New national Optimist champion Titi Kaukura

Two days of racing at Muri lagoon resulted in a new National Optimist Champion for the Cook Islands this week with five sailors from Aitutaki sailing Club and four from Rarotonga Sailing Club taking part.

Thirteen-year-old Titi Kaukura of Aitutaki Sailing Club (ASC) wound up a very consistent performance over the ten races finishing five points ahead of second place getter Eseta Ailamaoumaua and Duane George coming in third place. The weather was similar each day with winds getting up to around 12 knots in the middle part of the day and then getting softer in the afternoon. In the light shifty conditions a good level of concentration was a real bonus and Kaukura sailed a very good series with five firsts, one second and two third places.

Rarotonga Sailing Club as host club had prepared for the championships by holding a ISAF Race Management Course run by International Judge Andre Raoult, who now lives in Rarotonga.

Following on from the course in Aitutaki last year which set up Aitutaki and Manihiki Sailing Clubs with race management officials, this course will mean that RSC can now run quality races for the big junior fleets on Saturdays. Those who attended the course have really enjoyed learning about the responsibilities of events and really enjoyed the practical test of running these championships. Being out on the water and seeing the level of competitiveness between these young sailors representing their clubs was very entertaining.

One of the top performances of the regatta would have to be 10-year-old Tyler Davis who blasted through the fleet to record a 3rd and a 2nd in the last two races of the day.

Cook Islands National Optimist Championships for Silver Fleet will be held April 16-18 also hosted by Rarotonga Sailing Club. There will be a bigger fleet competing and our sailing family all look forward to seeing these new sailors take each other on.