Andre Daley claims inaugural Caribbean para sailing title in Antigua

Jamaica’s first para sailor, Andre Daley, has returned home after winning the inaugural World Sailing Caribbean Inclusive Championship in Antigua. Over three days of racing, he dominated the field and took the title at the first regional event of its kind.

Daley said the win felt strong, though the early going was tough. He knew how wind shifts worked but was still learning boat controls, including the mainsail, and had to fight for command of the craft at first. That has become easier with practice. Looking ahead, he said he wants to keep improving and that with a boat he now knows he can sail.

His path into the sport was unplanned. He was a fisherman and diver before a diving incident led him to leave the water in that role and take up para sailing instead.

Beyond his own result, Daley wants to do more and help others discover the discipline so more people can learn it.

Jamaica Paralympic Association president Christopher Samuda said Daley is pushing past barriers and showing what athletes can become. The association, he said, is working to widen the talent pool across para sports and is investing in athletes. More important than funding, Samuda argued, is the resolve of para athletes to overcome — something money cannot buy or donate, but which lives in the heart and drive of Jamaica’s sportsmen and sportswomen, and which he admires.

Nations at the championship included Chile, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, and St. Kitts and Nevis.