Category: SAILING

Maycock Leads The Pack

VETERAN golfer Greg Maycock holds a slim four-stroke lead over nearest rival Keathen Stuart after the first two days of competition in the Bahamas Professional Golf Association (BPGA) 2020 National Championships. Photo: Donavan Mcintosh

VETERAN golfer Greg Maycock holds a slim four-stroke lead over nearest rival Keathen Stuart after the first two days of competition in the Bahamas Professional Golf Association (BPGA) 2020 National Championships. Photo: Donavan Mcintosh

Wednesday, December 2, 2020

#By BRENT STUBBS

#Senior Sports Reporter

#bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

#With two consistent rounds of two-over-par 74s, veteran Greg Maycock holds a slim four-stroke lead over his nearest rival Keathen Stuart after the first two days of competition in the Bahamas Professional Golf Association (BPGA) 2020 National Championships.

#Despite the increase with the wind on the Ocean Club Golf Course on Paradise Island yesterday, Maycock was able to match his performance from day one on Monday to stage out front with a total of 148.

#Playing in the threesome with Maycock, Stuart matched his own four-over-par with a pair of 76s for his two-day total of 152. Marcus Pratt, the only member of the group, is in third with 80-78-158.

#Only three other players are participating in the tournament that will continue today and wrap up on Thursday. They all played in the other threesome.

#Chris Lewis, president of the BPGA, leads that crew with 82-90-162, followed by Glenn Pratt with 89-82- 171 and Matthew Cox, the youngest member in the field, with 97-88-185.

#Looking at his consistency over the first two days of competition, Maycock attributed it to his driver.

#“My driver has allowed me to hit the majority of the greens,” he said. “Yesterday (Monday), I hit too many, but I was right on target today.”

#And as the tournament goes into its final half, Maycock said as long as he can endure the weather, he should be able to hold onto his lead. Not letting him get out of sight or reach, Stuart admitted that he will have to capitalise on the few mistakes he made over the first two days, missing a put here and there. “Each day I messed up on one hole,” he said. “I triple bogeyed 17, so it’s pretty strong with just one hole messed up. I just have to continue to do my best and 17 won’t get me again.”

#Based on the conditions, Pratt said he can’t complain about his performance.

#“We’ve not been playing any major golf on any major golf course at the professional level in the Bahamas at all, so I consider my game in grand standings,” he stated.

#“The next two days, the only thing I need to work on out here is my putting. I didn’t make too much mistakes today, but it was really a putting struggle because I wasn’t used to the greens.”

#Lewis, in from Grand Bahama, admitted that he’s not playing as well as he anticipated, but he’s just glad that they have a tournament to get things back on track for the professionals. “So far, I’m just scrapping by, not playing that well. I have too many loop holes out there on the golf course,” Lewis said. “Today, I shot an 80, but I made a quadruple bogey, a triple bogey and a double bogey. That was my whole day summed up in three holes.”

#The Grand Bahama resident said although the field was quite small, the competition is still there. “We have some people just going back to work, so we didn’t expect a huge number. As a matter of fact, in professional golf, we don’t have that many numbers to begin with,” he stated.

#“We probably were missing about three or four guys, but you have to take the first step in order to start rebuilding.”

#For Glenn Pratt, it’s all about getting readjusted to playing golf again. “I expect to improve every day and I’ve done that for the first two days,” he said. “I haven’t done anything outstanding because this is like only the second time that I’ve played for the year.

#“It’s important that we continue playing and keeping the association alive, so I’m definitely going to do whatever I can to keep it alive.”

#He noted that Maycock has set the pace for them so far in the tournament, but they’re missing players like Keno Turnquest, who is nursing an injury.

#“We have to struggle around that and hope that we can manage more golf courses so that we can get to play more regularly,” he said.

#“Until then, it’s going to be a struggle for us. We need to be employed and have access to improve our game by playing more tournaments.”

