The Tribune

In the words of his children, Sandra and Charles, the accolade for their father, the late Cecil Cooke, is long overdue.

Tomorrow, in a “Golden Anniversary” luncheon at Atlantis Paradise Island, crewman Cooke and captain Sir Durward Knowles will be honoured by the Bahamas Olympic Committee (BOC) and the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture for winning the Bahamas’ first gold medal at the Olympic Games. The Nassau sailors won the Star class event in 1964 in Tokyo, Japan.

Over the years, Cooke has always been considered the “forgotten one” as all of the attention has been placed on Sir Durward, who in 1956 had teamed up with the late Sloan Farrington to claim the bronze - the first medal won by Bahamians - at the Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, when they competed under the banner of the British Empire.

Sandra Cooke, who was three when the historic gold performance was accomplished, said the recognition is “well overdue” and it “couldn’t happen any sooner” as this week marks the 50th anniversary of the achievement.

“So we do feel like our father is the forgotten one and I suppose that it happened because my parents were killed in a car accident in 1983,” she stated. “We spoke out for recognition for him back then, but if it wasn’t for the Golden Girls winning their gold medal, the performance by Sir Durward and Cecil Cooke may not have been brought to the forefront.

“Ever since, people have been asking what about me, but my parents were not around, so I’ve been trying to get people to understand that we have our own heroes right here. We don’t need to worship the others on the other side. We have them in sailing, we have them in track and field, we have them in sailing and we have them everywhere.”

Charles Cooke, who was nine at the time of the 1964 Olympics, concurred with his sister.

“It’s long overdue. I have to give Sandra the credit for pushing it,” he said yesterday, having come from Abaco for the celebrations. “With this being done, I think the younger people will learn about what took place in 1964. That’s the sad part because it’s not promoted within the schools. You don’t really have to be rich and famous to do something like that. It was a blast.”

Sandra Cooke, who was 21 when her parents died, said it’s just so unfortunate that the country’s heroes are not celebrated while they are alive. But she commended the BOC and the Ministry of Sports for collaborating for the first public recognition for Cecil Cooke.

“We never forgot him or the accomplishment that he and Sir Durward made,” she stressed. “We are nervous as we get closer to Thursday, but as a family, we’re proud of what our father, grandfather and great grandfather did. He and Sir Durward Knowles put us on the map.

“They were two little white boys sailing from a rock out of nowhere. They went to Tokyo, Japan, to upset the world in sailing and they actually did it in frigid cold weather. So I’m very, very excited about Thursday.”

On May 1, 1983, Cecil, 59, and his wife, Merlee, were killed in a car accident on Bernard Road, Fox Hill. Their death was followed by the passing of their oldest child, Perry, 19 years ago. Other survivors include Shane Cooke (nephew) and Jessica and Jennifer Cooke (nieces) and Lacy Cooke (great grandniece).

And as the family continue to reflect on his life, Sandra Cooke said if there’s one thing she can take away from their experience is the fact that “there will never be another. We know that there will never be another Olympic gold medal in the Star class because they don’t include the Star class sailing in the Olympics anymore.

“In my mind, there just won’t be another. I would like to see some of our young sailors push forward in their particular type of sail boats that they are sailing in. Anything is possible any given day. So I feel ecstatic, I feel honoured, I feel very proud and I want my fellow Bahamians to know who my father was.

“Today’s era does not know him. And 90 per cent of the people who will be at the function on Thursday didn’t know my father. But I hope that when I get up to speak, I will be precise enough to give them a small picture of who my father was because he was a super, fantastic dad.”

While he has always been given the credit for the two Olympic feats, Sir Durward pointed out: “I couldn’t do it without my crew,” making reference to both Farrington and Cooke. “We travelled together as a team and we competed as a team. So when there was a celebration, they did it together as a team.

“A captain is only as good as his crew and Cecil Cooke was the best crew that I had. Me and Sloan Farrington made a great team when we competed in Melbourne, but after he wasn’t able to travel with me to Tokyo, I was very fortunate to get a great partner in Cecil Cooke.

“And no matter where we competed, he was always the life of the party. I just wish that he was able to be here to receive this recognition with me.”

In 1964, Sir Arlington Butler was just beginning his tenure as a member of the Bahamas Olympic Association, as it was then called. He was serving as the president of the Bahamas Amateur Athletic Association, now known as the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations.

At the time, Sir Arlington recalled that even then, the focus was on the captain and in most cases, the crew was the supporting cast.

“Cecil Cooke played a minor role, although he was on the water, he was in good shape,” Butler stated. “We always looked to the captain and with Sir Durward being the captain, he got all of the accolades. But Cecil Cooke had tremendous skills and that skill was translated into the success of the team. But in every situation, the captain always gets the glory.”

Butler, however, went as far to say that duo combined to perform a “miracle” on the water for the Bahamas.

“It was a miracle for a country of our size to emerge as the number one Star class team in the world,” he pointed out. “In 1947, we had a world championship, but in 1964 for us to win a gold medal was remarkable. You can’t measure it. You can only enjoy it.”

During his sailing days, Cecil Cooke worked for the Bethel Robinson Liquor Company as a credit manager. He was 38 when he competed at the Olympics with Sir Durward. The duo never sailed in any major regatta after that feat, but Charles Cooke teamed up with Sir Durward to win a regatta in Montagu Bay in the 1970s.

While Sir Durward went to compete with different partners, Cecil Cooke crewed with Foster Clarke and a gentleman from John S George named Mr McKinney as they went on to compete in a number of competitions, including an event in Florida.

Cecil Cooke will forever be remembered as the crew member for Sir Durward when the Bahamas won their historic gold medal in the Star class in 1964 in Toyko, Japan.

• Tomorrow - a glittering cast gathers to honour and celebrate the annniversary