Team Interlux Clinches Marlow Regatta Article as submitted to The Daily Herald and TODAY by Kathy Gifford.

Simpson Bay Lagoon – Team Interlux, an impressive team of young St. Maarten athletes, won the 10th annual Marlow Regatta. Jolyon Ferron (16), Stephen Looser (16), Rhone Findlay (15), and Saskia Looser (13) pooled their talents and beat the fleet.

The thing that makes this youth team stand out is their ability to work together. Individually talented, they come together like pieces in a puzzle, each equally aware of, and contributing to, the big picture. Well-trained, disciplined, co-operative and keen, they are an unbeatable combination!

In second place came Frits Bus and his team, Rein Korteknie and Roel ten Hopen, of St. Maarten. Eric Baray, of Martinique, sailing with his son, Medhi, and Andrew Dove, of Antigua, took third place as Team North Sails.

Other notable competitors were the recent winner of the Heineken Light Caribbean Laser Championship, Benoit Meesemaeker, of St. Barth’s; Francois de Corlieu, of St. Barth’s; Team Tropical Sailloft which stepped up to the plate after a last minute cancellation; and, the eight young people from the SMYC Youth Sailing Programme who took part in the Regatta.

Sailing in a fleet of one-design Jeanneau 20 sailboats, in strong and shifty winds, ten teams completed nineteen races during the two-day event. Boats were rotated throughout the regatta to keep the playing field level. The racing was tight, with only 6 points between first and third place in the final results. The fleet was always together, demonstrating how evenly-matched the teams were. In one race, there were only 38 seconds between first and last place! This consistency among the teams made the race fulfilling for the participants and exciting for the spectators on the committee boat.

The Marlow Regatta was sponsored by Marlow Rope of the UK. Marlow Rope has been manufacturing high-quality yacht rope for over 200 years, and has been represented in the Caribbean for 25 years by Budget Marine.