The 2025 TUUCI Orange Bowl International Youth Regatta finally found its rhythm on Biscayne Bay as a stubborn lack of wind gave way to a steady enough breeze for the Bermuda contingent to launch their campaigns. After a testing period of inactivity that left sailors and coaches alike watching the horizon, the arrival of the wind allowed for a full day of high-stakes racing across multiple fleets.
In the highly competitive Optimist Division, the patience of the young sailors was rewarded with four races completed in quick succession. Thomas McBain emerged as the leading Bermudian performer, currently sitting in 73rd place overall with 111 points. McBain showed significant improvement as the day progressed, peaking with an impressive 12th-place finish in the fourth and final race of the afternoon. He is followed closely by Rex Henagulph in 82nd position, who matched that 12th-place feat earlier in the day during race two, ending the session with 120 points.
Further down the leaderboard, the Bermudian fleet showed flashes of brilliance despite the heavy traffic on the water. Aaron Riker occupies 113th place after a strong 29th-place showing in his final outing, while Miguel Leite and Ishmael Dill find themselves separated by just two points in 142nd and 144th respectively. Leite’s highlight came with a 28th in the second race, while Dill managed a 32nd in that same heat. Calypso Coulter currently holds 157th, ahead of Benjamin De Couto in 166th and Alfie Jansma in 169th. Jansma notably recovered from a difficult start to post a superb 19th-place finish in the fourth race of the day.
The lower end of the Optimist standings features Hudson Pitcher in 197th and James De Couto in 198th, both of whom found their best form in the closing race. Ethan Adelsberg sits in 207th, having secured a 60th-place finish in the third heat, while Leo De Couto rounds out the group in 212th after showing remarkable consistency with 59th-place finishes in both the second and fourth races.
In the ILCA classes, Bermuda’s representatives thrived in the slightly more stable conditions. Sean Pedro leads the charge in the ILCA4 division, occupying 21st place overall after four races. Pedro started the regatta with intent, recording a best finish of 17th in the opening race to keep himself within touching distance of the top twenty.
The standout performance of the regatta so far belongs to Miguel Power in the ILCA7 fleet. Competing across five total races, Power has navigated the tactical challenges of Biscayne Bay with maturity to sit 8th overall. His regatta began with a sensational second-place finish in the opening race, and with a net total of 22 points, he remains firmly in contention as the fleet looks ahead to the final stages of competition.
|
