The Whitty K dominated all competition this past weekend, as the inaugural "King" Eric Gibson Regatta that was held in Rock Sound, Eleuthera, concluded.
The boat won all four races in impressive fashion, adding to what was an already dominant year for the crew in its division.
"In the first race, we beat them by three minutes and 18 seconds. In the second race, we won by five minutes and 45 seconds. In the third race of the day, we beat them by seven minutes, and in the fourth race my captain and his crew beat them by four minutes," said owner of the Whitty K, Jason Knowles. Stephen Knowles skippered the boat to all four wins.
Although the regatta consisted of only "C" class boats, it still featured some of the same offshore activities as one of the major regattas. One of the main objectives of the "King" Eric Regatta is to provide an economic boost for central and south Eleuthera communities. It was named after the late "King" Eric was because of the work he did in organizing several local regattas. He was also one of the key planners of a number of homecomings and was an advocate for the growth and development of family island economies.
"I want to encourage corporate Bahamas to come on-board, because when you look at some of the sacrifices that these guys make, not only in sailing but in just coming to these regattas, most of the time at their own expense, they are just barely subsidized," said son of the late "King" Eric and Minister of Labour and National Insurance Shane Gibson.
"When you look at how much money they spend on maintaining these boats, they literally spend hundreds of thousands building and maintaining them. I think that corporate Bahamas can come on-board and ensure that what we call our national sport continues on."
The Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival served as one of the major sponsors of this event.
This particular regatta came close to the end of the local regatta season. The North Eleuthera Regatta, to be held on the National Heroes Day holiday weekend, is scheduled for next weekend in the waters of North Eleuthera.

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