SPORT
The UWI Sailing Club made history last July by entering both of its mango yellow yachts in a local regatta.
UWI Sailors Continue to Make Waves by Franchero Ellis
W ith the Blackbird motif emblazoning their starboard bows, Oiseau-noir and L’il T’Pot , skippered by Ché Alleyne and Franchero Ellis respectively, added more than a splash of color to the azure waters of the Offshore Regatta that comprised mainly white- painted yachts on the racecourse. The return of competitive yachting to the sporting calendar, after COVID-19 had halted all team sports worldwide, was a delight for the regatta’s official photographer Peter Marshall as he happily created memories of the event. Sailing in the red class, L’il T’Pot
chased nJoy , a red Northstar yacht, across the start line and was pursued by Oiseau-noir . After crisscrossing Carlisle Bay amid unsteady winds, nJoy enjoyed a two-minute advantage in a hard- fought battle as the vessels rounded the windward mark inside the bay. That time was whittled down to 90 seconds as they rounded the mark off Needham’s Point just outside the bay. Even without the expected robustly competitive field, the double entry by The UWI Sailing Club was an encouraging sign for the club’s future. It was an indicator that at least the basic equipment was ready and awaiting its next batch of recruits from among Cave Hill Campus’s
2022-2023 student intake as they returned for full resumption of face-to-face classes and campus life. With higher winds and strong gusts expected along the south coast, some shrewd tacticians reduced their sail cover but then regretted that upon encountering extra strong currents accompanying the heavy seas. These conditions made the journey from the Barbados Hilton to the turning point off Accra Beach somewhat laborious for L’il T’Pot’s crew, and being required to do it twice made it the proverbial labour of love. Yacht nJoy did not survive the onslaught of the relentless south coast waves and broke part of her steering mechanism at the gybe mark.
CHILL NEWS 118
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