Longtime water enthusiast Mike Cassidy wants to instill and develop a youth sailing program, in time for Guam to compete in sailing at the next Pacific Games in 2027.
Cassidy, a member of the Marianas Yacht Club at Sasa Bay, Piti, along with other MYC members hosted the 44th Guam-Japan Goodwill Regatta at their clubhouse. They welcomed six youth sailors from Japan and four local sailors for the two-day event, April 1-2.
There were five races each day, of varying distances and routes. The Japanese sailors were much more experienced and on both days, there were two distinct packs that formed.
“As the races went on, the Guam pack was able to shorten the distance between them and the Japan pack, so that shows some progress, even from one day of racing,” he said.
Cassidy said he is working on a reapplication to the Guam National Olympic Committee. The Guam Sailing Federation was once very active in the late 80s and through the next decade, and it represented Guam in sailing events at both the then-South Pacific Games as well as the Olympics.
A successful inclusion into the GNOC would also open up potential funding via Olympic solidarity funding, which the governing Olympic body disseminates to its various member nations’ developing programs.
Cassidy also hopes to create monthly races for high school-aged kids to spur interest in the sport leading up to the Pacific Games, he said.
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