History of the Exuma Sailing Club

If you’ve spent time in The Bahamas, you’re probably aware of the popular sport of sloop sailing and annual sailing regattas held in most island regions. It was actually shocking to find out, after doing some background research, that sailing is not the national sport of The Bahamas. The national sport of The Bahamas is in fact, cricket. A sport with a rousing history of popularity in the 1930’s until the 1970’s when The Bahamas became independent from Great Britain. These days when many people think of cricket in The Bahamas, it turns into conversation about the fabulous pot pies and draught Guinness served up at The Cricket Club in Nassau.

From the early days of settlement, sail work boats and fishing schooners were always an integral part of life in the Bahamas for inter-island commerce and connection. By the early 1950’s these working sailboats were disappearing in place of engine-powered counterparts.

In 1954 a small group of Bahamian and American yachtsmen came up with an idea to hold a regatta for the remaining working sailing boats to showcase and honor their heritage. In April of 1954, nearly 70 sloops, schooners and dinghies gathered in Elizabeth Harbour in Great Exuma for three days of sailboat racing. It was such a success that it was decided to make this regatta an annual event, and the George Town Family Island Regatta was born. Before long, local regattas were popping up throughout various island communities.

Out Island Regatta, 1957. Photo courtesy of Vintage Bahamas.

In the 1970s, the sport of cricket was on the decline, and The Bahamas was looking at independence from Great Britain. Competitive sloop sailing regattas began to gain popularity as a national sport. In an article in the Freeport News several years ago, the author pitches a call to reconsider the cultural sport of sailing as one of utmost importance, classifying it as THE National Sport…

“So it came to pass that as early as the 1970s, a strong case could have been made for sailing to be declared the official National Sport of The Bahamas. There were several lobby efforts subsequently, but successive governments never quite got around to making sailing officially the designated national sport. Sailing deserves such a status. Sailing led the way for The Bahamas on the world sports stage. Today, more official sailing events take place throughout the country than those organized for any other discipline.

The National Sport of The Bahamas is indeed sailing!

All that needs to happen now is for the ceremony to take place with the Governor General and the Prime Minister in attendance, to give the affair a fitting endorsement.”

Out Island Regatta, 1974. Photo courtesy of Vintage Bahamas.

Sloop sailing and sailing regattas were winning spots in the hearts of the Bahamians and weaving their way into Bahamian culture. With such strong ties to the ocean, is it the least bit surprising?

Fast forward to 2013 and a roundtable discussion at the Peace & Plenty Hotel in George Town where a group of enthusiastic Exumians were brainstorming a junior sailing program. Their aim was to encourage the youth in the community to fall in love with the sport of sailing at a young age. They would train a group of competent young sailors to embrace this sport and the competition of regatta, with the potential to lead to a lifetime love-affair, involvement in adult regattas, and perhaps even giving back to their community by training a new batch of young sailors one day.

Dallas Knowles reminisces upon the early days. “When I sailed in the National Family Island Regatta in 2013 I realized firsthand how special this tradition was and how it was more than just sailing, but also uniquely Bahamian. When Chris Ketel and Danny Strachan approached me about starting the sailing club for kids, I was 100% onboard because I wanted the kids in Exuma to have the chance to experience it. We didn't want the kids living on the out island to be disadvantaged and not have great opportunities in front of them, so we got to work.”

‘One Bahamas’ was one of the first E Class boats ever built, commissioned by Sir Duward Knowles. It is one of the oldest and best E Class boats still competing in the Bahamas.

The newest class of Bahamian sloop in the regatta scene was a 12-foot-long E Class vessel, which was perfect for blossoming young boys and girls to handle on the water. As timing would have it, The Exuma Foundation had recently been gifted two E Class boats and were in need of a team, and so, in October 2013 the Exuma Sailing Club was established.

The biggest challenge they faced in the early days was that they only had two boats available for the many interested participants, so it was difficult for each child to get ample time on the water. In time, the need was met, and 3 more boats were added to the fleet. As the demand grew, community members took notice and began donating Sunfish and Hobie Cats so that more kids could get hands-on experience on the water. Another challenge faced by the Club was the condition of the E Class boats – probably some of the most difficult boats to learn on. If they made a mistake, the boat would sink, and it would take time and much effort to raise it up from the bottom of Elizabeth Harbour.

The first major fundraiser took place in 2015 when the Club had its sights on a competitive C Class boat called Termite. Dallas Knowles, one of the founding Club members, set to work writing letters to local businesses and individuals, discussing club goals, accomplishments, and aspirations for the additional C Class boat. The Club raised $15,000 and was able to purchase this top-level boat in October 2015. Termite pulled her weight and quickly established herself as serious C Class competition against the adults in the league. In 2018, she placed first, second, or third in each of the seven regattas she competed in. Since 2018, Termite has not placed outside of the top three in nearly every local regatta in Exuma.

Termite helped to establish a positive reputation for the Club. The Club asked the community for help and proved itself by providing a dedicated and successful sailing team.

During the lockdowns of 2020, the Club struggled to stay afloat. But thanks to local charitable organization, Friends of Exuma, the Club was able to persevere. Knowles voices his gratitude: “Friends of Exuma has been a savior for the Club for 2021. With no regattas to sail in for coming up 2 years now we would have had little to no funding for the Club and would have most likely had to close practices and camps until regattas returned.  Thanks to the generosity of FOE we actually had the biggest and best year the club has ever seen.  We ADDED boats, ADDED sailors, HOSTED the 2020 postponed Optimist Bahamas National Championships for the first time ever in Exuma, and have been able to spend the year getting our 43-foot Trawler boat ready for the return of regattas (a liveaboard boat that was donated to the Club for us to use to carry the team to Long Island, Farmers Cay, and Nassau Regattas). None of this would have happened without the assistance Friends of Exuma offered us this year!”

Many young sailors have gotten their feet wet with the Exuma Sailing Club. Some have turned into impressive adult sailors. Many more will pass through the doors. As young sailors have come and gone over the years, the goal has remained the same “To teach the young men and women of Exuma teamwork and discipline through the sport of sailing with consistent practices and competing in regattas throughout The Bahamas.” With assistance from local donators and charitable organizations like Friends of Exuma, the Club hopes to continue to thrive. Here’s to many more years of fair winds and following seas.

To learn more about how you can help, visit the Friends of Exuma Donate page.

Written by Mariah Moyle with contributions from Dallas Knowles of the Exuma Sailing Club