The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

IN an effort to continue to pay homage to the memory of a Bahamian cultural icon, The “King” Eric Regatta Committee in conjunction with the Rock Sound Sailing Association is all set to host another event.

The third annual Rock Sound Regatta takes place September 22-24, featuring a fleet of 15 C-Class sloops.

Shane Gibson, MP for Golden Gates and Minister of National Insurance and Labour, announced the event during a press conference yesterday.

“King Eric was very instrumental in establishing regattas throughout the length and breath of the Bahamas and I think he was responsible for establishing all but two regattas. This was one of those that he started before his death.  Regattas are lifelines to many communities in the Bahamas and we have pledged that since daddy’s passing the family would do all that we could to carry on his legacy,” he said.

“We want to do all we could to ensure that regattas and sloop sailing becomes the national sport of the Bahamas and to make sure that we do all that we could to assist and organise the fundraising for these various regattas. We encourage all descendants of Eleuthera, in particular the residents of South Eleuthera, to offer their full support.”

The committee also hosts the All-For-One Regatta, but like its namesake, continues the legacy of assisting other events throughout the Bahamas. 

“Each year we are looking forward to the regatta getting bigger and better and regattas are very expensive. We have taken on the task of the King Eric All-For-One Regatta every January and for that regatta we have to raise almost $200,000. For this regatta we have to raise tens of thousands of dollars and so we look forward to persons coming down,” he said.

“All of the boat owners and crew members, even if your class boat is not sailing, we encourage you to come down and we look forward to widespread support throughout the Bahamas.”

Committee chairman Eric Gibson Jr said that while the young event is in its third edition, it looks to stand out and continue its development.

“It is great to see the association hold this in honour of my father. He was unable to get it off the ground in his lifetime but I say thank you to the Rock Sound association in his honour. I went down last year and it was a festive event. A lot of people may not recognise that although my father grew up in Acklins, his roots were in Savannah Sound, Eleuthera, so Eleuthera was always near and dear to his heart,” he said.

“We do this with all the awareness that this is what he lived to do, get the regattas in the family island, stimulate the economy and have a good time. We are expecting a big crowd. King Eric would be very happy to know his name was associated with any event.”

Tavares Bowleg, Rock Sound Regatta Association co-chairman, said consistency of the event will be the key to its success and development moving forward.

“This is our third one and what we are trying to do is keep the core boats that have been with us from the beginning and keep them coming back. The first year we started out with 4-5 boats. Right now we are at maximum capacity with 19 boats but by Friday we will have to cut it to 15 boats. As the regatta grows with popularity and more people we will include other classes as well,” he said.

“Regattas are like lifelines. Rock Sound is a small community and King Eric was a giant of a sailor. This event seeks to push monies and popularity into Rock Sound. Nothing much happens in Rock Sound during the course of the year. This is the main event, it is the brain child of King Eric and he sought to make this the pearl of the Bahamas.”