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by pltm
(PLTM) - Following the conclusion of the 2017 BVI Dinghy Champions at Nanny Cay over the weekend, Rayne Duff came out the overall winner.
The Royal BVI Yacht Club stated that there were 53 boats racing across four fleets as part of two days of spectacular BVI sailing.
Optimist Championship Fleet
29 boats in the Championship fleet sailed twelve races out in the Sir Francis Drake Channel and it was Duff (IVB911) who took the overall win. Not once did Duff finish a race outside the top four and he finished the regatta with seventeen points, a whopping fourteen points ahead of second place finisher Mia Nicolosi (ISV624). After receiving a Black Flag penalty in race two, Nicolosi took three straight bullets but could not find the consistency of Duff over the weekend. A reversal of fortunes from 2016, Duff was delighted to take the title as this will be his last Dinghy Championships racing in the Optimist class.
In third was Caroline Sibilly, from St Thomas Yacht Club and this also gave her the win in the blue fleet in which Nathan Haycraft took second and Winn Majette third, finishing sixth and seventh respectively.
In the white fleet, Tanner Krygsveld from St Thomas was the winner, finishing an impressive twelfth place overall. Robert Richards also from St Thomas was second and the BVI's Kael Chalwell third. Also racing for the BVI were Ryan Lettsome who finished in 20th place, Samuel Allen who finished 24th and Antonio Cisneros. Competing in just his second regatta in the Championship fleet, Cisneros rounded out the weekend with an exceptional sixth place finish in the final race.
Optimist Green
Twelve green fleet sailors had a fantastic weekend, completing a total of 16 races. For some of these sailors it was their first ever regatta and they all did an outstanding job, returning to the beach with lots of smiles and asking for more racing!
Sebastian Medina from Puerto Rico was first overall with Gian Marco Piovanetti taking second and Ben Thill from St Thomas third. Top BVI boat was Amanda Plaxton who claimed her first ever regatta race win and finished just three points behind Thill in fourth. Next up for the BVI was Victoria Rowlette in sixth, Wil Seddon in seventh and De'Sani Thomas in eighth. Racing for the first time were Aidan Catterall, Jayde Fanord and the youngest competitor in the event, Xavier Johnston.
Laser Radial
Six competitors raced in the Laser Radial fleet and it was an intense duel for first and second place throughout the weekend. Daniel Smit from Antigua and Mateo di Blasi from St Thomas exchanged first and second place in every race but it was eventually Smit who prevailed and took the overall win by just one point. Stephon Ganga finished in third overall to take the BVI title and he was followed by Alex Rambarose, Jerome Parkins and Noah George.
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