Spencer Cartwright, who is a four-time national champion in the Optimist Dinghy class, has now won the Bahamas Junior Sunfish National Championship for his first time. Pushing hard and in the mix for top honors was Cochise Burrows. Such close racing made for a very suspenseful and exciting series, but in the end Cartwright beat Burrows by three points.
Winds throughout the past weekend were light to moderate and fairly shifty from the west, which made for fun and interesting sailing. When taking the lead in any of the races, it was extremely hard to keep it. Positions, particularly in the final race, constantly changed. One might say that it was all about luck, but in reality, it was very much a game of patience, "heads-up sailing" and out-thinking the opponents in this 20-boat fleet.
A total of 13 sailors from Harbour Island and one from Long Island participated and sailed extremely well. Long Islander Paloma Cartwright was fifth overall, and was honored as the top female. Sailors racing were from ages 12 to 17, with an average age of 14. Almost all of them learned to sail in the Optimist Dinghy class and have now been sailing a few years.
Coach Robert Dunkley said: "It is impressive to see how well the youngsters from Harbour Island and Long Island are sailing. It is obvious their sailing schools and clubs do a tremendous job in teaching them, so while we congratulate the youngsters for their outstanding performance, I would also like to congratulate the organizers and coaches in these communities - the Higgins family in Harbour Island, especially Melvin Higgins who coaches the kids a number of days each week, and the Cartwright families, especially Zoe and Mellisa in Long Island, who do the same. It is always a pleasure to have them sailing here with us."
Due to the number of competitors and not enough boats, there was a round-robin format which determined who sailed in the Gold Fleet (top half) on the first day and Silver Fleet (bottom half) on the second day. In the Gold Fleet the trophy winners were: First place Spencer Cartwright (Nassau), second place Cochise Burrows (Nassau), third place Conner Pinder (Nassau); overall top female Paloma Cartwright (Long Island). In the Silver Fleet the trophy winners were: First place Daisy Tinkler (Nassau), second place Madison Martinborough (Nassau) and third place Joshua Higgins/Collen Woods (Harbour Island).
The organizers extend congratulations to all of the sailors, and a special thank you to the Nassau Yacht Club for hosting the event and to the Bahamas National Sailing School sponsors Bahamas Hot Mix; East Nassau Rotary; KPMG; Bahamas Ferries; Royal Bank of Canada; Coca-Cola; Odyssey Aviation; Cable Bahamas & Cable Cares; Kerzner Corp.; the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture; the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology; and the Ministry Agriculture, Marine Resources and Local Government.
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