The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

BENJAMIN Derbyshire, Luke Knowles, Noah Simmons, Paloma Cartwright, Connor Pinder and Paul de Souza emerged as the respective divisional winners of the Cecil Cooke Memorial Sailing Championship held in Montagu Bay over the weekend.

The event was staged by Sandra Cooke in memory of her father during the 50th anniversary celebrations of the gold medal performance by the late Cecil Cooke and legendary skipper Sir Durward ‘Sea Wolf’ Knowles as they made history in the Star Class at the 1964 Olympic Games in Enoshima, Japan.

Subway was the major sponsor of the championship which was broken down into six different classes with 38 sailors from New Providence, Grand Bahama, Long Island and Harbour Island, Eleuthera competing over the two days of competition on Saturday and Sunday.

“On the first day (Saturday) we managed to sail two races in the morning before having to cancel for the rest of the day due to high winds that was over 25 mph and gusting over 30 mph, the point at which boats and equipment start to break,” said Robert Dunkley, one of the organisers of the championship that was organised by the Bahamas National Sailing School and Nassau Yacht Club.

“On Sunday the weather was perfect - winds eight to 12 knots out of the northeast. This made for shifty conditions which always makes the racing more of a challenge and fun.”

Derbyshire, a 13-year-old student from St Andrew’s School, won his first championship title when he took the Optimist Gold Fleet Class of advanced competitors. Derbyshire, who has been sailing in the Bahamas National Sailing School headed by Dunkley, won the title over Cochise Burrows and Tristan Eldon, the second and third place finishers. They were all from New Providence.

In a battle between two Long Islanders, Luke Knowles won the Optimist Silver Fleet of intermediate competitors ahead of Don Knowles Jr. Third place went to Matteo Alliata of New Providence.

Harbour Island was well represented by Noah Simmons, who took the Optimist Green Fleet for beginner’s title back to Eleuthera. Simmons won over his New Providence rivals Margan Grammatico and Landon Johnson, who came in second and third respectively.

The popular Sunfish Class was dominated by a pair of girls from Long Island. Paloma Cartwright, who has already established herself as one of the top sailors in the country, won the title followed by Jessica Cartwright. Thomas Treco of New Providence had to settle for third place.

In the Laser 4.7 class, Connor Pinder won the title over Daisy Tinkler. They both represented New Providence. And in one of the most competitive divisions, featuring top junior sailors in the country, Paul de Souza captured the title ahead of his New Providence rival Spencer Cartwright. Tyler Cartwright, who competed for Long Island, finished third.

Jimmy Lowe, another one of the organisers, said despite the weather they encountered on Saturday, the competition was keenly contested on Sunday.

“Everybody thoroughly enjoyed it,” he said. “All of the kids had a great time. There were lots of stories to tell because of the heavy breeze. Everybody had a little bit of experience one way or the other. But it was a huge success. It was the second biggest junior regatta that the Bahamas Sailing Association hosted this year, next to the nationals.”

Lowe said through the efforts of Sandra Cooke, they intend to continue to host the regatta on an annual basis as they keep the memory of the late Cecil Cooke alive.