St Vincent and the Grenadines Sailing Association (SVGSA) recently completed sail camps in the Southern Grenadines. The tour included visits to Canouan, Mayreau and Union Island.
The inaugural tour is part of a programme to teach new sailors for fun, a future job or even
uncover some Olympic talent. It is hoped that inter-island competition will bring the islands
closer together from a sailing perspective.
The “learn to sail” camps created 15 new sailors in Canouan and Union Island with a visit to
Mayreau to observe coaching that will coincide with the upcoming sailing coaches course.
One of the highlights was a chance for the Canouan junior sailors to sail at Sandy Lane Yacht
Club.
The training boats were transported from St Vincent on a yacht provided by Barefoot Yacht Charters. Given the success of the tour, the SVGSA are working with their sponsors to have a
permanent fleet of training boats based on the islands, along with the newly trained coaches.
President of the SVG Sailing Association Jenny Trumble said “The SVGSA exists to promote sailing throughout St Vincent and the Grenadines. Over the past few years the “learn to sail
programme has created over 70 new sailors on St Vincent and we wanted to take this programme to all the islands. ”
Albert Olliverre, a keen supporter of sailing in Canouan said “These islands have a great sailing heritage and its fantastic to see the young children learning to sail”.
“This make my heart thunder with joy, we have to continue to make this happen to give hope to our youths and their families.” said Wayne Regis of Union Island who took the opportunity to jump in a boat with his son and pass on his sailing knowledge.
Joseph Scott-Lennon Resort Manager at the Sandy Lane Yacht Club added “The SLYC, as a strong supporter of both grassroots sailing and the local community, was more than happy
to welcome the junior sailors.”