Notice of the Annual General Meeting.
6pm Tuesday, December 10 at The Nassau Yacht Club
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Star Western Hemisphere Championship 2013

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 15, 2013

American Team wins Star Class Western Hemisphere Championships.

American duo Augie Diaz and crew Arnis Baltins were in second place at the morning of the final day of sailing the Star Class Western Hemisphere Championships held in Nassau last week. However with a convincing win in their final race late Friday afternoon, were able to take the title. The weather this past week was the kind of perfect sailing conditions that keep bringing international sailors back to The Bahamas. 

From Left to Right: 

Augie Diaz - First Place Skipper, 

Sir Durward Knowles, Anthony Stubbs - 

Pictet Bank and Trust, Arnis Baltins - Frist Place Crew, 

Paul Hutton, Regatta Chairman explained “The consistent breeze generated great sailing with cresting waves that allowed sailors to take maximum advantage of surfing down the front of the waves on the downwind legs. Racing was very tight, with little stretch in the fleet meaning that the mark roundings were very competitive. The week again highlighted The Bahamas as a spectacular international sailing venue, something that the Ministry of Tourism has long had the foresight to support through its focus on sports tourism.”

Top skipper Augie Diaz confirms that “The Bahamas is the perfect place to sail”. This impressive team was also the winners of the Harry Knowles series, which took place at the beginning of the week.  

Narrowly ending up in second place was German team Hubert Merkelbach and Gerrit Bartel. Followed in third place by American team John MacCausland and Phil Trinter, who placed consistently well throughout the regatta. The race attracted twenty one teams from around the world including Agrentina, Canada, USA Germany and the Ukraine. 

The Nassau Yacht Club hosted the regatta which was sponsored by the Nassau branch of private banking firm Pictet Bank & Trust Limited. Hutton says the week went so well that the Star class is already talking about plans to come back to Nassau in the near future.

Optimist /Jr. Laser Winter Championship - A Cold and Windy Regatta.

Having what it takes: Optimist /Jr. Laser Winter Championship 

“Neither snow nor hail nor gloom of night...” is the mantra the we usually associate with the United States Postal Service, but it, in application, is not at all different from the philosophy of our own junior sailors.

When the BSA (Bahamas Sailing Association) planned the March 2-3rd, Optimist / Jr Laser Winter Championship Regatta hosted by the Nassau Yacht Club, no one imagined the weather that the Saturday start brought. 

In true winter fashion, not the Bahamian winters we know anyway, temperatures sank to about 60 degrees with winds up to 25 knots and gusts dancing around 30.  The conditions so great that they forced some Saturday races to be postponed to Sunday.  These factors were of no real effect on the sailors.  They came.  They saw.  They conquered.  

Spencer Cartwright, racing downwind

At the end of the first round of sailing, pushing past chattering lips and teeth and completely submerged attired, the sailors beamed at their accomplishments and confessed the challenges of wind, water and rain.  Overall all, it was a Red Letter day for the youngest sailors whose ages range from 9 to 11 years as this was indeed a major feat. Coach Dunkley, the director of the National Sailing School, lauded the conditions as being “great for the kids.”  According to him, “It really helps to build their confidence. Once you have sailed in 20 knots, 15 becomes easy, once you have sailed in 25 knots, 20 becomes easy. Besides, if you travel to regattas away there is a good chance you will be sailing in conditions like these or even worse, so it is good we get used to it at a young age.” 

As for the young sailors, when asked “How was it out there?” The echoed responses were short and frank, “Wet, cold, rough!”

The privilege of this degree of experience was not only afforded to our Nassauian sailors, but youth sailors from Freeport, Abaco and Harbour Island came and had their chances at taming their sails, against those wild winds as well.  The annual event is one of four major championship regattas held each year for juniors. This was also the last of five events used as a qualifier for the Optimist World Championships and ISAF Youth World Championship to be held this summer in Italy and Cypress respectively.  

There were four competitors in the Laser Radial Class, the four top junior Radial sailors in the country.  There was very close racing between Nicholas Rolle from Freeport and Paul de Souza from Nassau. In the heavy winds, Nicholas dominated, winning 4 out of six races.  When the winds were down a bit, Paul managed to get out ahead and win.  In the end Nicholas won the class, beating Paul by just two points. After all of the points were gathered, including those from earlier events including events in Florida and the Junior Laser National Championship, which Paul won, he earned the right to represent The Bahamas this year at the ISAF Youth World Championships in the Boy’s Laser Class.  

Paul, Nicholas and Audry O’Brien, likely to be our representative in the Girl’s Laser Class at the ISAF Worlds, along with Coaches Robert Dunkley and David Valentine from Freeport will be heading to  Dominican Republic later this month for a high level coaching clinic for top coaches and Laser Radial Sailors in the Caribbean, sponsored by the International Sailing Federation.   

Other major feats for the regatta were wins by Alande Forbes, in the Laser 4.7 class, who won five out of six races with Dwayne Dames was second and Nathaniel Major third. This is the class the kids advance to when coming out of the Optimist class as a result of their size or age: maximum 15 years old.

