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Junior Sailing Programs and News
3-5-2022 Post and photo's and comments from Jr. Sailing Saturday program:
“Jr Sailing started up again in HT after 3 years! Thanks to The Sweeny Family/Shanghai Cottage, the kids have a new launching spot that they can access by walking through town. On Saturday we walked through town as a group and every vehicle that we came upon stopped to let the kids walk by, smiled, and had encouraging words for the children and coaches. The streets of Hope Town came alive with happy children and therefore happy residents and visitors. This is what it’s all about! Made my heart ❤️ happy!!”
2-8-2022 News from Stafford Patterson, newly elected President of Hope Town Jr. Sailing.
As our community continues to recover from the devastating effects of Hurricane Dorian followed by a global pandemic the Hope Town Junior Sailing program wishes to announce that we are back in operation with a full schedule of events for 2022.
An Executive Committee meeting was held on 28th January. New officers elected are:
President: Stafford Patterson
V/P& Program Coordinator: Caitlin Wilhoyte
Secretary: Nakia Wilhoyte
Treasurer: Hillary Thompson
Lead Instructor: Tom Phillips
There will be a Registration day 26th February with classes/paid instruction in the Optimist fleet every Saturday 5th March thru 28th May. Our Opti fleet of 8 was damaged by the storm however we were presented with 6 new hulls following the October 2019 Optimist Worlds that were held in Nassau so we are good on boats. We currently have 3 Optimists on loan to the new Little Harbour Junior Sailing group.
We are asking for your continued support moving forward as we revive our 420’s (two persons) and Sunfish (great boat to move up into) sailing programs. In order to do this some logistics like storage of hulls and rigging will need to be worked out.
The HT Junior Sailing Program is open to youngsters 8 years old and above. It will teach them life skills such as teamwork, critical thinking and problem solving, independence and how to tie knots! Your support will also help with preserving local culture as well as achieving the HT Sailing Clubs objectives [A] and [C]. Thank you.
Stafford Patterson,
President,
HT Jr Sailing
Sue Holloway reports this amazing news for Junior Sailing: NEW OPTIS FOR HOPE TOWN - 2019!
The 2019 Opti North American Championships were held in Nassau in late September, and two of our HTJS kids sailed on the Bahamas National Team. The OPTINAM organizers, the sailing teams from around the world, and the Bahamas Sailing Association all wanted to show their support for Hope Town, which had lost so much in the hurricane.
As a result, Hope Town Junior Sailing has received word that six new Optis are waiting in Nassau for delivery to Hope Town. Robert Dunkley, Director of the Bahamas National Sailing School, reported:
"Through donations from the various teams and assistance from BSA, we have secured 6new boats for Hope Town Junior Sailing, fully equipped with blades, spars, sails, lines, and dollies - all ready to be sailed. The Japanese donated the sails which are slightly used race sails. We have put these in storage in a container and when your club is ready for them, we will ship them to you."
This a wonderful news, and a testament to the close-knit sailing community not just in the Bahamas, but around the world.
The 2019 Opti North American (OPTINAM) Championship Regatta
The regatta was recently held in Nassau. For results go to:
http://2019northamericans.optiworld.org/en/default/races/race-resultsall
Below is a link to the fantastic Scuttlebutt article about the Opti North Americans that were held in late September, and what the participating countries did to help the affected Bahamian sailors and their junior sailing programs. HTSC members’ donations over the years have made a program that a hurricane can't knock down!
https://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/2019/10/31/unified-by-one-common-denominator/
Below is the Facebook video of Jasmin, Maison, and Rhiannon being interviewed at the OPTINAM Championship Races, for the Nassau Guardian: