Cayman sailor wins at Bahamas championships
Matheo Capasso sailing at the regatta
(CNS Local Life): Matheo Capasso won all three of his first-day races on his way to to claiming the overall title at the Bahamas Optimist National Championships held in Freeport 7-8 October. Capasso, representing the Cayman Islands Sailing Club (CISC), dominated the fleet in near picture perfect conditions on day one. Winds were steady between 12 and 15 knots and the nice rolling waves made for conditions that favoured the 12-year-old Cayman sailor, stated a press release.
The Bahamian fleet rallied back hard, coming out in full force on day two of the regatta. In slightly less favourable conditions, Capasso had to work hard to maintain his lead. At the end of day two, Capasso had won two of the three races and, after a strategic error at the beginning of race three, was able to rally back to finish the last race of the regatta in second place, missing taking over the lead by mere seconds.
He scored a near perfect seven points (six first placements would be a perfect score) to win not only the Blue category for sailors between the age of 10 and 12 but also to win the overall regatta title (sailors 15 and under). This is the first time in memory that the Bahamas regatta has been won by a sailor in the Blue fleet, the release said.
Capasso’s next regatta is at the Coconut Grove Sailing Club in Miami, 28-29 October, where he will be joined by two of his teammates, George Hider and Jaspar Nielsen. The CISC Optimist team has a busy season planned in the run-up to the North American Opti Championships to be held in Mexico in June, where they hope to send a full team of four sailors.
