The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

THE New Courageous, the Barbarian and the Crazy Partner emerged as the overall class champions in the second annual King Eric All-For-One Regatta in Montagu Bay over the Majority Rule holiday weekend.

The regatta, organised by the Gibson family in conjunction with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Local Government. officially kicked off the 2016 sloop sailing calendar year.

Over the three days of competition, the Courageous collected a total of 14 points to edge out the Red Stripe for the victory. The Courageous, skippered by Emmit Munroe, won the first and last races, losing the second race to the Red Stripe, who got second in the first and second races. Despite not sailing in the first race, Ed Sky came in third with a pair of third place finishes in the final two races.

The Southern Cross got three fourths for fourth place with six points and was followed by the Good News, who rounded out the fleet with four points after getting a third and fifth place in the first two races. She didn’t finish the last race.

In the B class, the Barbarian tallied 20 points to emerge as the winner. Storr’s Plumbing got second with 18, Whiplash came in third with 17 points and the Ants Nest was fourth with 16. There was a protest lodged and race coordinator Stafford Armbrister said they sorted it out before they made the official results on the breakdown of the races between the nine boats that participated.

The C class was also keenly contested with the Crazy Partner pulling off a slim 58-57 victory over the Witty K. The Crazy Partner got second in the first two races and was fourth in the third, while the Witty K came in eighth in the first race, but won the final two. Not too far behind in third place was Keep Your Eyes On Him with 54 points after getting a sixth and a pair of third places respectively.

The Thunderbird, winner of the first race, slipped all the way to fourth place with a total of 51 points, adding a sixth and eighth place in the final two races. The Golden Girl rounded out the fleet with 41 points. She was fourth, fifth and ninth in the three races.

Gerard Moxey, of the Crazy Partner, said they had a good time competing in the regatta.

“The race changed hands a few times with Good Night Irene leading a few times and we were in second a few times,” Moxey said. “Going into the final lap, the Witty K was able to make some good tact and they ended up in first and Buzzy Rolle was second and we ended up in fourth. In a race like that you are not really trying to win, you just want to try to hold of your competitors because of the point system.”

Moxey, however, said they had an excellent crew, led by captain Lundy Robinson, and everybody managed to do their job.

“As you can see, the wind is blowing very hard and once you say Lundy Robinson, everybody knows that you are talking about one of the top skippers in the Bahamas,” Moxey said. “But like I say, the crew did their job and thank God, we were able to pull it off at the end.”

Eric Gibson Jr, head of the organising committee, said the regatta was just simply awesome.

“It’s been phenomenal. It’s been excellent. It’s been a huge success,” he said. “We had 35 boats sailing and we had some challenges with one or two races, but we got them in and we have basically a group of satisfied sailors. So it was a huge success. We had a huge participation from the public and we had a line up with second to none entertainers. We couldn’t ask for a better way to complete this year’s regatta.”

Prime Minister Perry Christie and Minister of Agriculture V Alfred Gray headed the list of dignitaries on hand for the closing ceremonies, just as they were on hand for the opening.

Gray said for those persons who were in attendance from Saturday to Monday, have to conclude that regattas are the best thing since potato bread.

“This is a good past time for the Bahamian people and you are here by the thousands,” he said. “We have come tonight to conclude the final event and we have been honouring all week, the legend of sailing. There are so many of them, but one of the greatest who’ve ever walked this way, King Eric Gibson. May I invite you in his name to give a big round of applause for and in honour of King Eric Gibson please.”

Christie said the regatta was not about Gray, himself or the people who are alive, but someone who they ought to give honour to and he congratulated the Gibson family, led by Minister of Labour Shane Gibson and Eric Gibson Jr for making it possible and to keep the legacy of their father alive.

“Whenever someone has done something spectacular in our country, we ought to pause long enough to give honour to that person,” Christie said. “Eric was born, like many of you, in humble circumstances in a place called Mason’s Bay, Acklins. King Eric worked hard to become what he was. In doing so, he was an example for Bahamians who started off in humble circumstances.

“King Eric became a musical icon, meaning forever and forever and forever. When we talk about music and its development in our country, King Eric’s name will be called. Secondly, King Eric developed into a band leader who started his own night club. He not only became a top artist, but a businessman in the field of night clubs. He became a businessman in the other fields that he concentrated on.”

But Christie said King Eric went on to make an everlasting impression on the sailing community and that is why they are on Montagu to celebrate his life. He noted that on Sunday night, Craig Flowers unveiled a statue of King Eric that the Bahamas Government will eventually place in a prominent place where people can continue to keep the memory of this legend alive.