Yachting: 2023 Optimist African Championship |10 May 2023

Odysius Melanie finished 52nd overall (Photo: Contributed)

Melanie and Allcorn finish 52nd and 63rd respectively

Local Optimist sailors Odysius Melanie and Joshua Allcorn have only managed to finish 52nd and 63rd respectively at the 2023 Optimist African Championship which took place in M’diq, Morocco from May 2-9.

For the event which was being hosted by the Royal M’diq Yacht Club, Melanie and Allcorn were being accompanied by coach Francis Duval, while Alain Alcindor headed the delegation.

Considered the largest Optimist African Championship for many years, particularly since the Covid-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the event for two years, the event attracted young sailors, not only from African nations but also from many international countries.

A total of 89 sailors from Seychelles, Angola, Egypt, Libya, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Tanzania and Tunisia were vying for the African Championship title, along with those from Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Hong Kong, Argentina, Latvia, Spain and the United Arab Emirates who travelled a great distance to take part in the event.

The event was officially launched by vice-president of the International Optimist Dinghy Association (IODA) for Africa, Asia and Oceania Ajay Narang, followed by the parade of nations through the centre of town.

For the eight-race regatta, Melanie finished with a nett 151 points after having discarded his race two result ‒ 46th  – from the total of 197 points he had accumulated.

His performance at the competition – race one (18th), race two (46th), race three (15th), race four (31st), race five (20th), race six (28th), race seven (15th), and race eight (24th) ‒ placed him 52nd overall.

As for Allcorn, he finished with a nett score of 187 points after the result of his first race (34th) was discraded from his accumulated total of 221 points.

Alcorn’s performance was as follows – race one (34th), race two (25th), race three (22nd), race four (30th), race five (22nd), race six (34th), race seven (32nd), race eight (37th) ‒ placing him 63rd overall.

It was Argentine Pichetti who finished as champion with a nett of eight points, followed by compatriot Juan Sebastian Properzi who accumulated a nett of 28 points.

Spaniard Alejandro Valero Ruiz was third overall with a nett of 31 points, while French Julie Tricaud-Revil finished fourth overall with a net of 34 points, ahead of compatriot Raphael Olsthoorn who accumulated a nett of 37 points.

The highest ranked African sailor at the event was Angolan Augusto Luis Amaro who finished 25th overall with a nett of 101 points.

He was followed by Mozambican Antonio De Sousa Junior who was 29th overall with a nett of 109 points, while another Angolan, namely Francisco Cardoso Cândido finished 30th overall with a nett of 121 points.

Roland Duval