Yap Sam guides Jamaica's dragon-boat crew to fresh national record in Nassau

There was no bronze repeat for Jamaica's mixed 200m dragon-boat crew at the Bahamas International Dragon Boat Festival, but a fresh national record offered ample consolation for 76-year-old helmsman Neil Yap Sam. The Jamaicans clocked 1:01.82 in Sunday's final at Goodman's Bay, Nassau, missing the podium by just 1.1 seconds — a year after debuting on it.

Widely viewed as the patriarch of dragon-boat racing in Jamaica, Yap Sam saw the discipline finally take root locally at last year's inaugural Jamaica Dragon Boat Festival. His own push to plant the sport on the island, however, dates back to 2010.

"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," he recalled, naming Vincent Chang of Purity Bakery and Sandy Chung among the early scouts.

"We tried getting Gunboat Beach, Buccaneers Beach and the old seaplane port, which is now the Dry Dock at Harbour View. We just couldn't find a suitable base to set up the sport. An attempt was made to establish the sport in Panama, which didn't work either, before a home was found in, ironically, Nassau, Bahamas, which now has the best teams in the region," Yap Sam said.

A promising line on the Grand Hotel Excelsior Port Royal — once known as Morgan's Harbour Hotel — also collapsed at the negotiation stage, only for that very property to eventually become the team's headquarters.

"It's funny because life has come full circle and the Grand Hotel Excelsior is now our home," he said. "About three years ago, David Wong Ken, a supervisory committee member of the Chinese Benevolent Association (CBA), said a friend of his had bought Morgan's Harbour. I was already acting on behalf of CBA, trying to find a home. It was on that note that CBA decided to buy the boats from China under Siu Chang's advice."

Though he had spent years officiating at races in Trinidad and Nassau, Yap Sam never paddled or steered until the Jamaican project began. The CBA's supervisory committee, citing his experience, pressed him into service as the in-house instructor for paddling and helming.

He argues the sport rewards technique above all. "At 66, last year, I went to the Bahamas and won a bronze, representing my country. This year, in the Bahamas there was an 84-year-old paddling, as well as a phenomenal young woman with a titanium prosthetic leg, made specially for the sport. Dragon-boat racing is about technique and being in sync with each other. You have to paddle as one," Yap Sam said.

What began as a cultural showcase for the local Chinese community has, in his telling, blossomed into what he calls the fastest-growing watersport in the world. Jamaica's second festival, now elevated to international status, is set for June 13-14, with two Bahamian crews and a Trinidadian outfit already locked in. Several North American teams that raced at Goodman's Bay have also signalled interest.

"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.