting/finishing point. Coach of the Trinidad and Tobago contingent Jeron Rogers outlined the training and team selection process which involved team members following a strict diet, running 35-40 races and training 7-20 hours a week.

The 20-year-old Rogers, a coach for six years, revealed that they have assembled the best possible team for the regatta and that their preparation and sacrifice should pay off. All the boats involved in the regatta have been specifically measured to ensure uniformity in the field and the boats used by the Trinidad and Tobago team in the MR 15 and SR Max divisions have been developed by Soca Sailboats. Soca Sailboats of Fernandes Industrial Estate, Laventille are renowned for their quality craftsmanship, ingenious design and the Phil Morrison designed dinghies will be a welcome addition to the class. All boats will therefore be on an equal platform when they shove off leaving skill as the only deciding factor during the course of the three day contest.

Furthermore, the association has seen growth in its five-school 36 member outreach programme to the point where one of its beneficiaries, Dion Diaz has been selected for the Trinidad and Tobago team. Diaz, 15, will not compete in the regatta however, as he was also compete in the Orange Bowl Regatta in Miami, Florida carded for the same time. His trip has been fully sponsored to participate inclusive of registration and boat rental fees. Started in 1999 the programme provides free sailing training for youth in the community, it began with two primary schools but has now taken on a broader scale. It seems that with all its development programmes and resultant success, the TTSA is recognising their dream of seeing the discipline of dinghy racing grow on a national scale.