The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT 

Sports Reporter 

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net 

THE Star Sailors League is all set to host its first ever Grand Final here in the Bahamas, which gives the country an opportunity to once again pay homage to Sir Durward Knowles. 

It was in the Star Class where Knowles sailed to a pair of Olympic medals along with Cecil Cooke - bronze in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and gold in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. 

Knowles said the Bahamas should appreciate the high level of sailing talent set to take to the shores of New Providence, December 3-8. 

“I have been all over the world, have sailed in some of the best locations in the world and of all those places, no where that I have sailed compares to what we have here in Nassau,” he said. “This is the best in the world that have qualified, gold medal winners, world champions, you name. For them to be here is an honour.” 

Minister of Youth Sports and Culture Dr Daniel Johnson said the Bahamas’ hosting of the inaugural event is a timely honour to the work Sir Durward has done in his career. 

“We are coming full circle where we celebrate everything Sir Durward has done for the Bahamas after sowing seeds of success for years, winning gold medals and being an ambassador for the Bahamas,” he said. “And now we are seeing him integrated into this event in a class which he has become internationally renowned for.” 

“The international Star class sail boat is no stranger to the Bahamas being the same boat in which our own Sir Durward Knowles enjoyed such success on the world and Olympic level,” said Paul Hutton Ashkenny, SSL local regatta chairman. 

Representative of the Ministry of Tourism, Janet Johnson, pointed to Sir Durward’s championship vessel on display in front of the Nassau Yacht Club as an everyday reminder of his contribution.

“We are very excited about this. Our minister has such appreciation for sports tourism, sailing in particular and what it can do for the Bahamas,” she said. “We are also very delighted that it is the Star class that has brought their event to the Bahamas. We have amongst us the 1964 champion of the Star Class in Sir Durward Knowles and his triumph is on display in front of the Nassau Yacht Club for Bahamians to see everyday.” 

The Grand Final will feature 36 competitors, the SSL League’s top sailors representing 13 countries: Brazil, France, USA, Switzerland, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Canada, Norway, Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, Germany and Poland. 

The German team of Robert Stanjek and Frithjof Kleen came to the Bahamas a week ahead of the competition. 

“We represented our country in the London Olympics in 2012 and now we are really happy to be here in Nassau to race in this great event,” Stanjek said. “We had to train a little bit and get used to climate here and we of course wanted to enjoy the Bahamas. We flew in and had a quick look at the Hall of Fame in the airport, it was pretty impressive. After the Olympics we had not so much sailing in the Star class but we are ready to go. I heard a lot about the Bahamas, everyone says it is the best sailing spot in the world so now we are just happy to be a part of this event.” 

“I was happy to qualify for this event and I certainly look forward to some good racing here. We have 18 very very good teams here. We have not raced this much in the Star (class) but we have raced a lot this year in different boats so we are ready to come here and have some success in the star,” Kleen said. “Every venue is a bit different and has their own character so we wanted to come in a bit early and get a good sense of what we are up against and how to approach it.” 

The Nassau Yacht Club’s Sir Roland Symonette Cup will be awarded to the overall winning crew as a perpetual trophy to bear their names and placed back on display at the Nassau Yacht Club. The on course action can be viewed live on the official website.