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H.E. ROSS
…Turks Island sailing enthusiast
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Prior to this year's Bahamas National Sailing Championships in George Town, Exuma, H.E. Ross, a journalist from Turks further ignited the interest for such an encounter. Ross was in the country recently for the second time talking up the prospect of a sailing match-up. He met with local skippers and others of the sailing environment and the response was favourable.
In the first meeting, three of The Bahamas' top sailing clubs represented by 21 members met with the Turks Islanders, subsequently inviting a group of six sailors to The Bahamas for the 2007 George Town National Sailing Championships.
Ross said, "They didn't only invite us back but they allowed us to sail on their boats during the competition. Four of us sailed while the other two observed from the committee boat and we could see exactly what they were doing."
"Basically what we're trying to do is re-link the heritage between The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos by having some of The Bahamian sloops compete in the 'TCI Challenge' that is coming up June 6-12," added Ross.
While sailors from both countries would get a chance to see how the other operates through these early exchanges, one of the main challenges to pull off an annual or bi-annual series would be the enormous cost of shipping the sailing sloops back and forth between Turks and The Bahamas.
Ross estimates it will take about $60,000 to get at least a half a dozen Bahamian sloops to Turks for the challenge and the same when it is time for the TCI team to travel to The Bahamas.
He said sailors in the TCI are presently raising funds to ensure the visiting sailors are treated with nothing but the best hospitality and are entertained while in The TCI, all in addition to "some really good cash prizes."
According to Ross, sloop sailing is not as big in Turks as it is in The Bahamas. "We just started the TCI Maritime Heritage Federation two and a half years ago with five registered sloops. Today we have 14 sloops with five more presently at various stages of production, so we are moving in the right direction," he explained.
"We've been able to put about 475 junior sailors on sloops from 17-30 feet long and we've put a sailing programme in the primary schools curriculum under 'Maritime Heritage'. It starts out with sixth grader getting onto a sloop," said Ross.
The Bahamas has seen a growth in the number of females directly involved in sailing from skippers like Nioshe Rolle who skippers the C-Class 'Termite,' to enthusiastic rookie sailors like sports writer Dahalia Smith.
Ross says with the primary school sailors the females are "always the first one to jump on the boat, while the guys kind of try to play cool. But, the girls jump on the boat and the next thing you know they want to go sailing."
Another similarity the neighboring countries have is the fact that there is strong support in both countries to make sloop sailing the national sport.
It is not clear at what stage the proposal may be at in TCI, but in The Bahamas the former Government prior to the May 2 elections was in the process of legally switching the countries national sports from cricket to sloop sailing.
Ross says his ultimate goal is to establish a Pan/Caribbean Sailing Competition.
"There really isn't any history about sailing in the Caribbean, nothing really written about the people who actually sail except for pirates," he said.
Locally, sailors are confident they would win the sailing series.
Legendary sailor King Eric Gibson said, "I think it's a good thing to have happen to get up there to TCI. I understand that they think they have some fast boats there but we plan to go there and show them what fast boats are really like."
Captain James Wallace said plans for Bahamian sloops to attend the TCI regatta are progressing quite well.
"It's just unfortunate that I have to try and defend the TCI sailors against my colleague King Eric because I do think they have some very good sailors in TCI.
"While the group of six was here for the Nationals they were able to sail on board the A-Class Pieces of eight and the Good News just to get a view of how racing is done in The Bahamas, and this event is very much alive and is being promoted widely in the TCI from the highest office in the land. The Governor in TCI is anxious to get on one of the sloops and help participate.
"But of course like most things, it requires financial support which is something that we are appealing to the Bahamian corporate citizens for so that we can make it happen and take this sailing culture that we have inherited to higher levels. We take it outside of The Bahamas and get other people involved," said Wallace.
According to Wallace there have been inquiries from other countries like Bermuda and Antigua that are interested in the TCI Challenge and possibly a Caribbean Sloop Sailing Championship.
He informed that the local team expects to include at least five sloops from each of the A, B and C-Classes.
"This is something new, its different, it's a little further away to transport the boats which is the single biggest cost element," added Wallace.
Beginning on Friday May 25-28 most of the Bahamian sloops will be in competition at the annual Long Island Regatta at Salt Pond.
