By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

THE KPMG Winter Youth Sailing Championship was a rousing success over the weekend at the Nassau Yacht Club.

The event served as one of the qualifiers for the 2024 Optimist North American Championship and 2024 Optimist World Championship to be hosted in Puerto and Argentina which set the stage for some stiff competition.

More than 40 sailors competed in the Laser fleet (ILCA 4 and ILCA 6), Sunfish fleet and Optimists (green and championship fleet).

Finley Mckinney-Lambert, who is a part of the Eleuthera Sailing Academy, was crowned the winner of the Optis Championship fleet. Joshua Weech edged out his competitors in the ILCA 6. Sienna Jones, from the Lyford Cay

Sailing Club, took bragging rights in the ILCA 4. Tanaj Manos was victorious in the Sunfish class and Christian Wells won the Optis green fleet. Paul de Souza, head coach of the Bahamas National Sailing School (BNSS), was proud of his sailors’ competitiveness in the ILCA 6 fleet.

“For The Bahamas National Sailing School, our boys Joshua Weech, Norman Cartwright and Craig Ferguson pretty much come first, second and third every event they sail in the Laser. We are first, second and third in the Laser class for the boys which is very good. It has been like that for a while and it is always just a different person that wins every time. For the most part it is Joshua Weech that wins and he did win this event too,” the coach said.

There was only a one- point margin between first and second place for the ILCA 6 fleet. Weech earned a total of 12. Norman Cart- wright, who won the Laser Class at the Sir Durward Knowles Junior Sailing Championships, settled for second with 13. Craig Ferguson wrapped up third with a total of 17.

Eliza Denning was the top female performer in the Laser class with 25.

The battle on the waters was tightly-contested as sailors in the ILCA fleets are vying for a ticket to the 2024 Youth Sailing World Championships set for July in Lake Garda, Italy.

De Souza said it is great to watch the sailors of the BNSS compete with each other on their quest to qualifying. “For my boys it is just a competition between themselves. I will be happy for each one of them equally if they qualify. It is always great to watch them compete against each other. It doesn’t matter to me who ends up qualifying in the end but it is fun to watch them battle it out,” he said.

McKinney-Lambert took the hardware for the Optis championship fleet to no surprise. He finished with a total of 9. Patrick Tomlinson, former Optis national champion, placed second and Rankine Javien came third with a total of 21.

Mary Jac Nash was the best female sailor in the championship fleet with a total of 29.

Manos was impressive in the Sunfish class over the weekend. He totalled 5 after two days of competition on the waters. Kahden Knowles ended with a score

of 10 for second and Tyler Russell totalled 14 for third. In the Optis beginner fleet, Wells, of the Royal Nassau Sailing Club, led the way with a total of 6. Abel Ponnore finished second overall with 14. Kai Harvey, representing BNSS, was a mere point behind at 15. De Souza felt the event was a success for yet another year.

“I think it was a great success. I was a little worried because we just had the SDK Junior Sailing Championships the week before and I was worried about attendance not being as high but because it was a qualifier, it boosted attendance. It is always a great event. We always joke that it is super windy during the KPMG Winter Youth Championships, which is why kids like to sail it.

“Unfortunately, this year it wasn’t quite as windy as it was in the past but it was still great conditions and all the kids had a good time,” he said.

Next up for the national sport of The Bahamas will be the National Junior Sailing Regatta April 23-27 in Exuma.