The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

WITH about 57 boats lined up to compete in the prestigious 61st National Family Island Regatta in beautiful Elizabeth Harbour in George Town, Exuma, commodore Danny Strachan said they are enthused about the level of competition to expect this weekend.

The four-day native sloop event got started on Wednesday with the A Class Prime Minister’s Cup won by the Tida Wave, followed by Ruperts Legend and New Southern Cross. The B Class Governor General’s Cup was won by Lonesome Dove with the Tari Anne second and Storr’s No.2 third. And in the A Class Commodore Emeritus Cup, It Ain’t Right won over the Whitty K and the H20.

On Thursday, the first of the series races got started. The Golden Girl from Exuma carted off the initial race in the C Class. Lady Sonia from Exuma took the B Class. The A Class results were not available up to press time. Officials were last night still tallying the total scores from the races.

“We have about 57 boats and that’s about more than we need,” Strachan said. “Expense wise, I have more than we need, but the races are going very well. We are looking forward to some very exciting competition over the next two days of competition. Everything is going very well.”

The sailing competition is scheduled to continue 9am today and wrap up on Saturday. One of the special features at the regatta again this year will be the ‘Sands Man in the Boat’ sculling competition to be staged by Bahamian Brewery.

According to Lynden Johnson, the marketing manager for the company, they are excited to once again be a part of the actual regatta, having made a substantial financial contribution to the organising committee.

But Johnson noted that they are looking forward to the sculling races slated for 5pm today in Elizabeth Harbour. “We are very pleased to be a part of it again,” Johnson said. “But on Friday, we will have the Sands Beer Man in the Boat sculling competition.”

As they have done at the recent St Valentine’s Day Massacre in Montagu Bay, Johnson said the overall champion will be awarded the opportunity to compete in the National Sculling Championships to be held later in the year.

“We anticipate that we will once again have some record-breaking numbers for the sculling championships,” Johnson said. “We think the registration will be even better than it was in the St Valentine’s Day Regatta. We are expecting a lot of competitors. We also have a number of ladies who have expressed an interest in competing as well. We got the ladies started in Montagu at the St Valentine’s Time Massacre and there was a lot of excitement from the competitors. We have some of them here and there are others who are eager to get a taste of the competition.”

The first three finishers in both the men and ladies’ divisions will be presented with trophies and a number of products from the Bahamian Brewery, including Sands, Sands Light, High Rock and Strong Back. Competitors will get a chance to compete on one of the four E Class boats that are named after the respective beers listed above.

The boats were all designed by Sheldon Gibson for Bahamian Brewery’s president James ‘Jimmy’ Sands in 2012 in his bid to revitalise the sport of sculling in the Bahamas.

Dennis Fox, who hails from Long Island, emerged as the first winner of the sculling competition in Montagu Bay. He had a large group of spectators on the sidelines wearing their t-shirts in his support and he noted that there was no way that he could let them down.

Fox was the national championship runner-up, losing the title to Clayton Bain, who won it for the second consecutive year in Treasure Cay, Abaco. Bain won the initial national title in Grand Bahama in 2012.