Photo Credit: M^3 – flickr.com

The 79th annual Nassau Cup Ocean Race took place Nov. 7-10. This sailing event proved there is more to the Bahamas than turquoise water, coral and palm trees rustling in the Caribbean breeze.

The 176-mile race kicked off from near Miami, Florida and finished up in Nassau Harbour at the most populous island in the Bahamas, New Providence Island. The lighthouse atop Paradise Island guided the sailors’ paths.

All fifteen boats that departed Miami arrived in Nassau safely to enjoy some fine island rum and celebrations. Ron O’Hanley’s “Privateer” was the winner, breaking the previous elapsed time record of “Boomerang” with a time of 13 hours, 31 minutes and 30 seconds. Frank Atkinson’s “Different Drummer” was first to finish in the Performance Handicap Racing Fleet (PHRF) class.

Since the race was launched in 1934, famous off-shore racers including media mogul Ted Turner have made a bid to get their names etched into the Nassau Cup Ocean Race silverware. Turner’s ship was called Tenacious for a simple reason. “Because I never quit. I’ve got a bunch of flags on my boat, but there ain’t no white flags. I don’t surrender. That’s the story of my life,” reported Sailing World.

Turner duly won in 1979 aboard Tenacious, capping his 1970 success aboard American Eagle.

Cover Photo Credit: mattk1979 – flickr.com