The Malta Young Sailors Club ended 2005 on a high with the successful organisation of the Euromed Malta Championship. Now, the club is cruising into the New Year under full sails by having ten of their gallant youngsters competing in the Dubai Junior Regatta.
From a modest launch six years ago, where 25 competitors from 10 nations took part, the Dubai Junior Regatta made remarkable headway and this year it is expected to attract over 130 competitors from 18 nations, a feat well pronounced in the event's promotion slogan as being 'the world's biggest junior sailing event'.
On this fifth Dubai Junior Regatta the Malta team will have eight sailors in the Optimist Class and two in the Laser 4.7.
The Optimist Sailing Dinghy, the largest junior class in the world, is an internationally recognised one design single-handed sailing craft, where only sailors under the age of 16 years are eligible to contest.
The Malta team in the Optimist will be made up of Karl Cremona (15 years), Gabriel Pace (13), Thomas Zammit Tabona (12), Ella Marie Fleri Soler (13), Sarah Manduca (12), Matthew Scicluna (14), Sean Borg (13) and Lee Gauci (13).
Seventeen-year-old Elizabeth Apap Bologna and her brother Richard, 15, will be competing in the Laser 4.7 Class.
Following a convincing performance last year where she attained second place in the local Laser 4.7 ranking and a third in the Euromeds, Apap Bologna goes to Dubai in high spirit.
Her positive attitude should help her face the strong challenge anticipated in the Laser class especially from Sweden's Cecilla Strombeck, Egyptian sisters Dina and Rania Ramadan, and Belgian twosome Charlotte Chauver and Adeline Stals.
Maltese sailors have been participating in the Dubai Junior Regatta ever since its launching in 2000.
On that occasion, Matthew Fleri Soler and Emma Micallef placed 11th and 15th overall respectively.
The second edition, in 2002, was a memorable one for the locals when Fleri Soler was first overall with Cremona attaining third place overall and first in the Cadet Class.
That year, in addition to these individual achievements, Malta also won the Team Cup. Further to Fleri Soler and Cremona, the other members of the Malta team were Benji Borg, Jan Rossi, Simon Psaila, Daniel Calascione and Thomas Ripard.
Jean Paul Fleri Soler, with vast international experience in windsurfing, has been the head coach of the Malta Young Sailors Club for the past six years now.
He is also one of the enthusiastic and dedicated parents behind the MYSC whose ambition and satisfaction is that of seeing their children active in sailing.
"The Dubai Regatta is a great event with the highest level of organisation.
"Over the past two years the standard has evolved immensely and is attracting top sailors of world repute," he remarked.
Latest news from Dubai confirm the tough challenge our youngsters will be facing.
Holland, winners of the Dubai Trophy for the best overall team last year, will be returning to defend their title as will be doing South Africa, winners of the Laser title, an award strongly challenged in 2005 by the Dutch and Bahrain.
Sweden, who last year not only had Karin Alkstedt crowned overall Optimist Class winner but dominated this category, will be back with a strong team. Denmark and Switzerland, second and third classified respectively, will also be there.
Among the names that stand out in their respective country's line-up, one notes Jeslynhe Bonde (Denmark), the current European champion, Jacub Lundqvist (Sweden), ninth in Europeans 2005, and Erika Fredrikson (Switzerland) 15th in Europeans. Sweden's national champion Carl Strombeck and Italy's no.2 Leonardo Dubbini are two other names who figure out prominently among the various top multi-national sailors in Dubai.
Concurrently with the Optimist and Laser Classes, the organisers will be staging the Dubai Match Race, which is definitely giving the world's largest junior sailing event an esteemed standing.
This will be the first of many match racing events to be hosted by the Dubai International Marine Club as part of its ongoing drive to boost the popularity of sailing in the area and ultimately lead to possible representation in the America's Cup.
Chairing a 14-strong panel of race officials in Dubai will be Tony Lockett from Great Britain. He was principle race officer for the sailing events at the Athens Olympics.
The regatta is organised by the Dubai International Marine Club in conjunction with the UAE Marine Sport Federation and world body, ISAF. The main sponsors are Emirates Airlines.
With regards to the Malta team, the participation of the local youngsters materialised only through the individual commitment and financial support of the parents.