Grenada prepare for sailing festival

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Parent Category: Dec 2011

Category: Week ending Dec 03rd, 2011

Published on Monday, 19 December 2011 16:04

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Great emphasis is being placed on the junior aspect of the 2012 Grenada Sailing Festival due to be held on the weekend of February 4-5, 2012, on the world famous Grand Anse Beach.

The festival was launched during a media briefing that took place last week Wednesday at the Port Louis Marina, Lagoon Road, St. George’s.

Vice-Chairman of the Grenada Festival Committee, Russ Fielden announced that there will be a bigger fleet of talented young sailors taking part in the championship.

Fielden said for the first time, youngsters from Carriacou Junior Sailing Club, as well as the newly formed Grenada Marine Optimist Sailing Club in St. David’s will be racing with the Gouyave Sailing School and the Grenada Yacht Club.

He stated that over 20 keen young sailors are expected to take part in the competition.

“The participation of young sailors in the sport is very essential,” he told reporters.

he Junior Dinghy Sailing Championship is open to youngsters under the age of 16.

Fielden felt that there is need to encourage the young men to participate in the sport of sailing.

“You know the problems with the young generation, certainly the guys, they find themselves disenfranchised more and more these days, and to get them involved in an active sport like sailing, it has got to encourage them with discipline,” he said.

The Grenada Broadcasting Network (GBN) is among a long list of sponsors of the festival that has a budget of $200,000.

GBN’s Acting General Manager, Joah Thomas who was on hand for the launch said in its drive to represent Grenada, GBN has always, in some way, been associated with the Grenada Sailing Festival.

He said the media network has decided to play a major role in the next festival as they are convinced that the event needs to be marked on the calendar.

“It’s important that we have GBN as part of this because we believe that GBN represents what is Grenadian,” he added.

Scotiabank has taken up sponsorship of the Work Boat Regatta.

Country Manager, Robert Frederick said the bank’s alignment with the Work Boat Regatta enables them to target and support the younger members of the community who gravitate towards that aspect of the regatta.

Frederick stressed that whether the budding sailors choose to make it a full vocation or engage in it just for fun, the bank thinks that these are resources that are well directed.

Frederick believes that the sailing festival can help to promote Grenada as a tourist destination.

“We see the sailing festival not only as an event that provides alternative recreation for local Grenadians, but it is a vehicle through which Grenada can present itself to the world as a desirable destination, not only for yachting but the stay-over visitors,” he said.

Chairman of the Grenada Sailing Festival, James Bristol indicated that the involvement of Scotiabank has allowed the event to have the monetary capability to put on a better quality event of a sport that can be described as character building.

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