The newly formed Dragon Bay Club is starting to take shape since launching 11 months ago off the North Sound, opposite the golf club.
Led by Alun Davies, the club’s commodore, it is scheduled to host its first Christmas camp and is inviting youth from across the island to register. That will be followed by the introduction of a grassroots learning programme for students in 2024.
Juan Mazzini, who has trained the likes of Caymanian sailors Charlotte Webster and Matheo Capasso, has recently been appointed head coach for the Dragon Bay youth programme, with Julian De Mare the assistant coach.
Mazzini said the push for better competitive water sports on island must begin at the youth level, which could ultimately produce more athletes not only representing Dragon Bay Club domestically but also sailing for Cayman internationally.
“The focus right now is not to compete against other clubs on Island,” Mazzini told the Compass. “At the moment we want to get as many kids in the water as possible and then we could have a competition. We want to get the junior programmes increased with Caymanian kids.”
While Christmas camps are usually geared towards giving young people additional activities while on holiday from school, Mazzini hopes those taking part in his camp, running from 26-30 Dec., will become official athletes under the club’s banner.
Many of the kids taking part will not be limited to just sailing. The club also offers paddleboarding, kayaking, wind foiling and surfing in its many forms.
“We start with the kitesurfing, wind foiling programmes and, on the sailing side, we have sailing lessons, sailing groups for members and for kids that are into racing.”
While it’s not set in stone, the plan is to begin the school programme in January, shortly after the club’s New Year’s camp, which begins on 2 Jan. Mazzini noted that the club would be offering free lessons to less fortunate kids within the government school system, who wouldn’t otherwise have an opportunity to get into the sport.
“We want to focus on the schools that are nearby, so that it’s less transportation and easier for everybody, but hopefully, in a year or two, we can get more schools,” he said. “But we must work with the [Cayman Islands Sailing Club], so it doesn’t conflict. So, we will try to start contacting some schools, to introduce kids to this programme, and for other schools we will need to charge some fees to keep this place going.”
And the place is indeed going. According to Mazzini, the club has already spent around $15,000 on equipment that arrived on 6 Dec.
“We [brought in] 10 paddle boards, three wind foil boards, five kites, lifejackets, helmets,” he said, noting that the club has also gained new members – many of whom donate their own boats on a regular basis for lessons.
Apart from establishing a junior programme and purchasing new equipment, the location, which Davies told the Compass earlier this year was provided by Dart, is still a work in progress.
Although certain sections of the land have been cleared, and waterlines are being installed, several other plans are still on the club’s to-do list, including a 60-foot-by-60-foot square dock and a clubhouse that will feature the Dragon’s Den bar and grill.
“We have a big piece of land, so we’re figuring out which area is better for certain sports and wind conditions,” Mazzini said. “We are planning to have a clubhouse; a really simple concept, made out of containers.”
He said board members were dealing with the associated requests for planning permission “to make sure that everything is perfect, so there will be no setbacks, and then it’s up to planning on how fast that goes. But we have everything here ready to go, the cement, the concrete, the containers, everything.”
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