Family Island Regatta in George Town
AJAYA'S CRUISE
Phil & Nikki Hoskins
Sun 27 Apr 2014 22:33
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We decided to stay in George Town for the Family Island
Regatta which takes place annually during the week after Easter.
It runs in conjunction with regattas in other
Bahamas islands held throughout the year. George Town ran the
inaugural event some 61 years ago at which time 'Skip' was
probably suffering from nappy rash and the 'Admiral' was just a
twinkle etc.
These events keep the spirit of sailing traditional boats
alive in the islands harping back to the times when everything was
transported by sailing vessels carrying produce and livestock. The boats that
are raced now pay little heed to modern sailboat hull design and are inherently
unstable with their enormous but well cut mainsails. To keep the boats
upright human ballast is required (on windy days in some quantity)
especially on the 'A Class' sloops - the largest of the Bahamas sailing
designs! When the wind blows hard it can be a precarious job sitting way out on
a plank of wood with the possibility of being jettisoned into the air along with
your fellow crew members should nature prevail. At least the water is
warm!
Easter was late this year so the regatta started last
Wednesday and finished on Saturday 26th. The pictures we took reflect 'A'
and 'B' class events over several of the days. Most were taken
at one of the turning marks which all of the boats have to round as part of
the course, with chaotic scenes and much shouting amongst crews as
they jockey for best position before heading off to the next mark. These
regatta events are taken seriously by the crews although whether from
having better sails or just faster hulls there can be quite a large gap between
first and last in.
However, first the boats have to get to George Town from
other islands in the Bahamas and so a few days before the start of racing a
number of large ferries carrying the boats, some already rigged, arrive through
Conch Cay Cut into Elizabeth Harbour. The atmosphere winds up from
there. The boats are unloaded at the Government Dock amidst much jocular and
ribald commenting between the crews to start the process of 'winding-up'.
These guys race against each other at most of the regattas so know their
opponents pretty well. The banter is hilarious to listen to although
understanding all of it can be a challenge. In the back drop of the dock a
whole bevy of shacks are erected for the duration of the event mainly selling
beer and street food.
  The 'Captain Moxey' arrives at Government Dock
George Town with it's own precious cargo of racing boats, and the job of
unloading starts...
  ...well, for some
anyway.........
... whilst dock side it
time to sort the rigs out
  Shore side the finishing touches are made to the
various refreshment shacks whilst ''ol coconut man minds 'coconut
baby'!
Some boats arrived late. There was a rush to get the them
all rigged and ready on time for the Wednesday start. With each boat
beautifully painted in traditional colours and all of the rivalry going on it
was great to be around George Town to see the event unfolding and sample the
pre-race atmosphere.
Unfortunately the weather was not co-operating with light
winds forecast for at least the first few days. Given that we've had good
winds blowing in recent weeks this was a real disappointment. The
first day's racing proved to be almost a drift around the course - very
frustrating for the skippers and crew meaning they had to wait longer to get
back to town for a cool beer.
  Out in the harbour the first of the 'B' class
racing boats gets away as they slowly drift on the downwind leg towards the
second mark.....
  Just to make sure the rules are followed
'megaphone man' waits....as they arrive at the mark to start their turn back
towards town...
  which is where 'tings get
ingression!..... chaotic would be a better description .. with
the long boom overhangs on the boats the inevitable shouting starts as foredeck
crews push adjoining boats away, or their booms anyway... and off they go
on the next leg without too much harm done
The following day conditions improved as a large bank of cloud
hovered over much of the island chain offering better breeze for the 'A' class
fleet
and some human ballast was called to work to keep the boats
upright and racing...
  'A' Class sloops at the turning mark watched by
many spectator boats.....
  ...and a dawg thought it was going
'walkies'
Meanwhile the
boats set off on the downwind leg with their mainsails spread out
wide
 
 ...others follow, whilst a close-up reveals the
precariousness of the human ballast sitting perched out on a wooden plank
On the last day of the regatta the weather was still not
playing fair. A weak cold front swept in from the west to produce squally
rain showers and not a few lightening flashes in the vicinity of George Town.
Some a little too close for comfort. The front eventually meandered off
and the racing was completed with some tense moments in the final 'A' class race
when 'Tida Wave' was pronounced the overall winner due only to a
protest from another boat having been hit when on starboard tack by what would
have been the overall winner in that class 'Running Tide' who were on
port tack and therefore the 'give way' vessel. Yes, there are some rules amongst
the chaos. But plenty of shenanigans as well. We missed this last race
as the Bahamas Police Marching Band were in town for one of their popular
performances as was the Prime Minister of the Bahamas, The Rt. Hon. Perry
Christie. We wanted to catch that spectacle, the band that is, which it indeed
was. So the famous Bahamas Police Marching Band is covered in the next
blog.
Finally, couldn't resist with the aid of Photoshop turning
back the years and seeing how they would have looked before the days of
colour photography or digital cameras...
  A bygone age or 21st Century....it's hard to tell,
and that's a refreshing thought in this day and age!
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