Young Cayman sailors excel overseas

Matheo Capasso and his sister Allie Capasso are two Cayman youth sailors who participated in the recent 2023 CORK International Regatta / CORK Olympic Classes Regatta and Sail Canada Youth Championships held in Kingston, Canada, during the week of August 7th to 11th.  Both athletes performed very well in their prospective fleets, the ILCA 6 and ILCA 4, respectively.

Matheo, with sail number CAY 216663, finished eighth place overall in the ILCA 6 Gold Fleet.  There were 48 elite sailors in this fleet with a total of 144 sailors in the entire ILCA 6 fleet, so a great finish for Matheo. Allie, with sail number CAY 208397, also placed eighth place in the ILCA 4 Fleet.  There were 47 sailors competing in this fleet, so Allie also finished well.

The UK ILCA open and national championships also took place last week 19th to 25th August at Hayling Island Sailing Club, on the south coast of Hampshire, England.  Two young Cayman Islands Sailing Club sailors competed in the ILCA 4 class. 

Jaspar Nielsen (17) and Ciara Murphy (15) both finished very strong after 12 races over six days, with Jaspar finishing third overall and Ciara finishing fourth, out of a total entry of 73 sailors.  Ciara also took the first female trophy.   

Ciara said: “The UK Nationals was an interesting event, with a variety of conditions. The first day provided medium winds with the second day building and ending up quite windy.  On the fourth day there was not much wind but just enough to sail in and the fifth day we ended up not sailing. The last day there was just enough wind to sail and we ended the event on a high with three races.”

She confirmed her best race was a second and her worst was a ninth.

“A black flag did make an appearance for me but fortunately I was able to discard it, allowing me to finish fourth overall and first girl,” she said. “It was a tough event and a lot was learned.  It was a tidal venue so I learned how to use the current to my advantage and how to ensure it disturbed my flow in the boat as little as possible.”

Overall, she said she was very happy with how the racing went for both Jaspar and herself.

Both these young athletes will be travelling to Brazil later this year to compete in the Youth Worlds in December.