The Optimist North American Championship, Optinam 2015, gets underway today, Tuesday, July 7, 2015 in Antigua with four Virgin Islands’ sailors competing against 23 other countries. The event, which runs from July 5 – 13, takes place out of Nelson’s Dockyard, English Harbour.

The VI’s four-member team includes Max Rechilitoff, (red fleet) Kyle Roose, (blue fleet) Nathan Haycraft (red fleet) and Rayne Duff (blue fleet).

Today is the first day of the qualification series (spanning 3 days) and sailors are to race in three groups (“fleets”) of 54 competitors each, starting at 11:00am.

Monday, July 6, 2015 was a practice day and with winds blowing at 13 to 15 knots, was the less windy of the days since most of the teams arrived in Antigua, it was a relief for some and an opportunity to relax for others.
The practice race saw nearly 40 sailors on the course side with a U flag which has been the norm for many years, (even to cross the finishing line in first place is considered bad luck), and only 20 of the sailors in each fleet “finished” the race.

There were only two fleets for the practice race: sailors with odd sail numbers and sailors with even sail numbers.

Shore side activities included finishing the measurement whereby all teams completed the ‘race management’ entry requirements. A short and quiet team leaders’ meeting took place, followed by the first coaches’ meeting, at which the race officers and judges introduced themselves and gave an overview of their goals and expectations from the teams.

The Seaboard Marine Optimist North American Championship 2015 is being organised by the Antigua Yacht Club under the authority of the International Optimist Dinghy Association (IODA).

There are 162 participants entered, representing 23 countries: Argentina, Belize, Bermuda, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Cayman, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands Antilles, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, St Lucia, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Switzerland, Uruguay, USA, US Virgin Islands and Antigua.