They call it a Regatta. A sailing Regatta. For the past three days, beginning at 11:00, small sailing boats appear. The boats are small and many. The sight is marvelous with all these tiny boats crossing our balcony. How the instructors can keep track of all those little boats beats me. At one point this afternoon I counted 75 boats.
Yesterday when I was having my pedicure, at least 20 young men came for breakfast at the Mall, all wearing blue shirts and saying Sail West. They were the instructors for the Regatta. They were in their 20's and fit, with all wearing backpacks. The. first thing we notice at sea is boats setting up several courses. Rita and Ian walked past the students on Thursday at the marina beside Paradise Village. The students were learning how to set up the sails and seemed to be novices from age 10 to 15.
The drill the first day is for the boats to be towed out into the bay with each boat equally spaced from each other. Then they are turned loose. At first they play follow the leader in small groups of 6 or 8. Then they try to race around the course set up earlier in the day. Sometimes, a larger group of 20 or so get together only to break apart. For me, it must be a nightmare to keep track of all those little boats. For us, it was just fun watching what was going on at any time.
Today, many boats were towed. but in addition, at least 30 sailed out by themselves. They have clearly increased expertise. The little boats appear by 11:00 and were beginning back home base by 5:00. Those young people must have been tired. And I hope they were wearing sunscreen and a hat as yesterday and today there was full sun. The little boats head out so far we can barely see them. Then they return safe and sound. We have had great fun watching this operation. And clearly, the students are becoming better sailers, which of course is the whole point. For us on the balcony, the scene is great entertainment.
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