The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

REVELATION and the Asue Thunderbird emerged as champions of the South Andros Regatta over the Sir Randol Fawkes Labour Day holiday weekend.

On Tuesday, all of the participants were awarded their prize monies, including the contribution from Peter Nygard, who sponsored the Cup race.

Revelation, skippered by Clay Moxey, won the Cup race, followed by the Thunderbird. The Melba B was third, Jungaless fourth and the Lady Ruthnell rounded out the top five.

However, the Thunderbird (22) nipped the Melba B (21) by one point to take the overall title. Revelation had to settle for third, while the Lady Ruthnell was fourth, the Jungaless fifth, Crazy Dragon sixth, Dream Girl seventh and Undertaker completed the field in eighth place.

Rev Dr Philip McPhee, who hosted the awards presentation at his church, the Mt Calvary Baptist Cathedral on Baillou Hill Road, said the regatta was a very competitive one, not just because his Thunderbird won the series, but because Nygard came to their assistance to provide the necessary funding to add some excitement.

“For the first time, we are also going to be providing a jacket to the winner of the regatta,” McPhee said. “I want it to be a colour of blue as the ocean. Engraved on it on the pocket will be something that will depict the Nygard history and also an emblem that will say sailing as our national sport.

“The winner of the two jackets that will be given out will be the winner of the Cup race, the Revelation, and the winner of the overall regatta, which is the Thunderbird. That was the plan from the beginning. It’s just unfortunate that the Thunderbird didn’t win the Cup race that was sponsored by Peter Nygard.”

Picewell Forbes, Member of Parliament for South Andros, sang the praises of Nygard for his kind gesture to the people of their island, inclusive of Mangrove Cay and Central Andros by extension.

“Regattas and homecomings have become a way of life for the people in these communities,” Forbes said. “We’ve seen over the years the population of these communities and these regattas and homecomings have allowed people to go back home to see the communities in which their parents would have been born and many of them would have fallen in love and returned to build and invest in these communities.

“For those skippers who would have come to Andros, we want to say thank you. We know that these are very challenging times financially. We know the sacrifices that you would have made to make it a major and resounding success. It left thousands of dollars in that community.”

Forbes also thanked McPhee and Carlos Mackey, who represented Nygard, and anybody who helped in the organisation of the regatta.

Mackey, the CEO and host of The Best of Sports World television show, said he was delighted to be able to express Nygard’s love and appreciation for the people of the Bahamas.

“We discussed it and he said ‘Carlos we want to be a part of it and we’re here,” Mackey said. “We hosted the first ever Cup and the people of South Andros were so warm in accepting us. Peter Nygard is a man of action. He has helped so many of our people, athletes and boys and girls to help them reach their goal. This is one of the reasons why he believes in putting back into the community and he’s done an outstanding job.”

Legendary entertainer and sailor King Eric Gibson made a special appearance at the presentation. He too joined in the chorus in heaping the praises on Nygard.

“Peter Nygard has come to the Bahamas and got to the bottom of the Bahamas, helping people in need,” Gibson said. “Everybody in this country knows what regattas mean in the Bahamas and Peter has grabbed the bull by the horn and he has assisted just about everybody that he can.”

Gibson said he was not able to attend the South Andros Regatta because he was competing in Salt Pond where the Long Island Regatta was dubbed the most competitive one in years. But he was pleased that McPhee and Forbes were able to pull off a successful regatta through the assistance of Nygard.

“Regatta is getting on the loose and I’m very proud that Picewell was able to get the regatta off in South Andros,” Gibson said. “You will always have my support and I know that you have Dr McPhee’s support.”

McPhee said with the Bahamas preparing to host its 40th Independence anniversary on July 10, the sailing community is hoping to have some type of sailing in Montagu Beach when they expect Prime Minister Perry Christie to finally announce that sailing is the national sport of the Bahamas.

By constitution, that distinction belongs to cricket.