Daily Archives: January 16, 2020

GREAT EXUMA, The Bahamas Holding a slim lead for most of the day, Tommy Gainey birdied his last three holes en route to his third career Korn Ferry Tour victory at The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay. At 11-under, Gainey topped John Oda and Dylan Wu by four shots.

I definitely didnt expect it this week, said Gainey, a former PGA TOUR champion at the 2012 RSM Classic. As you know, the last time I played here (in 2017) I shot 87-84. But its a new year, new tournament. I just had to be patient.

With a birdie at the par-5 first, Gainey looked prepared to distance himself from the field. Instead he made par on the next nine holes before a bogey save at the par-3 11th, where he hit his ball into the hazard right of the green, chipped across the green and got up-and-down for 4.

Salvaging bogey on No. 11 was key, said Gainey. It could have gone all of the way in the right hazard, but it sat up on the plants and I was able to get a club on it.

Gainey added four more pars on Nos. 12-15 before making birdie on his final three holes to slam the door shut on his competitors. The win was his first on the Korn Ferry Tour since the 2010 season when he won twice and finished fourth on the money list.

The wind affected players all week with scoring averages hovering around 75 over the first two rounds. The final cumulative scoring average was 74.032, the highest relative to par since the 2018 United Leasing & Finance Championship.

This is just a really tough golf course, said Gainey. When the wind blows 20 or 25 miles per hour, theres not much room out there for you to miss. You have to aim over the ocean to bring it back into the fairway. I just had a great effort this week, was very patient this week and had a great caddie (Scott) on the bag.

Entering his sophomore campaign on the Korn Ferry Tour, John Oda made a late charge with birdies at 15, 16 and 17 to briefly hold a share of the lead. A wayward tee shot at the par-5 18th ended any hopes of a comeback. Still, a bogey save at the last was enough for a T2 finish.

My drive on 18 was left and I looked to be headed for a big number, said Oda. But my caddie found the ball and I was able to take an unplayable and grind out a bogey. I dont think people realize how big that bogey was for me. That was huge.

Oda has now finished T4, T4 and T2 in three starts on islands on the Korn Ferry Tour (two in Great Exuma, one in Great Abaco). The 23-year-old grew up in Hawaii where he was the state amateur champion in 2012 and 2013.

Dylan Wu posted birdies at the first and fourth, countered by bogeys at the second and seventh, before making par on the final 11 holes.

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Gainey wins The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic - SCNow

GREAT EXUMA, The Bahamas A day after a 3-over 75 seemingly dropped Tommy Gainey out of contention, the 44-year-old responded with a bogey-free 67 to ascend the leaderboard and take a one-stroke lead into the final round at The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay. At 8-under, Gainey edged four players by a stroke to take the 54-hole lead.

Gainey began the day eight strokes back of Dylan Wu, but a 3-over front nine by Wu opened the door. Gainey birdied his first two holes and turned at 4-under 32 before tacking on one more birdie at the par-4 13thto reach 8-under.

I think Dylan shot 67-66 the first two days and he was 11-under going in, but I knew I could get this golf course when the wind lets up just a bit, said Gainey, a PGA TOUR winner at the 2012 RSM Classic. Obviously it subsided some today, which I was glad to see, and I played a great round.

Four different players held a share of the lead during the third round as less windy conditions led to better scoring conditions, including Wu, Gainey, George Cunningham and Jose de Jesus Rodriguez. Though the conditions were calmer than the first two days, the sea breeze was still consistently 15-20 miles per hour with gusts up to 25 miles per hour.

Playing in (windy) tournaments throughout my career have me prepared for when it is gusting hard, said Gainey. Everyone has to play in it I try to deal with it like everybody else and so far its going pretty well.

After a par at the par-5 first, Gainey credited his shot on the par-3 second hole with kick-starting his round.

On No. 2, I hit the ball to about 10 or 12 feet, said Gainey. The pin was on the front and it was playing about 210 yards. When you hit it that close with the wind in your face off of the left, Im pretty happy with that. Birdies on the first two holes really started my momentum.

While the second hole was kind to Gainey, the same cant be said for Wu, who began the day with a seven-stroke lead on the field. After a birdie at the first, Wu hit his tee shot on the second in the water and settled for a triple bogey. He added three more bogeys and a double at the par-4 12th(countered by three more birdies) to card a 4-over 76.

