The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

AFTER touring the Family Islands and hosting several events in the capital, The Bahamian Brewery & Beverage Company hosted the Sands Beer ‘Man in the da Boat’ Sculling Championships and E-Class Regatta on Grand Bahama.

After the two-day competition, Terrance Gibson - sculling in the High Rock - took first place, followed by Rubin Knowles - Ole Faithfull followed by Sheldon Gibson in third place, sculling the Sands Beer boat.

The sculling series was a celebration of sailing and the art of sculling, and also paid homage to the “Sheldon Gibson Summer Youth Programme” which teaches young Bahamians to make 12-foot E Class boats by hand, from wood found in local forests

Sculling - which was a skill learned throughout the Family Islands in earlier times, was seen as a dying art by the executives of BBB who sought a way to bring about its revival, especially among young Bahamians.

Lynden Johnson, sales and marketing manager of Bahamian Brewery and Beverage Company, Freeport, announced that the Sculling Championships in the nation’s second city were held in memory of the late Lorenzo Johnson, an employee who passed away a year ago on September 28, 2011.

The first event was held Friday, September 28, at Taino Beach followed by the finale Saturday, September 29 where competitors from throughout the country competed in the Sands Beer “Man in da Boat” Sculling Championship of the Bahamas.

All of the previous winners from various events throughout the year were on hand to participate, including Mr Bastian and Clayton Bain of Nassau, Robert Hall and Roderick Pinder of Eleuthera, Josh Green of Exuma and Danny Knowles of Long Island.

After four heats and 16 competitors, Gibson emerged as the overall champion.

Gibson built and designed four boats for the series - Sands, Sands Light, Strong Back and High Rock - which were featured for the first time at the 25th Annual St Valentine’s Jubilee Regatta in February.

After christening the boats in Montagu Bay, the Family Islanders got involved with the Rock Sound Homecoming, the first of four family island regattas.

The boats remained in Eleuthera for another series of races in Governor’s Harbour, then they were brought to Elizabeth Harbour in Georgetown, Exuma, for the National Family Island Regatta.

In an interview with the Tribune prior to the Jubilee regatta, Gibson outlined the impact he said the project could have on the sport.

“My objective is to get as many Bahamian-built boats in the water as possible so when the idea was brought to me, I jumped on it because not only was it an opportunity to help develop local sailing but it was an opportunity to help teach young people,” he said.

“This is a golden opportunity. These boats will help to solidify what is happening here in the Bahamas - that we must promote Bahamians. In order for our culture to grow and remain with us, we must continue to improve so that the generations after us will have something to follow on.”