Hong Kong Laser Nationals - J-Asia sailors capture top spots

by Marek Nostitz-Jackowski on 25 Nov 2013 At the Hong Kong Laser Nationals 2013 laser sailors affiliated with Hong Kong sailing school J-Asia captured first and second places for the Laser Radial and Laser 4.7 divisions.

One of Hong Kong's most celebrated laser sailors, Isamu 'Sam' Sakai won top honors in the Laser Radial Open division, while teammate Gerald Williams took second place and was concurrently named winner in the Laser Radial Youth (under 18) division in a hotly contested event, which saw Williams leading at the end of the first day. Sakai managed to catch up and equalize on the second day, eventually recapturing the title. Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club's Sofia-Marie Mascia finished third in the Open division, and was second in the Youth division.

Nicholas Bezy entered bagged the top spot in the Laser 4.7 division, beating out fellow teammate Riley Cameron who closed the competition in second place. Hebe Haven's Antonio Franco, last year's Laser 4.7 division winner, closed in third.

Said coach Marek Nostitz-Jackowski: ' It's always good to see my sailors doing well, the results reflect the amount of time, effort and dedication each sailor has put into his training program. The credit for the wins belongs to them.'

This year's Hong Kong Nationals took part at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club's Middle Island facility on November 24 and 25. Three races were held on each day with dramatically different weather conditions-- strong winds of up to 20 knots on the first day, and lighter winds of about 10 knots on the next.

About J-Asia; Asia is dedicated to coaching and dinghy sailing excellence not just in Hong Kong but across Asia. It was established in 2012 by head coach Marek Nostitz-Jackowski, who has a long and proven track record in the Optimist and Laser dinghy classes both here and in Poland. His Hong Kong students are consistently on top of Hong Kong's dinghy sailing leaderboards. Before his arrival in Hong Kong in 2006, Nostitz-Jackowski trained a number of young sailors in Poland who eventually went on to represent their country in the Olympics. J-Asia students have won distinctions at regattas across Asia, including India, Malaysia and Thailand.