#For Cox, he’s just glad to be participating in the tournament. “My game isn’t up to my standard, but I’m still enjoying the experience, enjoying the competition,” Cox said.

#“The golf course is providing a good test for everybody, so hopefully I can put in two good rounds and finish strong.”

#The former junior national team player said he hopes that more tournaments will follow to improve his game.

#“I don’t focus on how many persons are in the tournament, just on who has the lowest score,” he said. “So that is my target because I try to surpass what they are doing.”

#The players will all have two more days to improve their scores.

Cartwright looking to sail at 2024 Olympics

Bahamian female sailor Paloma Cartwright is hoping to represent The Bahamas at the 2024 Olympics. She has been competing in sailing since 2005 and uses it as a driving force to manoeuvre through everyday life. PALOMA CARTWRIGHT

June 16, 2020T

he Nassau Guardian

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Bahamian female sailor Paloma Cartwright, who is aiming to represent The Bahamas at an Olympic Summer Games in sailing, is studying at McGill University, in Montreal, Canada.

The Long Islander began sailing in 2005 when she was just five years old and has used it as a driving force in her life ever since.

She will be looking to represent The Bahamas in sailing at the 2024 Olympic Games.

“Embarking on my 2024 Olympic campaign with Paul de Souza in the Nacra 17 (mixed) class brings to mind every important life lesson sailing has taught me. Balancing university studies, training in Florida, as well as a new diet and fitness program has been no easy feat. This has brought even greater focus to the prioritization of goals. A medal from the 2024 Olympics is now my ultimate goal,” Cartwright said.

Cartwright spoke about the impact that sailing has had on her life and how terrified she was at first.

“To try and articulate the impact sailing has had on my life is no easy feat, but I can easily say it has truly taught me countless valuable life lessons over the years. I recall being terrified when I sailed my first optimist nationals at Montagu Bay at five years of age but persevering because that was what sailing was about,” Cartwright said. “Sailing taught me how to adapt to the ever-changing conditions of life, just as we adapt to weather conditions on the water.”

The highlight of Cartwright’s summer every year was going to New Providence to sail in the Bahamas National Sailing School’s (BNSS) summer sailing program. She saw all of her friends from the different islands who she usually only saw at the optimist nationals – friends who became like family to her. That sailing family consisted of mostly male sailors, so the girls stood together and worked hard to stand out. Being a female in a male dominated sport was not always easy, but this was another life lesson for Cartwright. She stated that every time she was recognized for her accomplishments or sometimes just participation, she felt an immense sense of pride.

In addition to international class sailing, Cartwright loved competing in sloop sailing regattas.

“For me, sloops made the sport that much more fun. It’s less about winning and more about being able to have bragging rights. It also helped advance my skills as a sailor because skippering a sloop is all about teamwork,” Cartwright said.

From the beginning of her sailing career to high school graduation, sailing was a driving force for the young Long Islander. Cartwright had to be focused in school, so that she could fly to New Providence for all the major regattas during the year and not fall behind.

Cartwright won countless regattas, a national youth award for excellence in sailing, the Bahamas Olympic Committee’s (BOC) Presidents Cup in 2015, along with many other achievements over the years. This helped in building her portfolio and undeniably contributed to her winning the All-Bahamas Merit Scholarship Award in 2017, which now pays for her education at McGill University.

Another huge accomplishment for Cartwright was organizing and leading the Long Island’s Summer Sailing Camp in 2018, where over 70 young sailing enthusiasts participated. According to Cartwright, it was a great feeling to be able to teach youngsters in her own community how to sail and ultimately how to form a team to represent the island at the optimist nationals. She was also an instructor at the BNSS summer camps and is honored to have introduced sailing to so many young sailors on Long Island and throughout The Bahamas.

Looking back, the aspiring Olympian said she has a great appreciation for the training she received through the Mack Knowles Junior Sailing Club on Long Island, the Bahamas Sailing Association (BSA) and the BNSS. Cartwright encourages every young person in The Bahamas to participate in sailing.