2011 San Pedro Belize Optimist Class National Championship Regatta

I am being a bad girl and bribing myself with a coffee this morning – trying quit while I am still sick. Being extra cautious as Cindy’s cold lasted 3 weeks and ended up to the point where she had to start doctors visits and medication in order to kick it – I do not want to go that far.

I will leave you with a brief update from Forrest regarding the National Championship Regatta story & results and their delay. I know he meant for it to go to press only but I found it amusing and wanted to share it with you. It has been interesting to hear different peoples versions of what they did during the power and water outage, or how it affected them.

An ALL DAY and ALL NIGHT power outage in San Pedro that began early Sunday Morning and lasted until Monday afternoon prevented us from collecting all the information we needed from various sources to promptly provide you with what you may need to tell the story of the regatta. I lost a day and a half.  I am just getting it all in now and should have something decent for you very shortly.

Best, Forrest Jones, Press Officer, San Pedro Sailing Club

2011 Belize Optimist Class National Championship Regatta For sailors age 8 – 14.

Regatta Date: Saturday, November 12, 2011
Regatta Location: Caribbean Villas Hotel, San Pedro Town, Ambergris Caye, Belize.

Qualifying Races 38 Children from around Belize were selected by their trainers and invited to sail in the National Championship Regatta . Each race consisted of two laps around a regulation Olympic triangular course.

With only 19 boats available, the 38 divided up into two groups and the finals consisted of 5 races.

The spreadsheet PDF below shows how each skipper finished in all five races. The worst finish for each skipper is tossed out, so only his or her best 4 races count. Any examination of the Finals spreadsheet will tell a story of determination and endurance. After surviving a qualifier, the sailors dueled one another for 5 more races. They sailed under grey skies, in chop, and in the face of gusting, variable, winds that became very strong for the last two races. Some skippers who placed well in the early races encountered fatigue, faced difficulty concentrating in the late going, and lost their edge.

Heart is what all of these sailors showed the crowd, and at the end of the day, 4 of them showed endurance as well as especially fine seamanship and sailing skills: Although he finished out of the trophy places, Sea Scout Joshua Potts, skippering boat 25, missed 3rd place by only 1 point, while outdistancing his nearest competitor for 4th by a full 11 points. It was another Sea Scout, Joshua McKenzie, in boat 25, who edged Josh Potts out to win the 3rd place trophy. Only 4 points separated Joshua McKenzie from the Second Place finisher, San Pedro Permit team leader David Puc in boat 3, Palo Alto.

The Belize National Champion The Belize Optimist Class 2011 National Champion sailed to a very quiet and very efficient racing-clinic victory. His final score was 2 points less than perfect, and that is no mean feat. His coaches say, “Hmmm….. He was our dark horse.” So, Belize, meet your National Champion: Alexander Rhaburn, age 11, of Holy Cross Anglican School, San Pedro Town, Ambergris Caye. Alexander sailed to victory in boat 23 sponsored by San Pedro Weather .com. In his best 4 races he took a very convincing 3 Firsts and a Third.

A photo of Alexander and one of him after winning the last race below. For visuals, we have relied on spectators to post their photos and videos on the San Pedro Sailing Club Facebook page. As of 8:45 am, Tuesday, Nov. 15, the photos that appear on that page are those posted by Amanda Syme and by professional photographer Jose Luis Zapata (610-4267). Courtesy would require that you ask Luis’ permission to use his. Rebecca Coutant of San Pedro Scoop gave permission the photo of the fleet below. For 69 more photos, go to amateur photographer Peter Jones’ facebook page, who gave me permission to use them, knowing that I would release them to the press.

Respectfully submitted,
Forrest Jones, Press Officer, San Pedro Sailing Club

San Pedro Belize Optimist Regatta data pdf