The Optimist Advanced (Gold) Fleet of 9 boats was dominated by National Champion Spencer Cartwright of Nassau, who won five out of the six races. Cochise Burrows (Nassau) was second and Branden Sands (Abaco) was third. This win secured Spencer’s place on the team going to the Optimist World Championship. The other two or three participants going to this event as team members will be decided on a later date.

There was very close racing in the Optimist Intermediate (Silver) Fleet of 11 boats. At the end of the first day Richard Spurlock lead with Hercude Estime one point behind him. His smart sailing in the first race on Sunday moved Hercude ahead to first in the series and he never looked back. Richard took second and Gustavo Perla – Ellison was third by way of a tiebreak between he and two other sailors. Results between the top five boats could not have been closer.

It is not to be said that the winds took no prisoners or had no casualties.  Paul de Souza laid his mast to rest after Saturday’s second session, after it was successfully snapped by the aggressive winds.  His defeat against the wind was but a minor battle as in true phoenix style, he rose to the occasion and captured a number of victories.  

Parents and supporters alike applauded the tenacity and endurance of the sailors and sailing team against the unwelcome conditions, begging reflection and introspection, on the part of the spectator, “Do you have what it takes?”

Congratulations to all the sailors and a special thank you to the Nassau Yacht Club for hosting this event and again to the BSA junior program sponsors Bahamas Hot Mix, East Nassau Rotary, KPMG, Palm Cay, Bahamas Ferries, Royal Bank, Coca Cola, Odyssey Aviation, Cable Bahamas & Cable Cares, Kerzner Corp., Cardinal Co. Ltd. and Ministry of Sports. 

Event: Laser National Championships 2012

The Bahamas Laser Nationals, sailed on December 8^th and 9^th was open to all Laser rigs (Full, Radial and 4.7’s). Due to the huge increased interest in junior sailing, the majority of the competitors were racing in Radials, the rig used around the world for advanced junior sailing events. Six competitors from Freeport and one from Little Exuma came to contest the race along with their five Nassuvian compatriots.

The Gods looked kindly on our regatta and provided perfect racing conditions (especially for our light weight sailors) with light to moderate winds containing 10 to 15 degree shifts.

Donico Brown, Laser National Champion for 2012

Donico Brown, sailing in the Full rig and a BSA Sailing Instructor, won overall with 7 points; however, one of the country’s top juniors, Paul de Souza, was right on his heels with 8 points.  This position for Paul who is only 13 and has been sailing seriously over the last two years in the Optimist dinghy (the “starter” boat for juniors) confirmed how good he really is in the Laser and demonstrated that his win at the Junior Laser Nationals earlier in the year was obviously no fluke. 

Close finish between Nick Rolle and Alex Thompson; both from
Freeport

As Coach Dunkley put it: “We now have a number of young sailors with natural sailing talent,  who are extremely dedicated to the sport and are training hard and the benefits of this are beginning to show.  Even though he is a bit light for the Laser, Paul is proving that technique and sound tactical knowledge attained through sailing the Optimist well, can be transferred into sailing almost any other boat”. Third place Pedro Rahming and fourth place Spencer Cartwright are another two top junior sailors who have come through the BSA Optimist Junior sailing program in Nassau. 

The Bahamas representative at the ISAF Youth Worlds this past summer, Eric Nabb of Freeport , took fifth, his team mate Nick Rolle was in sixth , and the top female sailor Audrey O’Brien, also hailed from Freeport., 

A big thank you to the Nassau Yacht Club for hosting this event and again to the BSA junior program sponsors Bahamas Hot Mix, East Nassau Rotary, KPMG, Palm Cay, Royal Bank, Coca Cola, Odyssey Aviation, Cable Bahamas & Cable Cares, Kerzner Corp. and Ministry of Sports for their continued support and encouragement – we definitely couldn’t do it without you! 

Paul de Souza coming to the finish for his win of Race #5

Audrey O'Brien - Top Female

Results

Photos 

BSA Carwash to Support Junior Sailing

December 14th, 1000hrs - 1800hrs

At the Nassau Yacht Club

Dear sailors and friends,

Please come on out and help support our young sailors going to the Orange Bowl Regatta at the end of December in Miami, Florida - one of the largest and most well respected junior sailing events in this part of the world. This event is the kind of racing experience our top junior sailors need as part of their overall development. The young and eager sailors are the ones who will be washing your car, this will give you a chance to meet our enthusiastic team. 

Thank you so much for your support.

Best regards,

Robert

Robert Dunkley

Director - Bahamas National Sailing School

c/o Nassau Yacht Club

P.O. Box N-752

Nassau, Bahamas

Tel: 242-357-3959

Event: Sunfish National Championships 2012

November 3rd and 4th 2012 played host to the Sunfish National Championships, sailed out of the Nassau Yacht Club.

Link to results: http://bahamassailing.org/results/sunfish_nationals_2012.pdf

Write up and photos to be posted soon.