ANTIGUA YACHT CLUB

Members of Antigua Yacht Club and the National Sailing Academy’s youth sailing programs, young Antiguan sailors Louis Bavay and Rocco Falcone visited Lake Garda, Italy earlier this month to represent Antigua and Barbuda in the 51st Optimist World Championships in Lake Garda, Italy.  The 10-day regatta took place from July 15 to 26 in a variety of conditions on the Italian Lake.

Reports coming from Paola Vittoria, Rocco's mother and team chaperone, at about the half way point of the regatta were that the sailors had experienced some very windy days with wind speeds of over 20 knots.  Some lighter wind conditions were also experience and the young Antigua sailors had outstanding results in some of their early races.

Louis Bavay finished in 20th and 13th position in two out of six races - amazing results considering he is very young with most competitors being either 14 or 15 years old.  Rocco managed 25nd, 32nd and 39th place finishes.

After six races with 259 competitors from 59 countries, Louis Bavay was standing in 181st position overall, with Rocco Falcone close behind in 192nd place.  With six more races to go in the second half of the regatta, there was ample opportunity for the two Antiguan youngsters to improve their positions.

The next report came from Paola at the end of 10 long days of competition which saw both good and not so good results from Louis and Rocco, but there was no doubt that they had shown great improvement in their sailing skills overall.

This World Championship Regatta was Louis' best regatta so far, showing great talent with his best finishing places being between 12th and 42nd in a huge fleet.  He finished in 187th position overall at the end of the regatta, leaving a large number of sailors behind him.

Rocco also had some great race results with a 16th place finish on the last day.  His final position was 216th overall.

Everyone is exceptionally happy with the great results from these two young sailors and they're already looking forward to the next big competition, including three more World Championships in the next three years!

Congratulations to Louis Bavay and Rocco Falcone and all of their coaches, trainers and supporters.

Rocco Falcone trading his life jacket with a sailor from Norway who is now a great friend!

Photos compliments of Paola Vittoria.

For full results of the Optimist World Championships, click here.