Sunfish Nationals a
First For Exumas
(By July Charles)
More than 30 sailors compete for title in
Staniel Cay
STANIEL CAY, Exuma - For the first time
ever, the Bahamas Sunfish National Championship set sail in the Exuma Islands last weekend
(Sept. 10-11), drawing a record number of sailors to race in the picturesque waters of
Staniel Cay. For an area already steeped in the sailing tradition of Bahamian sloop
racing, the Sunfish regatta adds valuable experience in one-design racing for local
sailors to hone their competitive edge.
Participation nearly doubled that of the
2004 Nationals in New Providence, with 31 boats at the start line making this the largest
Bahamas National Championship in 30 years. The event attracted top sailors from Nassau,
Staniel Cay and the nearby Black Point Settlement on Great Guana Cay. Among them, hometown
favourite Nioshi Rolle, the 16-year-old junior sailing champion from Staniel Cay, who
placed a respectable 13th in a highly competitive fleet.
"It was great, but I was a little
nervous with so many people watching over me," said Rolle, who found herself urged on
by at least two spectator boats filled with family and friends as she approached the
windward mark of the first race. Now a senior high school student in Nassau, Rolle races
Snipes at the Royal Nassau Sailing Club, Sunfish at Nassau Yacht Club and helms the C
class boat named Termite in Staniel Cay.
On day one of the regatta, light wind
conditions from four to eight knots combined with late-day tidal current and favoured
those with more technical experience gained racing at the national and international
levels.
Dominating the event was Donnie
Martinborough, who took top honours with two first-place finishes and one third.
Martinborough is a three-time Sunfish World Champion, who recently finished fourth at the
US Masters Championship in Sarasota, Fla.
Race two was won by Lori Lowe, a Snipe
sailor out of the Royal Nassau Yacht Club, who crossed the line with a decisive lead over
the fleet, eventually earning her eighth position overall and top woman helm. "If the
wind is light, I'm there [competitively]...if not, forget it," she had predicted
before the regatta.
But those diminishing winds just never
picked up, forcing cancellation of a fourth race, which actually drew shouts of relief
from the assembly of sun-beaten sailors waiting it out at the start area. After a
cloudless, humid afternoon, most were anxious to beach their Sunfish and take in a cooling
refreshment at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club, co-host of the event with the Nassau Yacht
Club, which provided race management and organization.
A windless start to day two prompted a
postponement and eventual cancellation on shore, where sailors and members of the race
committee waited and looked out over the glassy surface of the Exumas famed crystal clear
waters.
But the lack of wind and race
cancellation didn't dampen enthusiasm of the sea-faring locals to bring more Olympic class
sailing competition to the Family Islands, drawing on the passion for racing traditional
Bahamian sloops. Experience gained racing on Sunfish and other Olympic class boats is
recognized as important to open opportunities for successful local sailors to compete
internationally at one-design regattas.
"We have even more people wanting to
sail - we have quite a few Sunfish here and there are even more over in Black Point - but
what happened [this year] is some of the boats weren't quite ready, some were damaged and
needed repair," said Captain Tony Gray, the goodwill ambassador of Staniel Cay, who
also raced in the event. Gray is a son of one of the Bahamas' finest skippers, Rolly Gray,
a fixture in the Family Island Regatta in George Town, Exuma, since its inception in 1954.
Top five among the Exuma sailors in the
2005 National Championship were Liander "Magic" Pinder of Black Point, in 12th
place overall, just ahead of Nioshi Rolle, followed by Loan Rolle in 15th position, Clyde
Rolle in 21st place and Uriah "Boyo" Rolle of Staniel Cay.
"Staniel Cay has always had a good racing tradition, from Rolly Gray and Tidal Wave
and the Family Island Regattas," says David Hocher, owner of the Staniel Cay Yacht
Club, founded by his father Joe in the 1960s. "Rolly Gray really put Staniel Cay on
the map in terms of the community sailing tradition. Some of the younger guys have
organized the New Year's Regatta, then there's also a cruising regatta," said Hocher.
The move to change the venue for the
Sunfish Nationals was prompted by Bahamas Sailing Association (BSA) executive John
Lawrence who, like Hocher, grew up in Staniel Cay. "It was John's idea; He did all
the work to get it here. We figured we'd throw the thing and let people hear about it and
present it as a really fun regatta. It's a first time thing for us, but it is the National
Championships of the Bahamas, and there isn't a Bahamian around here who wouldn't want to
compete," said Hocher.
Now having proven itself as an ideal
location for dinghy racing, plans are already in the works at Staniel Cay to host another
Sunfish Championship and possibly an International Optimist class competition for junior
sailors within the next 12 months.
"You could not have asked for a
better venue," says the BSA's Lawrence, who was the regatta chairman. "The
sailing conditions at Staniel are some of the best you will find anywhere. Couple that
with the great hospitality of Staniel Cay, and it is a perfect match. The camaraderie at
this regatta was excellent and unparalleled as evidenced at the numerous social functions
that rivaled the racing on the water," he said.
HIGHLIGHTS OF RESULTS
2005 National Sunfish Championship
1st - Donald Martinborough
2nd - Jimmie Lowe
3rd - Dwayne Wallas
4th - Richard Farrington
5th - John Watson Galloway
Top Female - Lori Lowe
Top Male Junior - Benjamin Myers
Top Female Junior - Nioshi Rolle
Most Distinguished - Pedro Wassitsch
Full Results
Pictures by Andy White |
