The Tribune

by RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

A staple on the local sloop sailing calendar, the 26th edition of the St Valentine’s Day Regatta will produce what is being billed as a “New and Different Kind of Regatta”.

February 16th-17th at the Montagu foreshore, Eleazor “Sailing Barber” Johnson announced that the event will feature sculling, rowing and sailing in its 26th year of native sloop sailing.

As always, the signature event of the regatta schedule will be the “Catch Me If You Can” race.

The Lady Nathalie, a B Class sloop will have its customary headstart as the remainder of the A class field attempts to catch the pride and joy of Johnson, one of the sport’s most colourful characters.

The E Class sculling boats will return to regatta competition and once again, the Bahamas Sailing Association junior sailors will show off their sailing skills in the Optimist sailing race.

Johnson said he has been so pleased with the progress that has been made since the inception of the regatta that he’s looking forward to next year.

“We started from scratch, but we have come so far that this has become bigger than Georgetown, Long Island, Acklins, Andros, Grand Bahama, Cat Island and all of them together,” Johnson said.

In that series, the Lady Nathalie has been caught four times by the Red Stripe, skippered by Lundy Robinson and the New Courageous, skippered by Captain Emmit Munroe, who did it three times.

“The rest only caught me about once. That’s it,” said Johnson of his boat that is normally skippered by Clyde Rolle.

“Over the years, I think we have done a great job with the regatta. And Montagu Bay is looking so good now. That’s the place to have a regatta.”

Once again, legendary sailor Sir Durward ‘Sea Wolf’ Knowles will be putting up a $2,000 prize as one of the major sponsors of the regatta.

The Bahamian Brewery and Beverage Company and The Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture are also major sponsors.

Other sponsors include Coca Cola, Aquapure, Atlantis, BEC, BTC and Bacardi

“We are expecting a lot of activities with the Optimist sailing, the E class race and some sculling races with the boats that the Bahamian Brewing Company Limited and Sands Beer has produced,” Johnson said.

The Valentines Regatta has come from far and I want to thank all of the people who have supported me over the years.”

In the 25th Jubilee edition last year, Johnson said he was pleased with Sands Beer’s promotion with their E class and sculling boats.

Johnson said the regatta began as a means to fill a void in entertainment and the sloop sailing calendar during the month of February.

“Many years ago as a sailor from the island of Acklins to Nassau, I came together with the late Hezron Moxey and others and we sat down and came up with the idea. In Nassau after junkanoo there was nothing to do in those days during those months. One year I thought about how we could take advantage of this.”

Boats registered to take part in this year’s event include the Lady Nathalie, Southern Cross, Courageous, Red Stripe, Palm Cay Princess, Good News and Rough Justice.

“Last year we had a successful regatta, and this year we expect to do the same if not improve and do much better,” said race co-ordinator Stafford Armbrister, “This one I’m told is going to be the biggest one and the most spectacular one yet.”

Boatbuilder Sheldon Gibson has been responsible for building four sculling boats named after the products produced by the Bahamian Brewery and Beverage Company - Sands, Sands Light, High Rock and Strong Back - they will be used in the sculling races which experienced a renaissance on the regatta circuit in 2012.

“This is a real bahamian thing,” Gibson said, “These are the boats that really made the Bahamas because without our sea transportation we wouldn’t have been able to settle this country so Sands Beer is bringing us back to where we started from and making it possible, it is a great thing to see for the future generations of sailing and it gives us an opportunity to go forward from here.”

Event sponsors also weighed in on the relationship between their corporations and the regatta.

“We’re pleased to partner with the ‘Sailing Barber.’ After 26 years of hosting this event it proves his longevity and stability as an icon in the sport,” said Berkley Williamson, General Manager of the the Bahamian Brewery and Beverage Company, “Our company, is a very young company, but nevertheless we are privileged to be around an event that has been around for such a long time. We are happy to sponsor the E-Class and as a truly Bahamian company, we are happy to be involved in this sport which is truly Bahamian.”

“We’re committed to anything that involves preserving our heritage,” said Donnisha Armbrister, Marketing Manager at Caribbean Bottling Company Limited, “We realise the relevance of Bahamian sloop sailing to our heritage and to the economies of the islands, so to partner with Eleazor Johnson and this event is another step in the direction theta Coca Cola Bahamas wishes to go in promoting anything truly Bahamian.”