The Laser and Sunfish fleets heading downwind in the KPMG Youth Regatta
The KPMG Youth Winter Championship was held last weekend (March 5 & 6) by Bahamas National Sailing School on Montagu Bay. This regatta is one of the four major junior events held each year in The Bahamas and attracts sailors from a number of family islands. The classes sailed were Optimist Dinghies (ages 8 to 14), Laser Radials, Laser 4.7 and Sunfish. There were 58 participants in all from Nassau, Harbour Island and Long Island and results showed just how competitive our young sailors are throughout the country.
The Optimist class was divided into three separate fleets; the Gold for our advanced international level sailors, the Silver for intermediate level sailors and the Green for beginners (first year of racing).
Tristan Eldon from Nassau, age 13, won the KPMG Youth Winter Championship for the second time as he continues his dominance in the Optimist Dinghy Class by taking all firsts in the seven race series. Over the last year he has won three out of the four major events and was named Bahamas National Sailing School’s “Sailor Of The Year” for 2015. As Coach Dunkley says, “Tristan has always had ‘a special feel for the helm’. He is fast and now that his tactics have improved he is on a winning streak”. Second and third respectively in the Gold Fleet were Eric Boxerman (Nassau), Blake Roberts (Nassau).
Tristan Eldon receiving his first place Optimist Gold Fleet trophy from Hassnain Raza of KPMG, accompanied by Fernando Decardenas (rt) and Robert Dunkley (left)
Nine year old Joshua Weech (Nassau) took top honors in the Silver fleet with 11 points. Dunkley says, “He is following in Tristan’s footsteps with an awesome ‘feel for the helm’”. Both Morgan Grammatico (Nassau) and Carson Miller (Harbour Island) tied point-wise with 18 points, but with the tie-break Morgan ended up second and Carson third.
Joshua Weech receiving his first place Optimist Silver Fleet trophy from KPMG’s Hassnain Raza, accompanied by Fernando Decardenas (right) and Robert Dunkley (left).
On Saturday winds were too strong for the Optimist Green Fleet (beginners) but on Sunday with a lighter breeze six youngsters showed up at the start and were coached around the course by Coach Donico Brown. They had three races and in the end eight year old Alvina Saunders won. Kyle Collins was second and Lamar Desmangles third. All were from Harbour Island.
The closest and most exciting racing was in the Laser Radial Class. As to who won between Paul de Souza, Spencer Cartwright and Cochise Burrows (all from Nassau) came down to the last race; race number seven. In the end Paul won with 10 points, Cochise was second with 11 points and Spencer third with 12 points.
“This was the closest junior racing I believe we have ever seen.” commented Dunkley. “While Paul and Spencer have always battled it out over the years in both the Optimist and Laser classes, Cochise is now very much in the mix. He has improved tremendously this last year as a result of his dedication to training and participation at international events with Paul and Spencer. It is impressive and to me so encouraging to see how well our juniors are sailing these days.”
Benjamin Derbyshire won the Laser 4.7 Class with 7 points. Robbie Carey was second with 10 points and Tahj Ramirez was third with 17 points. All participants in this class were from Nassau.
Helana Wassitsch (Nassau) dominated the Sunfish class with nine points total. Joshua Higgins (Harbour Island) and Madison Martinborough (Nassau) were second and third respectively.
A final comment from Dunkley is; “We are so pleased to see our Bahamas National Sailing School (BNSS) program in Nassau developing the way it is. The number of students from Government schools is growing with thanks to assistance from Coach Frank Johnson at T.A.Thompson High School and Dwayne Higgins, who is a keen sailor and serious competitor in the Sloop Class. The other islands are also doing a great job with their development, especially Harbour Island, under the leadership of Melvin Higgins.
“Grand Bahama has a new coach now, Ross Patrick who is working hard at expanding their program and Long Island as well as Abaco are seeing an increase in numbers in their programs. By next year we may have well over 80 juniors competing at our major events, of which we have 4 each year in Nassau. It won’t be long before we will need our own Sailing Centre”.
Congratulations to all the sailors and a special thank you to KPMG for sponsoring this event and to Nassau Yacht Club for allowing us (BSA and BNSS) to use their facility.
Tarquin Kelly receiving his participation gift from KPMG’s Mandelia Morris
Joshua Weech at the helm of his Optimist Dinghy.
