Tuesday, August 18, 2009

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Martinborough wins Sunfish Nationals By DIANE PHILLIPS ~ For the Guardian: With barely enough wind to ripple through the waters in Montagu Bay, three-time Sunfish World Champion Donnie Martinborough used experience to find the highs, dodge the lulls and beat a field of 35 to sail away with The Bahamas' National Sunfish Championship title. It was the 10th time Martinborough won out of the 11 times the national championship has been held, but this time was different. "This is the first time that four of the top 15 sailors were juniors and the first time a junior has come in second," said Martinborough. Christopher Sands, a student at St. Andrews, took second place. "Chris deserves so much credit. He sailed such a smart regatta." Smart, in this sense, meant not peeling off to take chances that could pay off or just as easily backfire in light and fickle winds, but sailing conservatively to end the series with two second place finishes, two fifths and one 10th, for a total of 24 points in the low-point series. Sands finished just two points below (ahead of) veteran sailor Jimmie Lowe, who came in third with 26 points in the five-race series. In fourth place was real estate guru George Damianos who finished with 27 points. In fifth was S,S Scandinavian Gold Cup winner and underwater cinematographer Gavin McKinney, who would have given Martinborough a solid run for the title if it had not been for a single bad race. McKinney was the only sailor in the field of 35 beside Martinborough to win two races, but a 23rd place finish in the first race hurt his overall score. In most series, sailors are able to toss out their worst race, but because only five of the six scheduled races were run for lack of wind, every race count ed. "The fact that there were no throw-outs made a huge difference in the final results for a number of sailors in the competition," said Martinborough, whose own worst finish was a fifth. "But it also made young Chris Sands' final results, in fact, all the juniors', that much more impressive." In addition to the surprise of youth finishing close to or beating experienced world class sailors like Lowe, McKinney and Damianos, all of whom sail different classes of boats and at one time or another have held enviable international titles, what made this series stand out was its lead-up to the Sunfish World Championships set for October in New Providence. "The Worlds are huge - boats and sailors from around the world," said Martinborough. "Hence the great turnout for the nationals this year, the largest turnout that I can ever remember, since the host team can enter as many as 15 boats." The possibility of not having any qualifiers for the World Championships hung in the air on the first day of the regatta when there was so little wind it would have taken a hefty whistler to disturb a leaf. "We had only three days to sail and complete this regatta," said Martinborough, who also holds a world record in Bermuda Race Week wins in the Sunfish, the spunky little 14-foot boat with a single sail. "On Saturday, the first day, it didn't look like we were going to get in any races." They finally sailed one. "That meant on Sunday, we had to jam in four races, back-to-back. Conditions were very tough because the wind was still light and variable, all over the place." Martinborough's win in Montagu Bay earned him the Perry Cooke Memorial National Trophy in honor of the late sailor who brought home The Bahamas' first Olympic Gold along with Sir Durward Knowles in the Star Class in 1954. The Sunfish National Championships was hosted and sponsored by the Nassau Yacht Club while the Royal Nassau Sailing Club's Commodore Francisco de Cardenas ran the races. De Cardenas' son, Fernando, finished eighth, just behind Peter Bruce Wassitsch, who finished in seventh, nearly 20 places ahead of his father, Pedro Wassitsch, at 78, the oldest competitor in the regatta. The elder Wassitsch sailed all five races, finishing with 115 points and a broad smile. Monday, July 27, 2009