By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

OVER 200 junior sailors will have a great opportunity to put their sailing skills on display at the 2025 Sir Durward Knowles National Junior Sailing Championships February 20-22 at the Montagu foreshore.

The three-day competition is geared towards highlighting the decorated legacy of Olympian Sir Durward Knowles as well as the talents of the junior sailors across The Bahamas.

Minister of Works and Family Island Affairs Clay Sweeting, shared his expectations for the national junior regatta.

“We are expecting a number of sailors across the islands. We have new sailing clubs that didn’t participate last year and we have Spanish Wells coming this year which is a new club. 

“We have seen the growth in the development of sailing. 

“A lot of these same young people that participate in this regatta you will see some of them able to participate in Best of the Best and other regattas throughout the country so we have seen an increase in development and in participation from young people,” he said.

Junior sailors hailing from Exuma, Grand Bahama, Spanish Wells, Harbour Island, Eleuthera and New Providence will battle on the waters for bragging rights.

Sailors will compete in the optis, sunfish, laser and E class categories.

Sweeting emphasised the importance of honouring Knowles in the hosting of this event.

“The Sir Durward Knowles National Championship is a celebration of the determined spirit of our youth, their passion for the open waters and a tribute to the legendary Sir Durward Knowles, a Bahamian icon and Olympic gold medallist. 

“Sir Durward Knowles embodied excellence in sailing and left an enduring legacy in the world of maritime sportsmanship. It is only fitting that we continue his mission by hosting this national championship, providing young sailors from all across our beautiful nation the opportunity to test their skills and compete in various competitions,” he said.

Minister Sweeting added that the government is adamant about lending the same support to junior sailors as they did to senior sailors at the 2024 Best of the Best Regatta last December. 

“The National Junior Sailing Championships is a testament to the unwavering support of the government for young Bahamians. 

“We extend the same energy and commitment to them as we did for the senior sailors during the Best of the Best Regatta.

 Sir Durward Knowles helped to put our country on the map for sailing in 1964 when he won a gold medal at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. We are hopeful that from among the current generation of junior sailors we will achieve similar success,” Sweeting said.

The Exuma Sailing Club emerged victorious last year at the event’s return for the first time since 2018.

Joss Knowles, of the Exuma Sailing Club, won the E-class. 

Norman Cartwright, of the Bahamas National Sailing School, was crowned the champion of the laser class.

Additionally, Finley McKinney-Lambert prevailed in the optis and Edward Knowles Jr held his own in the opti green fleet.

Sweeting encouraged sailing enthusiasts to come out and support the youth this month.

“We welcome all sailing enthusiasts and visitors to join our youth in showcasing the best of the best in youth sailing. We challenge the keen supporters who showed up for the Best of the Best and senior sloop sailing to do likewise for our young people…We look forward to another successful National Junior Sailing competition,” he said.

Event organsiers have partnered with the Royal Bahamas Police Force, Royal Bahamas Defence Force, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Tourism, the Bahamas Public Parks and Public Beaches Authority, the Antiquities Monuments & Museums Corporation, ZNS and Aliv.