From:TheBahamasWeekly.com
Branden Sands wins Optimist National Championships held in Abaco
By Lori Lowe
Nov 5, 2015 - 12:28:17 AM
Branden Sands (Abaco) accepting the championship trophy from Jeff Gale
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NASSAU, The Bahamas - Hailing
from the tiny settlement of Cherokee, Abaco Branden Sands and his younger
sister Rachel showed their more experienced big city rivals from Nassau just
how to do it. The only youth sailors in
their tiny settlement, Branden and Rachel largely train in a bubble of their
own on Cherokee Sound with their father coaching them but without the benefit
of being able to train with other sailors on a regular basis. When possible,
their parents make the 40 minute trek with them to Marsh Harbour and send them
on the ferry to Hope Town, Abaco's only active junior fleet with experienced
coaches. The perseverance of both he
and his sister and the extensive encouragement of their parents Tim and Julie Sands is commendable.
Truly
impressive is that with the exception of attending a number of regattas and
training sessions in Nassau in the past two years, Branden has trained with no
real competition save that of his sister.
Racing in big fleets requires skills sets very different than those that
can be learned while training with only one partner. Branden showed that he learned his lessons
well during his various forays out of Abaco.
In a
fabulous event held for the first time in Abaco hosted by the Hope Town Sailing
Club and delayed from it's original October 3-5 dates by Hurricane Joaquin, 15
year old Branden won a closely fought battle to emerge the clear winner over four
time National Champion Spencer Cartwright, who took second and Tristan Eldon third,
both from Nassau. In a fleet of 30
boats Top female finisher was Melisha Higgins of Harbour Island in sixth place
overall. Branden's sister Rachel topped
her age group of 11-13 year olds and finished 11th overall. Noah Simmons of Harbour Island took top
honors for 8 to 10 year olds.
Top in the 19boat Green Fleet for first time competitors was Joshua Weech from Nassau.
The Championship Fleet approaching the downwind mark
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The
ascension of the Family Island athletes is a testament to the hard work and
tireless involvement of the parents and volunteers in each of the communities
who operate their sailing programs with guidance from the Bahamas Sailing
Association. Competitors attended from
Abaco, Grand Bahama, Harbour Island and Nassau.
Sadly missed were the competitors from Mack Knowles Sailing Club in Long
Island who were unable to attend due to the difficulties of transport and communication
in the aftermath of Hurricane Joaquin.
Understandably, their communities were focused on the restoration of the
schools and rebuilding their homes and lives.
This win
was made all the sweeter for Branden coming in his home waters and because it
was his last year of eligibility in the Optimist Class. The Optimist Class is the largest class of
sailboats in the World, targeting children and youth from 8 to 15. The youth sailing community is waiting with
baited breath for next year's Nationals in which Melisha and Rachel are
expected to set the stage for a future of powerful if petite female Bahamian
sailors.
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