The Tribune

By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

The sixth Best of the Best Regatta lived up to the hype on day one of the sloop sailing event. Skippers and their crew members were in top form on the waters at Montagu Bay, competing in Class A, B, C and E.

Stefan Knowles, last year’s triple crown winner, had quite the day at the event. The top Long Island skipper earned first place finishes in Class A, B and C on the opening day of the sailing event.

In Class A, the Running Tide came out on top on the waters. Ed Sky placed second in the event and Ruff Justice finished in third place.

Class A was a crowd-thriller yesterday at Montagu Bay.

The Running Tide led all sloops from the beginning of the race.

The first lap of Class A concluded with the winning boat positioned in first, Silent Partner in second and Ed Sky in third.

However, in the second lap, a costly tack by Silent Partner ruined the momentum built and they veered away from the buoy.

Ed Sky then capitalised on their mistake and sailed into second place and remained there.

Silent Partner never recovered and ended fourth in the race.

Knowles talked about his day one performance on the waters in Class A with the Running Tide. “The boats were sailing well. It is gonna make for some good competition. I wasn’t surprised that they caught me up a little bit, that is a brand new mast and we had to fix everything. I still have a lot of adjustments I need to make to ensure that everything is working. The win was somewhat the luck of the draw,” he said.

It was not the luck of the draw in Class B where Knowles was victorious once again, this time with the New Susan Chase IV. The boat won last year’s Best of the Best Regatta in the same class.

In the event, Lonesome Dove, which started in first place, fell to second and Lady Sonia came third.

“Last year on the first day I was not doing so well, I think I got two thirds and a second. The Lonesome Dove got a good little jump on me because I had some issues at the line but I was able to catch up,” he said.

In Class C, Long Island’s Sassie Sue came in first to keep day one’s victories coming for Knowles. The H20 sailed in second and the Bull Reg was third.

Efford Kemp, who has been sailing since 1969, talked about his experience during the Class C race.

“When we first started our sail we got pushed more to the wind, with the heavy puff I could not catch up. I had to bring it to the wind and when the puff blew through, I was able to reach in,” Kemp said.

One of the most experienced skippers at 81-years-old credited his love of the national sport, a fast boat, and knowing how to handle the change in wind speeds for his performances over the years.

Lady Kayla won the first series race in Class E and Mako wrapped up second.

Today, the Class C race begins at 9am at Montagu Bay. The Best of the Best Regatta wraps up on Sunday.