Bahamas Winter Championship

This past weekend saw competition in the 61st edition of the historic Bahamas Winter Championships hosted by the Royal Nassau Sailing Club. The event features the three race Bacardi Cup, and the five race Dudley Gamblin Memorial trophy. 

Montague Bay in Nassau threw out its usual variety of conditions with the three race Bacardi Cup sailed on Friday in champagne conditions of 8 to 12 knots; the first three scheduled races of the Gamblin held on Saturday in 12 to 18 knots of variable and shifty conditions; and regretfully racing abandoned for the final two races on Sunday due to winds gusting to 28 knots.

Competitors included teams from the United States and Finland along with the usual local crew of Snipe sailors.

For the first time in the history of the Bacardi Cup, a female skipper was the winner. 

– Nikki Bruno and Watt Duffy of the United States took the first prize,

– followed by local legend Jimmie Lowe with crew Pedro Rahming in second; 

– Fernando De Cardenas (former national team coach) and Argentinian optimist and I-420 Coach Martina Pisani in third. 

In the Dudley Gamblin Memorial:

– the winner was Bahamian Paul De Souza (a top Bahamian ILCA sailor and current ILCA coach at the Bahamas National Sailing School) with Bahamian youth sailor Nash Cartwright.  (Nash is the younger brother of Norman Cartwright who together competed in the 2025 Miami Snipe International).  

– In 2nd place was Gavin McKinney and his son Morgan (Gavin is a former 5.5m world champion). 

– In 3rd place was Fernando De Cardenas, this time sailing with Bahamian youth sailor Amy McSweeney.

The overall trophies Charles Kelly Memorial for top competitors in both series and Concord Trophy for top Bahamian team overall were won by Fernando De Cardenas and his respective crews, Martina Pisani and Amy McSweeney. 

The Basil Trevor Kelly Memorial Trophy for the top team who did not win any other trophy went to Lori Lowe sailing with Bahamian youth sailor, Johannes Maritz.

The local Snipe fleet in Nassau hopes to grow the event to the number of former years.  Next up is the King’s Cup scheduled for 12-13 April, 2025 also hosted by the Royal Nassau Sailing Club.

Warm regards from The Bahamas!