The Tribune

By Sharnett Ferguson

Special To The Tribune

THE 32nd Annual Valentine’s Day Regatta opened its first day of sailing on Saturday, February 16 on Montagu Bay.

It began with the junior sailors comprising of sailors from the four local sailing clubs on the island of New Providence - the Nassau Yacht Club, Bahamas National Sailing School, Royal Nassau Sailing Club and the Lyford Cay International School.

A total of 35 sailors, of which 10 were girls or 29 per cent, participated.

This partnership between the late Eleazor Johnson, affectionately called ‘Barber J,’ and The Bahamas National Sailing School, began back in 2004 when Jimmie Lowe and Johnson got together with the intention of providing an opportunity for junior sailors to be able to participate in the annual regatta.

Six races were planned for each of the three (3) fleets, Optimist, Sunfish and Lasers but due to the light and fluky winds (2 to 5 knots) only four (4) races were completed.

The conditions were a challenge for all but as coach Dunkley said: “It is important that our youngsters learn to sail in all conditions, even though many regard the light-air as very frustrating.”

In the end it was fun and a great experience for the juniors.

With races completed, the top three (3) finishers for each fleet were:

Optimist Fleet

1st place - Kaemen Floyd

2nd place - Joshua Weech

3rd place - Anton Gottberg

Sunfish Fleet

1st place - Vano Rahming

2nd place - Jacob

Martinborough

3rd place - Benjamin Joseph

Laser

1st place - Robbie Carey

2nd place -

Morgan Grammatico

3rd place - Tristan Eldon

Trophies were presented on behalf of the regatta committee by Trevor Johnson and Keith Brown Johnson, who managed the B Class Sloop “Lady Nathalie” with the assistance of Robert Dunkley, the director of the Bahamas National Sailing School.

A big thank you to the ‘Barber J” family for their invitation and continued support of our junior sailors.