The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net SALT Pond, Long Island -- The spotlight was on Captain Loren Knowles. And the 45th Annual Long Island Regatta turned out to be a Knowles show. While Knowles was honoured by the organising committee for his long-time contribution to the sport as a competitor - from its inception in 1967 to a boat builder in his heyday and now an adviser in his retirement years - the boats, either skippered by his clan or built by one of them, emerged as the champions in the top three classes of competition over the four days. The Running Tide, skippered by Roger Fox of Long Island, won the A Class title over seven other boats with 19 points. The Red Stripe, skippered by Lundy Robinson, was second with 15 and the Good News, skippered by Lee Armbrister, got third with 13. "Actually it was a big win because the Running Tide is a boat that is known for not sailing so well in light air," said Roger Smith after they posted a second, first and third respectively in the three race series. "We made a lot of adjustments and we were able to pull it off. It's nice to win on the home court, as well as on the road, but it's really nice to do it for the home crowd." Honouree Knowles' youngest son, Stefan Knowles, skippered the New Susan Chase to the B Class title with 26 points. The Lady Nathalie, skippered by Keith Brown, finished the field of nine boats in second with 21 and the Lady Sonia, skippered by Buzzy Rolle, was third with 20. The New Susan Chase was remodelled in 1993 by Loren Knowles. "The Susan Chase, from she was built, was winning the races," said Knowles, who sandwiched a pair of first places with a second in the three-race series. "She won her first regatta here in 1993 with my father. But about six years ago, my father stopped sailing and he allowed me to take over. So it was good for us. We've always been doing well. We got a lot of ties for first or second, but this time we won it outright." Stefan Knowles said it was definitely a proud moment for his father Loren because not only did his son win in Class B, but one of his other sons, Mark, built both the Running Tide and Barely Legal, who won the other two major titles. "It's a good victory for him," Stefan said of his father, Loren. "He deserves to be on the sidelines watching. We all did it for him because they were honouring him this year." Roger Fox's younger brother Marty Fox skippered the Barely Legal to the C Class title with 43 points. Bully Reg, skippered by Buzzy Rolle, was second with 39 and It Ain't Right, skippered by David Knowles, was third with 37. A total of 15 boats participated. It was the first time that Barely Legal won a title in Long Island. The boat's last victory came in 2010 when Stefan Knowlers skippered it to victory in Georgetown. "She performed great. She's a fast boat and basically it was just a matter of choosing the right sail," said Marty Fox after he also guided the New Susan Chase to a first, second and first in their series of races. "The sails were right for this light wind in the regatta, the crew performed excellent. We all worked together. It was just a matter of picking the right sails, making the right tacks. Everything fell right in place and we came out on top." While he didn't want to brag, Marty Fox said it was good that they managed to keep all of the titles in Long Island, especially because they were honouring Loren Knowles. In the E Class, Sands, skippered by Sheldon Gibson, won with nine points. One Bahamas, skippered by Steven Rolle, got second with nine as well, while High Rock, skippered by Corey Knowles and Old Faithful, skippered by Rubin Knowles, were tied for third with seven. And in the G Class, Vendetta, skippered by Garret Knowles, won with 16 points, Green Lizard, skippered by Meko Knowles, was second with 10 and the Island Boy, skippered by Thomas Treco, was third with seven. There was also a sculling event organised by the Bahamian Brewery and Beverage Company. Winning the title was Danny Knowles of Long Island. Exuma's Stephen Rolle and Harcourt Rolle got second and third respectively. Knowles said he was delighted with Long Island's sweep of all of the major titles, as well as the sculling class with Danny Knowles as the champion. "I'm not done yet," said Knowles, who indicated that he intends to continue to provide whatever support is needed for the regatta and sailing in the regatta. I'm going to work until I can't work no more."