The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

WITH the local sailing sloops getting a big boost over the weekend with the successful staging of the first Best-of-the-Best Regatta in Montagu Bay, one local sailing enthusiast is calling on corporate Bahamas to get more involved in sponsoring the boats to make the sport more viable for the owners and sailors.

While the newly formed telephone company Aliv came on board just in time to sponsor the Thunderbird for the regatta, James Wallace said he’s hoping that others will reach out to the sailing community to get involved as the sport continues to grow.

“Sloop sailing in the Bahamas has been sponsored by a number of individuals for a number of years,” he said. “But the sport is growing to the level where corporate Bahamas needs to fully participate and get involved by getting value for their money by advertising on these sloops while they are racing.

“They go from island to island doing these Family Island regattas and homecomings, so it is a great opportunity for corporate Bahamas to get involved by putting their logos on sails and boats and help to enhance and keep the sport going.”

Depending on the level of involvement they want to commit to, he said they can purchase the sail and have their logo designed on it, or they can put a sticker on the hull of the boat. In making that kind of contribution, he said they will in turn assist the boat owners, who have to provide a stipend for their crew members whenever they travel to compete.

Wallace said it’s a costly venture for the boat owners, who spend roughly $100,000 to build an A class boat, $60,000 for a B class and about 25-30,000 for a C class.

“To maintain these boats, you have to spend about $20,000 a year for an A class boat,” he said.

“These are actually wooden hulls that they build, prepared and paint to make them look like a metal finish. They do a fantastic job, but it’s certainly a dedication and love of the sport for the boat owners as to why they invest so much money into it.”

Just to give you an idea of how costly it is to maintain the boats, he said if a sail on an A class is broken, the boat owner will have to find at least $3,000 to replace it, if they can’t get it repaired.

The B class would be around $2,500, while the C class expense could be about $1,500. That only depends on the size of the sail, which varies according to what the boat owner or skipper wants to use for a particular race.

Although it was indicated that the Ministry of Agriculture and Local Government provided the best cash prizes to the winners of the Best of the Best Regatta over the weekend, Wallace said it’s only a drop in the bucket when one consider the money that is spent to get the boat and the crew to the regatta to compete.

“The boat owners and the sailing community need the support of corporate Bahamas to take on some of the responsibilities and they get return on their investment in the form of advertisement,” he said. 

Currently there are three sailing associations in New Providence and urged corporate Bahamas to seek out any of them or even the Regatta Desk at the Ministry of Agriculture to find the particular boat they would like to assist. Wallace, however, urged them to be very specific when making the contact and state exactly which boat they would like to support.

“Even when the boats are racing in the regattas, they can come out and watch the races and make the contacts with the boat of their choice,” Wallace insisted. “So if someone is interested in making contact with any of the boats, they can come out to the King Eric Regatta in January and the Ministry of Agriculture’s Best of the Best Regatta that will now continue in December.”

For those persons interested in knowing, the three local sailing associations in New Providence are the Nassau Sailing Association, headed by James as the commodore; the Bahamas Boat Owners and Sailors Association, headed by commodore Stafford Armbrister and the Commonwealth Sailors Association, headed by Gerard Moxey.

On all of the Family Islands, Wallace said there are associations that have been formed and if persons are interested, they can contact the Family Island Administrators or visit the various islands to make their inquiries.

“We are calling on corporate Bahamas to help us maintain a vibrant sport that has been with us for more than 65 years in the form of sloop sailing,” Wallace stressed. “Before that, it was the way that several Bahamian families were fed because they were work boats that people used to make their living to and from the islands.”

While he made it clear that he’s not a boat owner, so as not to get people to believe that he’s making a pitch for himself, Wallace said he only sail on the B class Ant’s Nest that is owned by Lee Armbrister; the A class Ed Sky, which is owned by Joseph Brown and the C class Irene Good Night, which is owned by Louie Hart.