The Tribune

THE 2023 Bahamas Junior Sunfish Nationals took place this past weekend in beautiful Elizabeth Harbour in George Town, Great Exuma.

The host club, The Exuma Sailing Club, hosted the event for the first time and welcomed 10 sailors of the Bahamas National Sailing School from Nassau and 14 of its own local sailors from Exuma.

The weather conditions provided some big challenges for the smaller, younger and newer sailors to overcome with winds up over 20 knots for the majority of the races.

However the seasoned, veteran junior sailors from Nassau embraced the chance to test their skills in the typical conditions for November in Exuma - big winds and tight chop straight from the eastern end of Elizabeth Harbour.

When the competition came to an end it was two of the most familiar names in Bahamas Junior Sailing for the last few years at the top of the podium. Craig Ferguson was crowned the 2023 Bahamas Junior Sunfish Champion, defending his title from 2022 in Nassau. Trading wins back and forth with him during the entire regatta and finishing one point behind was Joshua Weech, also of the Bahamas National Sailing School.

Third overall from the Exuma Sailing Club was Joss Knowles. Drawing on his years of experience sailing in similar conditions in Elizabeth Harbour, Knowles kept the pressure on Ferguson and Weech throughout the competition.

Finishing in fourth was Norman Carthwright from the Bahamas National Sailing School and in 5th was Tanaj Manos of the Exuma Sailing Club.

Other sailors recognised were Christina Manos of The Exuma Sailing Club for the rookie sailor of the regatta.

Also, Jaron Francis of the Bahamas National Sailing School for the “Class Act” sportsmanship award and Kianno Hutchinson of The Exuma Sailing Club for the “GRIT” award, given to the sailor that shows the most tenacity and never quit attitude throughout the whole event.

Coach Dallas Knowles, of The Exuma Sailing Club, praised the efforts of the Nassau sailors and Bahamas National Sailing School. “It’s always great to have sailors visit us and enjoy sailing in one of the most beautiful places in The Bahamas. We know the efforts it takes to bring teams of sailors and boats to off-island regattas, so hats off to Pedro Rahming from the BNSS as well as Jimmie and Lori Lowe for their amazing efforts to help make this regatta happen.

“We look forward to hosting this and similar events here for years to come.

“We enjoy the competition against higher level sailors, especially having two of the best here in Craig and Joshua, it helps show us how much farther we need to go as a club to compete. “On the whole, we are very happy with the sailing and sportsmanship shown by all the athletes this past weekend and of course we are so proud of our Exuma Sailing Club sailors for being good hosts and competing hard for the whole weekend.”

Most known for hosting the National Family Island Regatta every year in April, Exuma has now also hosted two national sailing events, Opti Nationals in 2020 and now Sunfish Nationals this year.