By DAHALIA SMITH, NG Sports Reporter, dahalia@nasguard.com

The 55th National Family Island Regatta Committee was extremely accommodating when the A, B and C-class sloops were loaded onto the barge in New Providence enroute to Elizabeth's Harbour in Georgetown, Exuma last Sunday. It took less than 24 hours to load more than a dozen sloops.

However, on Saturday night, boat owners who participated in the regatta told The Nassau Guardian that if the committee was as accommodating, as it relates to loading their sloops onto the barge, as they were on Sunday April 20, the entire event would have been a success.

Instead, on Saturday night, when the final race held in the harbour was completed at 6:00 p.m., the boats remained in the water and tied to the side of the barge until Sunday evening. The sloops didn't return to New Providence safely, until Monday. This caused many sailors to be irate as they felt neglected once the sailing excitement had worn off.

While the awards ceremony was occurring Sunday night, the sailors and boats owners who had not finished in the top four positions of their respective classes were at the dock patiently awaiting the crane operator to load their very expensive sloops. The New Southern Cross, owned by Stafford Armbrister, was one of those boat owners who expressed disgust at the careless handling of the sloops.

"This regatta is not properly organized. The land committee is not doing enough to ensure boat safety. I didn't attend this regatta for the last two years because of these same problems. Furthermore, they need to do something about this regatta site. It is very difficult for the boat owners to get to the barge because all of the stalls, people and music are in the way. They cram the only street there is that leads to the boats and the barge. Whoever set up this regatta site was not considerate about the sailors.

"In contrast, they did a marvelous job in New Providence loading the sloops on the barge. Apparently, people in Exuma don't know anything about loading boats. They had an accident when we first arrived and because of that, the crane operator refused to work at night. I am sure someone could have found another crane operator between last Sunday and tonight," said Armbrister.

Meanwhile, this year's third place finisher in the A-class, Lee Armbrister on the Good News, gave his assessment of the situation five hours after the completion of the last A-class race.

"This situation is very inconveniencing because a lot of boat owners don't want to leave until they see that their sloops are safely secured. We have not been given any indication from the committee as to what is going to happen to our boats," he said. "I heard that the crane driver does not work on Sunday, so we need to find someone else or wait until Monday. Every regatta we go through this same thing and it is very discouraging. However, I doubt this would adversely affect my decision to return. We have crew who we brought up here from their jobs and this little bit of money does not compensate for another night or at all," explained last year's Bahamar 'Boat Of the Year' winner.

Another boat owner, Dwayne Higgins, underlined further implications as it relates to their neglect after the regatta. Higgins owns the 'Jacob's Ladder'.

"The C-class races ended after 10:00 a.m. (Saturday morning), and some of those boats were loaded. Then, after the B-class race, more boats came over and then when the A-class race was done, there was a problem. It is now 10:00 p.m. and some C-class sloops are still in the water as well as other 'A' and 'B' Class boats. Another boat which I deal with, the Cobra, did not have to be painted for a whole year. Now, she will have to be re-painted just because of the damage sustained from being tied up on the side of the barge tonight. This is very costly and the circumstance is unacceptable.

"We have no idea how long anything is going to take. I believe that Clyde Rolle has always been responsible for this. He was successful in getting the boats loaded in Nassau. OveralI, more concern needs to be given to boat owners especially when the regatta is over. When the races are done is when the hardship begins. Missing a week from work is enough and losing additional days is costly," Higgins said.

Ground regatta committee member Clyde Rolle, who was responsible for securing the sloops on the barge in New Providence and Exuma, declined to comment on the situation.