Positive experience for young Maltese sailors in Holland

Karl Cremona and Will Camilleri, Malta's top two ranked Optimist sailors representing the Malta Young Sailors Club (MYSC), have just returned from a week of racing in Holland.

For the first three days, they were invited to join the Swedish Optimist team for a pre-event racing clinic. The Swedes have attended every single Euromed Regatta in Malta since 2000 and as a result have built a solid friendship with the MYSC.

The Optimist dinghy, the largest junior class in the world, is an internationally recognised one-design single-handed craft, where only sailors under the age of 16 years are eligible to take part.

Following the race clinic, Cremona and Camilleri participated in the regatta which included 270 sailors mainly from northern Europe. There were also some from the US. This was top-level competitive racing and in view of the large fleet, the race committee used the first three days of racing as heats to divide the fleet into Gold, Silver and Bronze.

Cremona and Camilleri finished in the Gold fleet. Cremona placed 35th overall and Camilleri 76th.

This fine result is yet another feather in the cap of the MYSC, established 10 years ago with the aim of encouraging and assisting children with their sailing enthusiasm. The founder and Commodore of the club is John Ripard Jr. and the head coach is Jean Paul Fleri Soler.

During their stay in Holland, Cremona and Camilleri met many other young sailors who confirmed their intention to come and participate in the sixth Euromed Championships in December.