Caribbean Times 5th Issue - Friday 30th September 2016

20 c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g
Friday 30th September 2016
Sailing Academy students gain
professional qualifications
The National Sailing Academy is
pleased to announce that six of its students,
all Antiguan, aged 16 – 18 years,
have now achieved their Royal Yachting
Association qualifications as certified
dinghy and keelboat sailing instructors.
The course, which took place this
month over a period of 10 days, was
delivered by two RYA Coach/Assessors
from the U.K. The first day of sailing assessment
required the students to demonstrate
that they had sufficient sailing
skills to enable them to teach others and
the remainder of the time was ‘teaching
them to teach’
The RYA Sailing Instructor Certificate
gives them the credentials to gain
employment anywhere in the world that
teaches dinghy/keelboat sailing.
The Academy regards this as the first
rung on the ladder of qualifications that
we would like them to obtain in their
chosen fields of sailing/yachting – thus
underlining the fact that sailing is the
only sport in Antigua that can lead to well
paid employment for significant numbers
of our young people.
The candidates were:
Jules Mitchell - Age 17 – graduated
St Joseph’s Academy 2015. Having
completed his STCW10 and now his
RYA Sailing Instructor course, he will be
working at the National Sailing Academy
in English Harbour where he will teach
young sailors how to race dinghies and
also work with disabled children and
adults on the Sailability programme.
His ambition is to be a racing sailor and
to represent Antigua & Barbuda at the
Olympics.
Tyrese Loctar - Age 16 – graduated
from St. Mary’s High School 2016. He
is already working as an apprentice Marine
Engineer and wishes to pursue this
as a career with the aim of becoming an
engineer on a megayacht. His excellent
proven sailing skills will add to his credentials
when he starts to apply for employment
in this field. He will continue
sailing as a hobby and enjoys sailing both
dinghies and yachts.
Joshua Daniels – Age 17 – graduated
from All Saints Secondary School in
2015 and is now attending the Institute of
Technology for further studies. He started
sailing in 2014 at the Academy and
intends to gain further qualifications with
the ambition of eventually becoming a
yacht captain. He will be spending time
at the Sailing Academy, weekends and
holidays, helping to teach young sailors.
Maliek Patterson – Age 18 – graduated
from All Saints Secondary School in
2015 and is now entering his second year
at State College. He also started sailing
in 2014 and enjoys both recreational and
competitive sailing. He would like to further
his sailing career in dinghies by becoming
a Senior Dinghy Sailing Instructor,
but would additionally like to pursue
the opportunity of Marine Engineering.
He will also be helping part-time at the
Academy teaching young sailors.
Kamar James – Age 18 – graduated
All Saints Secondary School 2015 and
also now entering his second year at State
College. He started sailing with Joshua
and Maliek and also wishes to train
further with the ambition of becoming a
Senior Instructor. He is also interested in
training on Yachts and eventually becoming
a yacht captain.
Jahdean Jeffers – Age 17 – graduated
All Saints Secondary School 2016. He
started sailing at the Academy in 2014
and now plans to enter further education
in the field of culinary arts whilst also
pursuing his sailing career to gain additional
sailing/yachting qualifications.