PAUL DE SOUZA TAKES THIRD PLACE AT BYTE Cll MIDWINTERS IN FT. LAUDERDALE

Fourteen year old Paul de Souza, coached by Robert Dunkley of Bahamas National Sailing School, placed 3^rd at the Midwinter Byte Cll sailing championships in Ft. Lauderdale this weekend. The Byte Cll has been chosen as the boat to be sailed in the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China. Paul hopes to represent the Bahamas at this event. The Byte is not a common boat that is sailed in the USA or the Caribbean, so Paul had no experience sailing the Byte prior to this summer. Paul was fortunate to be able to borrow a boat here in Nassau for training, and he sailed at the World Championships in the Byte Cll in August 2013 at the Newport Sailing Center in Rhode Island, placing a very respectable 14^th overall. Paul is currently training for the North American Championships, which will be held in Jensen Beach, Florida at the end of February. This is the final qualifying event for the Youth Olympic Games.