Yap Sam Guides Jamaica's Dragon Boat Crew to National Record in Nassau

Team Jamaica's mixed 200m crew came up 1.1 seconds shy of defending the bronze it secured on debut last year, but veteran helmsman Neil Yap Sam still has plenty to celebrate after the squad clocked a national record of 1:01.82 minutes in Sunday's final at Goodman's Bay, Nassau, during the Bahamas International Dragon Boat Festival.

At 67, Yap Sam is widely regarded as the elder statesman of dragon-boat racing in Jamaica, a sport that began drawing local attention only at last year's inaugural Jamaica Dragon Boat Festival.

He traced the long road to establishing the discipline at home, recalling early efforts dating back to 2010 alongside Franco Sui Chung, president of the Pan American Dragon Boat Federation, which then counted Trinidad among its members.

"Myself and a family friend, Franco Sui Chung, president of the Pan American Dragon Boat Federation of which Trinidad was a member, tried starting the sport in Jamaica from as far back as 2010 but couldn't find a home from which to run the boats," Yap Sam said, noting that Vincent Chang of Purity Bakery and Sandy Chung also took part in the search.

The group looked at Gunboat Beach, Buccaneers Beach and the former seaplane facility now known as the Dry Dock at Harbour View, but none proved workable. An attempt to launch the sport in Panama also stalled before Nassau, Bahamas, eventually became the regional base — and home to what Yap Sam described as the strongest teams in the area.

Close to home, hopes had once rested on the Grand Hotel Excelsior Port Royal, the property formerly known as Morgan's Harbour Hotel, but those negotiations collapsed.

"It's funny because life has come full circle and the Grand Hotel Excelsior is now our home," Yap Sam said.

He explained that roughly three years ago, David Wong Ken, a member of the Chinese Benevolent Association (CBA) supervisory committee, mentioned that a friend had purchased the Morgan's Harbour property. Already searching on the CBA's behalf, Yap Sam said the association then moved to import boats from China on the advice of Sui Chung.

Long accustomed to officiating at dragon-boat events, Yap Sam was nudged from the sidelines into a hands-on role once the boats arrived at the Grand Hotel Excelsior.

"I didn't start paddling or helmsing until Jamaica. All the time in Trinidad and Nassau, I was an official. However, the CBA's supervisory committee said I was the one with experience so I started teaching everybody how to paddle and steer," he said.

Yap Sam stressed that the sport is open to all, noting that he claimed bronze for Jamaica in the Bahamas at age 66 last year, and that this year's festival featured an 84-year-old competitor as well as a young woman racing with a custom titanium prosthetic leg built for the sport.

"Dragon-boat racing is about technique and being in sync with each other. You have to paddle as one," he said.

"When we started in Jamaica, it was to promote Chinese culture. However, dragon-boat racing is now the fastest-growing watersport in the world," he added.

Jamaica is preparing to host its second festival on June 13-14, now elevated to international status with two Bahamian crews and a Trinidadian team already committed. Several North American outfits that competed in Nassau over the weekend have also signalled interest in attending.

"The team that went away twice and medalled afterwards lowering the national record is sanctioned as Team Jamaica. Any local team looking to unseat them will have to do so in June," Yap Sam said.