About 16 yachts are expected to contest a newly designed West Coast route in the First Citizens J24 Open Championship in Holetown next weekend.
Four races are scheduled for Saturday, and another four for Sunday.
An update on the championship was given by Greg Webster, president of the J24 Club of Barbados, during a media conference on Friday at the Drift Lounge.
Webster disclosed that this was the first time that the two-day regatta would be shifted from the south coast and the new course was designed to bring the action close to spectators, along the boardwalk in Holetown.
Barbados’ top sailors will be in action along with sailors from Trinidad and Tobago, St Lucia and Grenada.
Competitors are anticipating good winds for the event and Webster said this should make racing more challenging and competitive.
This is the fourth year that First Citizens Investment Services has partnered with the J24 Club in supporting the regatta and other charity fund-raisers. Marketing officer Sharon Small said they were happy to be associated with the event and the work of the club.
“We like to invest in our community and in supporting this event we are also supporting sports-tourism which is of great importance to the island. Supporting the J24 Club provides another opportunity for us to give back to the community,” she said.
The regatta is the fifth in a series of six being contested by the island’s top sailors for the right to be called the 2013 national champions.
The Impulse team, skippered by Neil Burke, are the defending national champions but are under pressure to retain the title as HawkEye, skippered by Robert Povey, are leading the standings. (PR)
