Black Point Regatta
02 August 2008 | Staniel Cay
Jeff
Emancipation Day, a Bahamas National Holiday, is celebrated the first weekend in August. The islanders take advantage of the three day weekend to celebrate the holiday. Multiple picnics, fireworks, music, and the Black Point Regatta are part of the Emancipation Day festivities. The regatta, a point to point course from Staniel Cay to Black Point Settlement, is for class C regatta boats. Lady Muriel pictured yesterday is a class A boat. I believe the boats are classified by length with class A being the largest vessels. The regatta boats are all rigged similarly with one vastly oversized mainsail. They carry a crew of 4 to 6. During the windward legs the crew hikes out on 2X12 timbers that cantilever out over the gunwale by at least 5 feet. Save for a 12 volt bilge pump the vessels have no electronics and no motors.