Bahamas capture Caribbean Cup at second Jamaica dragon boat festival in Port Royal

The Bahamas claimed the Caribbean Cup at the second staging of the CBA Jamaica Dragon Boat Festival, held at Port Royal, where more than 50 races were contested and 54 were completed. Official crews from the Bahamas and Trinidad and Tobago joined Jamaican teams in the championship programme.

In the title race, the Bahamas recorded a winning time of one minute 06.24 seconds. Trinidad and Tobago finished second in one minute 11.59, with Jamaica third in one minute 15.07.

In Open Category Division A, the Chinese Embassy in Jamaica placed third as the highest-finishing local side, behind the Bahama boys and girls from the Bahamas and the Vanguards of Trinidad and Tobago in second. The Vanguards also won Mixed Category Division A. Last year's joint overall champions, JDF Wave Riders, had to settle for second, while Makai Security came third.

Hydra took the women's Division A final ahead of Port Royal Blazers and the Generals in a field made up entirely of Jamaican teams.

One visiting participant said, "Great event down here in Jamaica. We enjoyed seeing the Jamaican team up with us, and so we decided to come see them. It's been a great event, and we hope to be back next year."

A member of the Chinese Embassy team, which marked one year since forming on 15 May with only 14 paddlers taking part in 13 races, said, "We have to thank the Chinese Benevolent Association for accepting us in the competition. We are new team. Actually, May 15th was 1 year. And only actually 14 of us came. We did 13 races. I must say it was really really fantastic."

After Hydra's victory, a team member said, "Our women are strong. Just like all Jamaican women, we're strong women. So we went for the gold and we got it. This tournament will be on the calendar for years to come. This is our second year doing it and we intend to continue and we work well as a team. So I don't think we're skipping."

Organisers said they hope to attract international teams from North America, Florida, Canada and possibly as far away as New Zealand, and to take the competition to the next level.

In cricket, Sri Lanka reached 173 for four at stumps on day two of their four-day warm-up match against the West Indies Select XI at the Coolidge Cricket Ground on Friday. That followed the Select XI's first-innings total of 205 all out on day one.

Resuming on 38 for one, the visitors made steady progress. Nishan Madushka, who began the day on 25, was dismissed for 46. Dinusha Dimel was the day's top scorer with 54 from 118 balls, while captain Dhananjaya de Silva added 34. Keemo Paul led the Select XI bowling with two wickets for 48 runs. Sri Lanka are preparing for the first Test against the West Indies, which starts on June 25.