Seventeen participants raced in the first day of the Hoedemaker Series, January 27. The Hoedemaker Series is part of the Grant Thornton Dinghy Season Championship and is hosted and organized by the Sint Maarten Yacht Club. This first day, competitors from the Friars Bay Sailing School, Club de Voile de Fryers Bay joined the regatta.
The race committee, led by sailing instructor and race officer Grace Cheasley, was able to start four races for three different classes: Laser, Optimist and RS Zest.
With two competitors in the RS Zest class, Robbie Ferron took the win over Massimo Lapierre, who came in second.
The Optimist class was the biggest, with ten participants. Nathan Sheppard from the Sint Maarten Yacht Club (SMYC) came third in the day results, winning one race. Sarah Michaux from the Club de Voile de Fryers Bay finished second. Corentine Corroy came in first, with three races won and one fourth place finish.
Racing Coach Sam Peeks said of the Optimists: “We are training hard with the young sailors in the Optimist group, every Wednesday, to introduce them to racing. It is great to see that more and more sailors feel comfortable enough to join a race. Sophia Chamas participated in her first race last Saturday, and she finished all her races.”
The Laser Class race committee saw five participants. Francener Faustin from the SMYC finished third; Emma Lennox, also representing the SMYC, came second; and Emilien Le Normand finished first, representing the Club de Voile de Fryers Bay, only one point ahead of Lennox.
Full results for Hoedemaker Day 1 can be found on the Sint Maarten Yacht Club website; visit www.smyc.com/dinghy-series.