Of course its hard when you lose a lead like that, but its my first time playing in this type of situation on this Tour so all you can do is learn from it, said Wu, whose seven-stroke lead after the second round tied a Korn Ferry Tour record. Im still happy that I still have a chance to win the tournament tomorrow.

Zalatoris, a former standout at Wake Forest University, carded the round of the day with a 7-under 65. Entering the day 11 strokes off the lead, Zalatoris enjoyed a torrid stretch from Nos. 13-15 in which he went ace-birdie-eagle. The ace was the third of Zalatoris life and helped him overcome an early double bogey at the par-3 sixth.

On No. 13 I had a pitching wedge and the pin is so far up that I could barely see the bottom of the hole; it ended up going in, which was a shocker, said Zalatoris. After that I was just trying to validate that shotOn 15 was when I knew it was my day. I had a good tee shot but had 295 yards to the hole and its blowing 30 miles per hour downwind. I hit 5-iron and pulled it, it was carrying the edge of the water the whole time and rolled up to about 25 feet from the hole. Erik (Compton) told me I need to go buy a lottery ticket after this round. I agree.

The final round on Wednesday will run from 7:25 a.m. to 11:40 a.m. off of the first tee.

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Gainey takes third-round lead at The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic - pgatour.com

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Bahamas Government 'considering its options' for Freeport Grand Bahama International Airport - CAPA - Centre for Aviation

NEW PORT RICHEY School supplies lists were given out months ago. Even though teachers and students are settled into the new school year, there are still other countries that need help putting pens and paper into the hands of young learners.

All five Pasco-Hernando State College campuses are collecting school supplies for students affected by Hurricane Dorian that hit the Bahamas at the beginning of September.

Due to the destruction of multiple schools, and the damage of many, a lot of students in the country were displaced and moved to new schools. These changes have strained the available school resources.

A PHSC press release stated, Ten schools were destroyed on the island of Abaco alone, while many other schools sustained damages. The traumatized children of the Bahamas, some of whom lost family members, classmates, and their homes are transitioning to schools that are undamaged but strained to accommodate additional students.

Lucy Miller, the director of community outreach for PHSC, believes that the routine of attending school on a daily basis is important for children, especially after the destruction that the hurricane brought down on the island.

Returning to school is such a normal thing that children rely on, Miller said.

The idea for the school supplies drive came up when PHSC President Timothy L. Beard reached out to a PHSC alumnus who resides in Nassau in order to check on the safety of him and his family.

DAngelo Ferguson graduated from PHSC West Campus in 2008. During his time at the school, he earned four associate in science degrees. He lives in Nassau, the capital city of the Bahamas, and is the CEO of the Alfred & Nancy Stuart Foundation, which gives scholarships and gifts to graduating Bahamian high school students.

School leaders are welcoming displaced students into their schools, even if not fully equipped to do so, said Ferguson in a press release. Despite extraordinary circumstances, returning to school establishes a sense of normalcy that children desperately need. Donations of classroom supplies will help ease the strain for schools and students.

Ferguson left his mark on PHSC in multiple ways such as starting an empowering school club.

DAngelo is a natural leader and a force for positive change, said Beard in the release.

He established Men of Excellence, a still active student organization that encourages African-American students to succeed in college, Beard said. We are proud of the role he has taken to help the children of the Bahamas.

The suggested items for donation include new backpacks, flash drives, notebooks, binders, calculators, pens, pencils, art materials and more.

The response has been very positive, Miller said. Its an easily affordable contribution.

People can drop off donated school supplies in boxes at the library and college store at each campus. PHSC West Campus is at 10230 Ridge Road. The college stores are selling discounted supplies to anyone donating to the drive.

PHSC is also looking for the donation of a truck or truck company to load the supplies. For more information, email Lucy Miller at millerl@phsc.edu.

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Supplies to be donated to the Bahamas | Featured Content - Suncoast News

Image courtesy USCG

By The Maritime Executive 01-10-2020 10:44:00

[Brief] On Thursday, three mariners were rescued off Andros Island when their tugboat, the Gulf Man, began taking on water. The survivors were Noel Maycock, 66, Seth Daughtery, 32, and James Orr, 51.

Coast Guard 7th District watchstanders received an emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) alert for the Gulf Man at about 1820 hours on Thursday and directed the launch of a helicopter crew.

A Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew arrived on scene, reported that the tugboat was taking on water, hoisted all three crewmembers and transported them to Nassau, Bahamas with no reported injuries.

