2020 Bahamas Optimist National Championship at Exuma Sailing Club
by Jan Pehrson 6 Mar 2021 09:07 PST
February 27-28, 2021
The Bahamas Optimist National Championship 2020 was sailed February 27-28 in George Town, Exuma, The Bahamas, hosted and organized by the Exuma Sailing Club on the waters of beautiful Elizabeth Harbor.
53 Opti sailors came from the various islands of the Bahamas. They were met by challenging conditions of 3 to 4 foot chop, with 20 mph winds gusting to as high as 30 mph. The chop and winds continued all weekend.
The Green fleet raced on day one, but did not sail on day two due to the extreme conditions.
The Championship fleet battled it out until the final seconds of the very last race in the series.
The final, seventh championship race was incredible. Joshua Weech, Craig Ferguson and Kaemen Floyd were separated by four points going into the last race with Joshua leading with 7 points. For Craig to win he needed to be in the top three and put one boat between him and Joshua. Joshua just wouldn't let it happen. In the end there was one point separating these three sailors. Joshua, 11 points and Craig and Kaemen 12 points with Craig winning the tie-break. Joshua ended up the overall series winner when prizes were awarded at the Chat 'N' Chill Restaurant. This is Joshua's fourth year in a row as national champion, now tied with Spencer Cartwright for this record, still with one more Optimist national championship to sail before aging out.
Overall Results:
Championship Fleet
1 Joshua Weech (BNSS/NYC)
2 Craig Ferguson (BNSS/NYC)
3 Kaeman Floyd (BNSS/NYC)
4 Matthew Reid (RNSC)
5 Cameron Eldon (RNSC)
Top female
Mary Jac Nash (LCIS)
Green Fleet
1 Tanaj Manos (ESC)
2 Miles Mason (ESC)
3 Sonny Ampleman (ESC)