The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Day one of the Best-of -the-Best Regatta in the beautifully transformed Montagu Bay saw Tida Wave, Susan Chase and Sacrifice take the early lead in the A, B and C classes.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Local Government’s four-day regatta features all of the local sloops that won their respective divisions of the various regattas held during the course of the year.

It’s the first time that such an event is being held and it got off to a fantastic start with fans on shore getting to watch the action live and up close on two huge televisions.

In the opening race for the A Class, Tida Wave, which dominated the Long Island Regatta in Salt Pond, led from start to finish as they did a number on the other four boats entered.

The Lady Muriel, winner of the prestigious National Family Island Regatta in Georgetown, Exuma, came in second while Red Stripe, winner of the Cat Island Regatta, came in third. The Running Tide, winner of the Andros Regatta, was fourth and the Original Courageous, winner of the Acklins Regatta, brought up the rear.

“It was pretty good. We had some good sailing today,” said Tida Wave’s skipper Brooks Miller. “The crew did what we do best and that is sail. We did pretty good today pulling off the first race.

“There’s a lot of good competition out there but once we took the lead, we just held on at the end. But it’s not over yet. I think there will be some pretty good sailing over the next three days.”

If they can continue to make the right tacks and the right moves, Miller said there’s no reason why they should not prevail in the second race that is slated to begin at 9am today.

Steve Smith, owner of the Lady Muriel skippered by Clyde Rolle, said when they started out they were in fifth place, so it was good to see them come back for second.

“In the middle of the race, we ended up third and just before the end, we got into second as Tida Wave edged out for first,” Smith said. “In wind conditions of 10 knots or lower, the Tida Wave will always be the boat to beat. So we’re looking forward to being right in the thick of things this weekend.”

Smith said the boats competing are all top notch and even though the Original Courageous didn’t get off to a good start, the other four boats are all sailing very well.

Like the A class, the Susan Chase surged out to a quick lead and maintained her position to hold off the rest of the field in the B class.

And just as she did in dominating all of the races at both the National Family Island Regatta and the Long Island Regatta, skipper Stefon Knowles said they are looking to take the Best-of-the-Best title back to Long Island.

“The wind was fluctuating and we ended up with a smaller sail and once we opened up the gap at the beginning, we knew that they were not going to catch us,” Knowles said. “We’re here to win and I don’t see why we can’t do it.”

She left the Queen Drucilla in second with the Barbarian coming in third and Ants Nest rounding out the field in fourth place.

And in the C class, which brought the curtain down on day one, there was some drama as Knowles was the only man left on his Whitty K after his three crew members fell overboard after they passed the buoy on the first of two laps.

At the time, the highly favored Whitty K was sitting in fourth place. Knowles and crew managed to regain their composure and stayed in fourth place the rest of the way.

Sacrifice, owned by Colin Cartwright, surged out front and was able to put about a minute and a half ahead of a close battle between the second place King & Knights and third place Aliv Thunderbird. The rest of the field, following the Whitty K, were the Sweet Island Gal, H2O, Crazy Partner and Legal Weapon in a race of their own.

“We did good as usual when I sail her,” said David Knowles, the skipper of Sacrifice. “When I sail her, she normally wins. That’s not the boat I normally sail. I normally sail the Lady Dianne, my brother’s boat in Long Island. I was just helping out my brother-in-law.”

Knowles said although they were ahead, they heard about the problems that the Whitty K experienced, but he pointed out that its’ not a big issue because they will be back.

After Saturday’s third races in the regatta, the top three boats in both the A and B classes and the top four in the C class will advance to the final on Sunday where they will compete for the top prizes.