St. Thomas sailor Thomas Barrows, 12, scored a first-place finish in the 5th race of the Optimist European Championships on Wednesday. This showing moves the young sailor up to 6th place overall among 180 competitors sailing in the boys' division.
Youth sailors from around the world are gathered at Lake Garda, Italy, for the week-long Optimist competition, which ends Friday. The Virgin Islands is also being represented by Caroline "Callie" Burks of St. John in the girls' division.
Twelve races were scheduled for the boys' division.
Shep Barrows, Thomas's father, said they were excited about Thomas's 18th place finish in the first race. Unfortunately, that was followed by a 61st. In races 3 and 4, Thomas finished 6th and 4th, respectively. The first-place finish Wednesday was "beyond all our expectations," Shep Barrows said. "I just hope Thomas can stay near the top in the rest of the races. A top 10 finish in the Europeans would be a fantastic result."
Cullen Shaughnessy of the USA is presently in first overall. Cullen is well known to Virgin Island Optimist sailors as the 1998 and 1999 champion of the Scotia Bank Caribbean Optimist Regatta.
The Optimist is an 8-foot pram sailed by youths. Upon turning 16, a competitor "ages out" of the class. More than 250 boys and girls are competing in the European Championship.