"Thanks to the proper utilization of an EPIRB, we were able to get on scene and rescue three people from a very dangerous situation," said Lt. Andrew Connell, operations officer at Air Station Clearwater. "Always properly prepare yourself with safety and communications equipment before taking to the sea. Flares, EPIRBs and VHF radios can be game changers in the event of an emergency."

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Three Rescued from Sinking Tug Off Andros Island, Bahamas - The Maritime Executive

Floridas womens tennis team will take to the Caribbean to open its 2020 season.

UF is competing in the three-day Pink Flamingo Cup tournament in Nassau, Bahamas, from Friday through Sunday. The Gators weekend competition consists of No. 4 UCLA, No. 7 Texas and No. 23 Miami.

Because all participating teams are ranked, the tournament will stand as a good test for Florida to start the spring.

The Cup will pit all four teams against each other in both singles and doubles events.

On Friday, Florida will begin the tournament against Texas in doubles and UCLA in singles.

Saturday will bring a new challenge, as Florida will take on Miami in doubles and flip to singles against Texas.

Finally, on Sunday, the Gators will face UCLA in doubles and Miami in singles.

Of the Gators eight spots on its roster, six players are returning from last seasons successful campaign.

Florida earned a 32nd-straight NCAA Championship appearance last season and settled into the No. 24 slot in the final 2019 rankings.

Two athletes that will provide Florida with a big push this season are juniors McCartney Kessler and Ida Jarlskog.

Kessler led UF in victories last year, accumulating 15 match wins for the Gators on her way to a 2019 All-SEC Second Team selection, while 2019 All-American Jarlskog finished No. 17 in 2019 singles play.

Jarlskog also earned All-SEC First Team honors.

After UF wraps up its weekend overseas, it will return home until it has to hit the road to compete in the ITA Kick-off Weekend at NC State from Jan. 25-26.

Follow Dylan on Twitter @dylanoshea24 and contact him at [emailprotected].

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The 21st-ranked Gators open up season in the Bahamas - The Independent Florida Alligator

Christopher Columbus got a lot of things wrong about the "New World." He thought that manatees were mermaids, that the Bahamas were a part of Asia and that the indigenous people of the Caribbean were "Indians" eager to submit to their new Christian overlords i.e., himself. (They're not, they aren't, and they definitely weren't.)

One claim in the explorer's diaries that remains particularly contentious even today regards cannibals. According to Columbus, a tribe of invading cannibal warriors aka, the Caniba repeatedly beset his crew and the indigenous communities of the Bahamas when he landed there in 1492. But is there truth to these tales?

While there's no evidence they were cannibals, the Caniba were a real group of South Americans, better known as the Caribs. The group of people from northwest Amazon region are known to have colonized several Caribbean islands beginning around the year A.D. 800, but archaeological evidence suggests they never made it as far north as the Bahamas, where Columbus claims to have encountered them. Either Columbus was wrong again, or historians aren't seeing the full picture of the Carib migration.

Related: Top 5 Misconceptions About Columbus

Now, a new study published Jan. 10 in the journal Scientific Reports suggests Columbus may have been (partially) right after all. By analyzing more than 100 skulls from the Caribbean (plus a few from Florida and Panama) dating between the years 800 and 1542, researchers concluded that the Carib people were indeed present in the Bahamas as early as the year A.D. 1,000 meaning Columbus' descriptions of their raids could have been based in reality.

"I've spent years trying to prove Columbus wrong when he was right: There were Caribs in the northern Caribbean when he arrived," study co-author William Keegan, curator ofCaribbean archaeology at the Florida Museum of Natural History, said in a statement.

In Columbus' accounts, the New World (actually the modern-day Bahamas) was divided between two main populations: the gentle Arawak people, whom Columbus dubbed "the best people in the world," and the fearsome Caniba, who were marauding cannibals. (The English word "cannibal" actually derives from "Caniba," a name Columbus reportedly learned from the Arawaks.)

Archaeological evidence suggests the Carib/Caniba people expanded from the South American mainland as far north as the island of Guadeloupe, about 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) south of the Bahamas. However, this evidence is scant, it's mostly based on pottery and may not be telling the full story, the authors of the new study wrote.

To build a more complete picture of the Carib expansion, the researchers analyzed the morphological features of 103 skulls borrowed from Caribbean museum collections, hoping that the similarities and differences could reveal the cultural origins of those people.

