The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

THE visiting teams from the 20 participating countries are starting to show up for the 2019 Optimist North American Championships that is being staged at the Nassau Yacht Club this weekend.

Yesterday, Argentina, with their 15-member team of sailors between the ages of 13-15 years, were seen getting ready to take to the waters for a test run in Montagu Bay, along with Bermuda, New Zealand, and host Bahamas.

“It’s very hot,” said Fadarico Lopez, the head coach of Argentina’s team that arrived here on Monday.

“It’s great. The hotel (at Atlantis) is great. We’re just waiting to get on the water and see what the conditions are like.”

Lopez said their mission here is a very simple one.

“We hope to get as many competitors as we can in the gold fleet,” said Lopez of the competition that will allow the sailors to sail in four races over the first two days before they secure their spots in either the gold, silver or bronze fleets for their final placing.

“We are not expecting to win the regatta, but we want to get as many competitors as we can in the gold fleet. These are some very competitive sailors, so we have to be ready.

The competition should come from the Americans and the South American teams.”

Joaquin Tarasido, one of the sailors from Argentina, said it’s not just a pleasure of their own to be here, but they are looking forward to the competition.

“I’m nervous, but I am very happy to be here. It’s a very nice place,” said Tarasido, a 15-year-old. “I am happy because the weather is nice and warm. We hope that we can do very well here.”

Bermuda is here with a 10-member team, two of whom made their presence felt at the World Championships. They’re aiming to get a number of their sailors in the gold fleet.

Nicole Stovell, 14, is making her second appearance in the championships and she’s hoping that she can perform very well.

“It’s really nice. In a lot of ways, it’s better than Bermuda because the houses and hotels here are very nice,” Stovell said. “The breeze is nice. The water here is very good.”

Ava Adams, a 14-year-old member of Bermuda, competed in the championship last year where she made it to the silver fleet, finishing 17th overall. The gold fleet is her aim this year. “They say we should expect light winds here, which I like, so that’s what I’m looking forward to,” she said. “We have a lot of strong sailors, so I’m hoping that we all do very well.”

Bahamas head coach Rhianno Thomas said her team is even more excited as they finally got a chance to hit the waters in a test run after the windy conditions negated those opportunities over the weekend.

“With many of the other teams showing up, the buzz is beginning,” Thomas said. “It’s all self-motivation for them. They worked very hard to get this far and it really goes to show that they are committed and ready to go. “They don’t need any encouragement from us. They are self-motivated and now doing it as a team is self-motivation. We can sit out here and know what the tides are doing in this bay area, so they definitely have the home town advantage.”

Team Bahamas is made up of captain Joshua Weech, Kaemen Floyd, Craig Ferguson, Cameron Eldon, Finley Labert McKinney, Jasmin Aberle, David Huber, Maison Koepke, Zane Munro, Matthew Reid, Patrick Tomlinson, Saoirse Duffy, Amy McSweeney, Mary Jac Nash, Scarlett McCarroll and Conry Raine.

The first day of competition is Friday and the event concludes on October 4.