Sailing Regatta at St. George's Caye

Our first weekend here on the island we saw a bunch of Optimists practicing down the beach. Liam and I walked down to the dock closest to the boats, where we met Tammy, one of the coaches of the San Pedro Junior Sailing Club. She explained how the club works, told us to talk to Randy about getting Liam signed up for lessons, and invited us to attend the regatta at St. George's Caye the next weekend. Of course, we accepted!

As it happens, the regatta was part of the September 1st opening of the celebrations for St. George's Caye Day, which celebrates the victory of the English Baymen against the Spanish (more about this in a future post). We took a chartered water taxi from Ambergris Caye to St. George's Caye, and it was completely decked out in patriotic Belizean fashion.

Flying the flag

Enjoying the ride with Liam

Juice!

Monument commemorating the battle

Cannon used in the battle

Rounding the windward mark (photo courtesy of the amazing Tony Rath)

Optis on the race course (photo courtesy of SPJSC)

Liam enjoying the beach (photo courtesy of SPJSC)

The regatta was great fun to watch, and the route was a bit different than the typical windward-leeward race courses I'm used to in the States. The kids all sailed Optimists, and the race course was more of a triangle shape, with a windward and two reaching/running legs. An incoming storm (that actually skirted us to the south) made for a very dramatic backdrop. The San Pedro team performed very well, and will have at least two sailors advancing to the national championship.

We were looked after by Juice, a very energetic and helpful fellow who made sure we ate lunch and got on the boat when it was time to head home. We were on a boat with the mayor of San Pedro and the Minister of Tourism (!) but I did not talk with either of them very much. Maybe after I've been here a bit longer and can converse intelligently about local and national affairs.

It was a great day-trip, and was a really wonderful way to experience another of Belize's numerous cayes.