Young Royalist ties for Overall Trophy with veteran sailor
View(s):Held under brilliant blue skies and sunshine, the island’s flagship sailing event saw 43 boats and almost 60 sailors battle steady winds between 15 to 17 knots, with gusts reaching up to 20 knots, in an exhausting day of intense combat. The gusty conditions churned up choppy seas, making boat manoeuvring particularly challenging and exciting for the competitors. The weather made for exhilarating racing and tested the mettle of both experienced and young sailors across four competitive races.
Competitors raced in Optimist, GP 14, Enterprise, Laser and Open Class, the Open Class featuring a mix of ILCA 4, 5, 6, 7, GP 14 and Enterprise boats. The GP14 and Enterprise classes, both double-handed (two-person) dinghies, added an extra layer of coordination and strategy to the racing. A handicap system was applied for the open class to ensure fair competition across the different boat categories.
This year also marked the first-time participation of two sailors from Jaffna in the Under-15 Optimist class – a step forward in expanding the sport’s reach across Sri Lanka. Despite a few collisions and equipment failures that forced some competitors to withdraw, the races continued with unrelenting energy. The regatta used a scoring format where each sailor’s worst race was discarded and the average of the best three determined final positions.
Minuga Hettigamage, an Under-17 ILCA 4 sailor from Royal College, clinched victory in the Laser class, outperforming larger and more powerful boats. He also placed second overall in the Open category, tied in points but edged out on countback.
(Standing from left): Minuga Hettigamage, A.S.K. Zoysa, J.P.S. de Silva, A.M.J.P. Attanayake, P.D.D.S. Rajapaksha, U.D. Rajapaksha, J.H.M.P. Jayapathma, A.G.P. Asanka, L.A.C.M. Gunathilaka (Seated from left): Hasanda Hirunaka, Anuruth Tennakoon, Akaine Ubayasiri, Haren Wickramatillake
“The gusts were really high, and I capsised once but I had good starts” said Hettigamage.
“It was amazing to win competing with some of the best sailors out there.”
The undisputed star of the regatta, Navy Sailing Team’s P.D.D.S. Rajapaksha, claimed the overall title for a record-breaking fourth time. An eight-time national sailing champion, Rajapaksha credited his success to the strength of the team behind him.
“I’ve sailed these waters many times, but this year’s conditions pushed all of us to our limits. Winning here again, against such tough, younger competition, means a great deal,” said Rajapaksha.
“A tie for the overall trophy between Navy’s Rajapaksha and the young Royalist Minuga shows that the younger sailors are a force to be reckoned with,” said Lalin Jirasinha, Commodore of the RCYC.
“It was yet another successful regatta with superb sailing conditions in Trincomalee. We couldn’t have done with without the support of the Trinco Blu, The Yachting Association of Sri Lanka, the
Sri Lanka Navy, sailors and their families.”
The regatta included three days of intensive training for all sailors, conducted by former Olympic veteran sailor Jirasinha, National Coach Krishan Janaka, and ILCA National Coach Roshil Nisantha.
The RCYC-Trinco Blu Sailing Regatta is one of the most prestigious events on Sri Lanka’s sailing calendar. With its support for marine sports, Trinco Blu by Cinnamon has played a key role in elevating the regatta to a must-attend event. It was also the scheduled venue for the Enterprise World Championship in 2004 when the tsunami struck.
“Though the 2004 event was cancelled, most international participants declined refunds, and the funds were instead used to support tsunami victims,” said Jirasinha, “an enduring testament to the solidarity within the global sailing community.”
| Results | |
Overall challenge trophy results based on boat handicap
Overall Laser/ILCA (ILCA 4,
GP-14 Class
Enterprise Class
Optimist Class – U-15
Special Award
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