23rd Homer Lowe Memorial Regatta

The 23^rd consecutive Homer Lower Memorial Regatta took place this past weekend, April 6-7, in Marsh Harbour.  It was an all-Abaco turnout with sailors from Marsh Harbour, Hope Town, Man-O-War and Cherokee.  The weather was perfect with winds blowing 12-17 mph both days.  We had two classes of boats, Sunfish and Optimist Dinghies.  The moderate wind made for good close racing in both classes.

The skipper’s meeting was at Snappas and we got right to the racing at 10:45 am.  Dwayne Wallas took the first win of the day in the Sunfish class.  Joey Gale, last year’s winner, won the first race in the Opti class.  Andrew Wilhoyte, from Hope Town, won the second race in the Sunfish class and Brandon Sands won the second race on the Opti class before the lunch break at Snappas.  Andrew Wilhoyte finished off  Saturday with 2 more first place finishes and a comfortable lead overnight.  Joey and Brandon traded firsts in races 3 and 4 and the points were a tight in the Opti Class. 

Opti Start

On Day 2, with 2 races to go, it was a race for second in the Sunfish class.  Dwayne Wallas won his second race of the regatta, and winning the tie-breaker over third place finisher, Jim Kaighin.  Brandon Sands, from Cherokee, won the last 2 races and winning the regatta in the Opti class.  William Cash finished 3^rd, just 2 points ahead of 4^th place Opti sailor Chloe Sweeting.  Congratulations to 2 time Homer Lowe Sunfish Champion Andrew Wilhoyte and first time Opti winner, Brandon Sands.

Also, the large group of moored boats in the harbour really enjoyed watching the races up close.  Racers would some times be just inches from the spectator fleet, so they got real familiar with the sailors.  They were cheering the competitors on and taking pictures.

Sunfish Start

We could not hold this regatta without help from others.  Liann Key Kaighin, Lenore and David Mulock ran the  race committee boat.  James and Anne Pleydell-Bouverie assisted with setting the marks on the race course as well.  We also appreciate the assistance of Faron Sawyer and Rhonda Hull.  Snappas is always a great place to host an event and worked out well as regatta headquarters for the weekend,  thanks again to Bill Albury.

Pictures by Liann Key Kaighin