Using their skull structure analysis, the team identified three distinct groups of migrants among their sample. According to the researchers, the Caribbean's earliest settlers came from the Yucatn Peninsula in modern-day Mexico around 5000 B.C., migrating into modern-day Cuba and the northern Antilles. Later, Arawaks from what are now Colombia and Venezuela migrated to Puerto Rico between 800 and 200 B.C. (These migrations are supported by stone tools and pottery discovered in previous archaeological studies, the authors wrote.)

Finally, Carib colonists crossed the sea to arrive at the island of Hispaniola (which now houses the countries of Haiti and the Dominican Republic) around the year A.D. 800, before continuing their expansion into Jamaica and the Bahamas. By the year 1000, violent conflict between Arawaks and Caribs may well have begun.

These findings give credence to Columbus' claims that the Arawaks were often besieged by their aggressive neighbors but what about the cannibalism? According to Keegan, it's possible that the Caribs did occasionally eat the flesh of their enemies to inspire fear, but there's no real evidence of this happening.

Either way, Columbus' reports of cannibalism had a catastrophic impact on Europeans' attitudes toward the Caribbean and its people, Keegan said. While the Spanish monarchy initially planned to treat indigenous groups with respect and pay them for their work, they reversed their position when Columbus claimed the Caribs were flesh-eating heathens who refused to convert to Christianity.

"The crown said, 'Well, if they're going to behave that way, they can be enslaved,'" Keegan said. "All of a sudden, every native person in the entire Caribbean became a Carib as far as the colonists were concerned."

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to note that the Yucatn peninsula is in modern-day Mexico in North America, not in South America.

Originally published on Live Science.

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Columbus' Claims of Cannibal Raids May Have Been True After All - Livescience.com

(January 15, 2020 / JNS) Two pilots for United Airlines joined a rabbi traveling on their plane for a dance and seized the opportunity to wear tefillin after they touched down in the Bahamas on Monday,reportedCOLlive.

Right before RabbiKalman Weinfeld from the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn. N.Y., deplaned the United Airlines flight in the Bahamas, where he was going to oversee the koshering process of a local restaurant that would be hosting a Jewish group, he stopped by the cockpit to thank the pilots.

In response, one of them replied, Zei gezunt! (a Yiddish phrase that means Be well).

After the pilot confirmed to Weinfeld, who serves as the head of the food-service department of OK Kosher and rabbi of Manhattan Beer, that he is Jewish, the rabbi asked him if he had put on tefillin, also known as phylacteries. The pilot said he had done so once before and would be happy to put it on again.

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As Weinfeld was helping him put on the Jewish prayer items in the cockpit, the co-pilot walked in and said that he was also Jewish.

He remarked that he knows the Shemaand says it sometimes, but he said he is 44 years old and had never put tefillin on in his life, Weinfeld told COLlive.

Both pilots ended up wrapping tefillin, and the three men danced together while singing the popular Jewish tune Siman Tov UMazel Tov, celebrating the bar mitzvah of the pilot who put on tefillin for the first time ever.

After the flight, the pilot was in touch and told me that his family is thrilled that he had a bar mitzvah, and said that he would like to keep in touch to learn more, said Weinfeld.

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United Airlines pilots mark bar mitzvah, dance with rabbi post-landing in Bahamas - JNS.org

NASSAU, BAHAMAS Royal Bank of Canadas top regional executive yesterday said the bank absolutely remains committed to this jurisdiction.

Rob Johnston, RBCs head of Caribbean banking, said: Were committed to The Bahamass future. It continues to be a robust economy.

There is a lot of wealth being created here and we have a responsibility to provide advice and solutions to Bahamian businesses, the government and people who are choosing to move here. Its still a very attractive destination.

Back in December, RBC announced it had entered into agreements to sell all of its banking operations in the Eastern Caribbean to local banks on the representative islands.

The bank announced that it was exiting Antigua and Barbuda; Dominica; Grenada; Montserrat; St. Kitts and Nevis; St. Lucia; and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

The news came on the heels of an announcement by rival Canadian bank CIBC which said it had sold a majority stake in its Caribbean arm, CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank Limited, to GNB Financial Group Limited.

RBC maintains a presence in The Bahamas, as well as Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados, the Cayman Islands and Turks & Caicos.

Scores of Royal Bank employees from around the world have arrived in Nassau to take part in the banks Race for the Kinds series slated for this weekend.

A fun-run to support RBC Race for the Kids was held yesterday ending at the British Colonial Hilton.

The Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute was presented with a cheque for $21,500.

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RBC regional exec: Bank is committed to The Bahamas long term - EyeWitness News