After two days of no wind, and no races, Virgin Islands’ sailor Thad A. Lettsome returned to the waters to resume competition in the 2023 ILCA 7 Men’s Division at the CAC Games in El Salvador on Thursday, June 29, 2023. Photo: Facebook/File

Thad A. Lettsome was 8th overall in the regatta after day 1 of the ILCA 7 men’s single-handed event at the CAC Games in San Salvador on June 26, 2023. Photo: BVIOC

Day one of the ILCA 7 men’s single-handed event at the San Salvador 2023 CAC Games started off with a fleet of 16 ILCA 7 lasers racing in light and tricky conditions on June 26, 2023. Photo: BVIOC

In the first race of the day, Lettsome would get off to a slow start after being held back initially by debris getting stuck on his centerboard and rudder. After a hard-fought 3rd leg (second upwind) Lettsome would mount a comeback and see him finish 6th in race 3 of the regatta.

In the second race of the day, the breeze built to a solid 12-14 knots.

According to coach Chris Watters, Lettsome would have a great start, and execute his plan to go up the right side of the course to round the top mark in 2nd position.

“After a great downwind he would maintain the 2nd position for the last upwind, only to see a small right shift send him back 2 places yet still finish the race with a 4th overall, his best score out of the 4 races to date.”

Lettsome on verge of qualifying for Pan Am Games

More importantly, according to Watters, Lettsome now sits 6th overall, and 1st in line to grab the 1 Pan American Games Qualification spot to represent the VI at the Santiago 2023 Pan Am Games this fall in Chile.

With over 10 countries fighting for this 1 spot, Thad has placed himself in a great position leading up to the last 2 days of the event.

See previous article published June 27, 2023

Thad A. Lettsome 8th overall on Day 1 of ILCA 7 sailing @ CAC Games

Day one of the ILCA 7 men’s single-handed event at the San Salvador 2023 CAC Games started off with a fleet of 16 ILCA 7 lasers racing in light and tricky conditions on June 26, 2023.

Virgin Islands’ sailor Thad A. Lettsome would manage to get off the start line clean and sail a conservative first leg, rounding the top mark in 5th position.

According to coach Chris Watters, a large wind shift to the right on the second upwind would put Thad on his back foot. However, with a speedy downwind to finish the race, he would end up in 8th overall.

In race two, the wind built to an unexpected 14-15knots and Thad would take an aggressive approach on the start to be the first one off the line at the race committee end. This allowed him to tack out cleanly and go to the right-hand side of the race course. With a few missed shifts at the top mark, Thad would fight back hard to pass boats on the last downwind, finishing in 9th position.

Lettsome continues quest today

Watters in his report said with just 1 spot left for the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games in Chile this fall, Thad lies in 3rd position to qualify and 8th overall in the regatta after day 1.

“With 10 more races scheduled over the next 5 days, it will be a hard-fought regatta for everyone - especially the ones searching for Pan Am 2023 qualification,” Watters stated.

Today, according to Watters, should bring more light and tricky conditions, something that Thad is looking forward to.

9 athletes from 3 sports are representing the [British] Virgin Islands at the 24th Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games in San Salvador, El Salvador from June 23 – July 8, 2023.