The Tribune

By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

FIVE sailors from The Bahamas journeyed to Costa Brava in Girona, Spain, for the 2023 Optimist World Championships.

The event was hosted by the International Optimist Dinghy Association (IODA) June 15-25.

The top five sailors from each country are selected to compete and this year there were 257 sailors from 57 different countries.

Martin Manrique, head coach of the team, talked about the experience of the young sailors at the World Championships.

“The overall experience was mixed feelings, it was amazing to break the record of Bahamian sailors and a great feeling of validating all the hours and hard work we have been doing in the past years,” Manrique said.

However, he added that it was a bit frustrating because they were unable to sail as much as they wanted to because the conditions at the beach did not allow for them to go sailing during three of the eight days scheduled for competition.

Team Bahamas consisted of Finley Mckinney Lambert, Patrick Tomlinson, Jude McCarroll, Mary Jac Nash and Eliza Denning.

Lambert was the first Bahamian ever to make the gold fleet at the Optimist World Championships. He placed 35th overall out of 250 participants in the competition.

Tomlinson, the current Bahamian national champion for sailing, finished 21st in bronze and 146th overall. McCarroll came out 59th in the emerald fleet. The team’s head coach had high praise for the five-member group.

“The performance of Finley was great but not a surprise, both him and the rest of sailors on the team are great sailors, super fast and with the best boat handling techniques on the fleet. “We sail only on fleets of 10-15 sailors while other countries sail with approximately 250 on every regatta,” Manrique said.

The coach added that they knew it could go both ways but they were happy that he was mature enough to handle the situation.

Although the result may seem as a surprise, they knew how much he trained for it and it was also a team effort on all fronts.

The girls also turned in brilliant performances in the first time ever the five-member team has included female sailors.

Denning capped off the world championships regatta in 47th place for the silver fleet and came in 110th overall. Jac Nash ended her first time appearance on the world team - 48th on the bronze fleet and 173rd overall.

Manrique was pleased with the efforts of the girls and said it’s especially exciting to see them competing at this level for the first time. He added that he appreciated the increased respect and recognition from other teams who have witnessed their remarkable improvements.

With sailing now well underway as the country’s national sport, the sailors will be on the waters once again, this time in Antigua and Barbuda July 2-9 for the 2023 North American Optimist Championships (OptiNams).

The event was previously hosted in Nassau last year.

Also, the sailors will put their talents on display for the sailing sporting discipline at the Bahamas Golden Jubilee Games starting on July 8 at Montagu Bay.