ORIENT BAY-- After two days racing in Orient Bay and around Tintamarre island, Sunday saw the final and long-awaited race around the island of Sint Maarten/ Saint-Martin, the highlight of the 2021 Caribbean Foiling Championships.
This year the rapidly-growing Wing Foil class was added to the Kite Foil and Wind Foil classes. The around island race could not be held for the first edition last year due to unusually light winds, but this year saw the exact opposite for the three-day championships with consistent winds in the 20-knot range putting big smiles on the fleet of 35 international participants from 14 countries.
To make sure all competitors were at an adequate level to participate in the around the island Race, a qualifying race was held from Orient Bay to around Tintamarre and back. To qualify successfully, competitors had to cross the finish line within 15 minutes of the first finisher.
With strong winds and possible showers forecasted, experienced racing judge for the French Sailing Federation of Guadeloupe, Sacha Daunar, decided weather conditions were fine to compete and departure was set at 10:00am with wing foils leaving first, kite foil leisure and wind foil second and kite foil professional category last. Getting closer to Philipsburg, the kite foils streaked ahead.
Priority was given to ensuring safety for all competitors. Safety boats were posted in several locations around the island. All riders could be tracked in real time with a sim card provided by Dauphin Telecom. Two riders had to be rescued by the safety boats, due to gear issue and fatigue, but no incidents were reported.
‘’Amazing! Incredible! Epic!’’ exclaimed Wing Foilers Sammy Martin, Travis McGarry and Jan Enderslev, comparing their Strava courses after arriving in Long Bay,
The 14-strong Wing Foiler class were doing a half around the island tour, leaving from Orient Bay heading south to Philipsburg then to Long Bay. Théo Demanez was the only one attempting the around the island race in Wing Foil, setting the record at 2: 53 minutes and the first one to do it.
Lucas Marot and Bruno Kancel in the Wind Foil class said it was a difficult race in strong wind and waves conditions with a couple hard falls. Sacha Fortuné was prepared to face even more intense conditions and said he enjoyed it overall. Lucas Marot set the record at 2: 10 minutes and all Wind Foils arrived within 2: 30.
In the Kite Foil Leisure category, riders went around the island in less than two hours, with Félix Bellais completing the tour in 1: 28 minutes.
In the Professional Kite Foil category, the race was intense with the two leaders trading first and second place frequently. Four riders beat the previous record of 1: 29 minutes established three years ago by Guadeloupean Sebastien Queney. World class pro windsurfer Julien Quentel from St. Martin completed the circumnavigation in a phenomenal 1:12. Antigua’s Tiger Tyson, last year’s overall winner, finished second in 1:30.
The following are the overall results from the first two days and Sunday: Wing Foil Races: 1. Chucho Nonnot, 2. JérômeThebault 3. Manuel ‘’Kiko’’ Dalmau. Wing Foil around the island: 1.Theo Demanez, 2. Jérôme Thebault, 3. Manuel ‘’Kiko’’ Dalmau.
Wind Foil Races: 1. Sacha Fortune, 2. Lucas Marot, 3. Maëlle Guilbaud. Wind Foil around the island :1. Lucas Marot; 2. Bruno Kance, 3 Sacha Fortuné.; Kite Foil Leisure races: 1. Felix Bellais, 2. Franck Balvay, 3. Mahé Thebault; Kite Foil Leisure around the island: 1. Felix Bellais, 2. Franck Balvay, 3 Erwan Jauffroy. Kite Foil Professional Races: 1. Julien Quentel, 2. Tiger Tyson, 3. Nell de Jaham. Kite Foil Professional around the island: 1. Julien Quentel, 2. Tiger Tyson, 3. Mahe Stakelborough.
Organisers Sacha van der Wouden and Maxim van den Pol said loyal sponsors and supporters made this second edition of the Caribbean Foiling Championships a great success, not forgetting the contribution of those who helped out on logistics and safety, to volunteers, to competitors coming all the way from different islands and countries, and finally to the race committee. They are convinced that this event is positive for the island of Sint Maarten/ Saint-Martin and will continue to grow. Competitors are already looking forward to next year’s edition.
