The St. Maarten Optimist Championship is a 2-day regatta and qualifier for the 2021 Optimist World Championships. This year the event takes place on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 of November. It always attracts racers from the entire Caribbean. Of course the situation this year has made it difficult for some countries to come, however we are still looking at an awesome event with sailors from Antigua, St. Barth and both the French and Dutch sides of St. Maarten. It is also the 15th anniversary hosted by the Sint Maarten Yacht Club (SMYC).
The SMYC is hosting this event to invest in the future of youth and sailors. With the help of our sponsors and their generous ongoing support for this event, we hopefully can host this event for many more years to come.
Antiguan sailor Ozani Lafond was the overall winner of last years’ Championship.
“St. Maarten has 5 excellent sailors that are going to compete in this years’ race and we are very anxious to see how they are going to perform during the 15th edition of the St. Maarten Optimist Championship” says Saskia Revelman, the new race coach of the Sint Maarten Yacht Club.
We will have two sailors in the Blue Fleet, Caii Banting and last years’ Orange Fleet racer, Adriaan Coppelmans, who has moved up to the Blue Fleet having improved his skills tremendously this past year.
Entry fee for the St. Maarten Optimist Championship is $95 for both days and includes lunch on Saturday and Sunday, Domino’s Pizza on Saturday and a snack on Sunday after racing, drinks and snacks on both days. Sailors arriving Friday can go on a practice sail on one of the club boats at no charge pending time and availability.
This years’ sponsors for goodies and prizes includes Divico Cash & Carry, Remax Island Properties, Domino’s Pizza and The Scuba Shop. Bob Hilbert sportswear created special rash guards for all participants. More sponsors will be announced soon.
For more information go to our website: www.smyc.com/optimist-championship or contact Leonde Vermeulen: leonde@smyc.com
