The Bahama Islands
Bahama Islands News, Articles and Information
Men could play best of seven national series
It hasn't happened since the Club 9000 Outlaws outlasted the D S Reds from Exuma in seven games in 2001, but now both island associations are calling for it, and it just might spice up one of the most unlikely championship series, which is already highly anticipated. Abaco has never played for the national title in men's softball, and the island of Eleuthera which was once dubbed 'The Softball Capital of The Bahamas', is making a return after 10-plus years. New Providence is missing for the first time in over 20 years, and Exuma which has won two of the past four nationals, is suddenly in a two-year drought. All of this can be traced to arguably the best pitcher in the country, Edney 'The JC Heat' Bethel, who will now be playing in the championship series for the seventh straight year and going after his fourth title over that span.
The Sports Insider
1. HOYTES to begin an American Football Junior League next year. It is believed that the team will be named after a former football team in Grand Bahama, either the Crushers, Hurri-canes, Titans, Raiders or Steelers.
2. Why is star pitcher of the Chancy Panthers (BN) softball team upset with the team's manager (AF)? Is it because he didn't pitch against the team from Abaco or is it because he did not play the last game against Eleuthera? Will both the pitcher and the manager be playing on the same team next year?
3. When it comes to softball in Grand Bahama, who's calling the shots, the GB Softball Association or the Bahamas Softball Federation? Where will the ladies' National Softball championship game be played- Abaco, Grand Bahama or Eleuthera?
4.
St. Paul's event ends season
In terms of the competitors, and even in terms of crowd support, the Bahamas Karate Federation (BKF) had to be quite pleased with the turnout at the final karate show of the year in Freeport, Grand Bahama on Saturday October 14.According to federation Vice President, and Chief Instructor of the Bahamas Karate Academy (BKA), Elrick McKinney, more than 150 young students in over a dozen local clubs took part in the one-day extravaganza, and friends and family turned out in large numbers to support the athletes.
"The support from the crowd in Freeport was tremendous. There were clubs from Abaco, three clubs out of Freeport, and the others were from Nassau. All of the kids were excited, and they looked forward to competing and closing the year out on a strong foot.
A new, uninsured reality
According to meterological data collected by the website hurricanecity.com, Grand Bahama is the second most frequently hurricane-hit land mass in the world, following Grand Cayman. Since 1871, Grand Bahama has weathered a hurricane on average once every 2.45 years, and Andros, Abaco and Bimini are close behind in the top 10 list. Hurricanes are a reality in the Bahamas, and so, too, are increasingly expensive premiums for hurricane insurance. Since 2004, insurance rates in Grand Bahama have jumped 20-40 percent, according to several insurance providers. The cost of hurricane insurance, according to Patrick Ward, CEO of Bahamas First General Insurance, has a lot to do with the cost of reinsurance—insurance for insurance companies. Each year reinsurers put up billions of dollars in capital in a gamble against the likelihood of a catastrophe, and when disaster strikes, they pay dearly.
Short-Term Paradise
For the definitive family reunion or romantic escape, consider renting an island. Rentals start at about $4,000 per week for two. About 30 island rentals are located within a day's flying time of major U.S. cities. For 15 years, Mike and Robin Bommer of Avon, Ohio, have rented a series of private islands in Lake Erie, the Florida Keys and the Bahamas with another couple. (Both couples leave the kids at home.) This spring, they stayed for two weeks on Channel Cay, a 25-acre private island in the Abaco islands, Bahamas, in a three-bedroom, three-bath house. Channel Cay is about a half-hour boat ride from Marsh Harbour, the nearest major town. On that trip, Mike and Robin particularly enjoyed scuba diving in the turquoise-blue water. "Our island trips are the one thing we most look forward to every year," says Mike.