The Cruising Rally Association announced Monday that it is expanding its year-round calendar of offshore sailing rallies and seminars to include the Bahamas Cruising Rally. The BRC, opened to power- and sailboaters, will leave Hampton, Va., Nov. 2 and cruise directly to Marsh Harbor in the Bahamas.

Ralliers who join the inaugural BRC event will enjoy all of the pre-event social events, briefings, and inspections of the 20th annual Caribbean 1500, which leaves Hampton for Tortola in the British Virgin Islands the same day. For first-time Bahamas cruisers, there will also be lectures about exploring the islands. The BRC fleet will include divisions for both racers and cruisers.

"In five or six days, ralliers can round Hatteras and be in the Abacos, ready for a winter of cruising," says founder and president Steve Black. "No more worries about bridge openings, challenging inlets and shallow water in the Intracoastal Waterway. BRC ralliers will have a great time mixing with the cruisers heading for the Caribbean in Hampton. Offshore, they will receive weather updates, call in on daily chat hours, and carry satellite transponders to track their progress, just like the Caribbean 1500 participants."

Black went on to say that the Bermuda Cruising Rally will make landfall at the Abaco Beach Resort & Boat Harbour, a 190-slip marina in Marsh Harbor, the capital of the Abacos. Transportation to and from the States is easy with many commercial flights and carriers, Black explained.

Andy Schell, the "son" of "Father and Son Sailing," will be the group leader for the Bahamas Cruising Rally. With his Coast Guard Master Mariner license and MCA/RYA Yachtmaster Oceans license, Schell has been a professional skipper in Australia, New Zealand and the U.S. most of his adult life.

More than 10,000 Web site visitors each day will monitor the progress of the boats in the two rallies. With wireless transponders on each yacht, positions will be broadcast via satellite six times each day. Each boat's track will be displayed on the Cruising Rally Association Web site using software customized to incorporate features from Google Earth.

Click here for an informative PDF

Source: Soundings

Bahamas Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr Merceline Dahl-Regis has been given high commendations by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), for having received the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) Annual Award for excellence in health administration.

The PAHO Award for Administration 2009 is given to a candidate who has made significant contribution to national and regional health development through the management or execution of health services and programmes, teaching and research.

Dr Dahl-Regis earned the award for her contribution to health care management, research and medical education in primary health care. The PAHO Award Committee, comprising three representatives from member Governments of the Executive Committee, cited her leadership in institutionalising public health surveillance across the Bahamas, and in evaluating and re-defining the parameters for the Caribbean Cooperation on Health as “inspirational…”

Dr Dahl-Regis, a graduate of the University of the West Indies and Johns Hopkins University, USA, was selected from a field of nominees submitted by Member Governments of PAHO through their Ministries of Health. The award was given at a special reception held in Washington, DC, on September 29, 2009, during a meeting of the 49th Directing Council of the PAHO. Currently serving as a member of the Steering Committee for the proposed Caribbean Public Health Authority (CARPHA), Dr Dahl-Regis had also served as one of the initial members of the Executive Body of the Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP), as well as a former member of the Regional Coordinating Mechanism (RCM) for PANCAP.

As CMO for the Bahamas, she has been instrumental in revamping the public health clinic system and in introducing non-medical administrators in clinics, thereby releasing nurses and doctors from the performance of administrative duties, allowing them to focus on delivering health care. She has also created a maternal and child health unit to reduce the infant mortality rate and re-establishing midwives clinics to provide continuity of care to pregnant women in that country.

Previously, she was appointed Fellow at the Child Development Centre, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health at the Howard University College of Medicine in Washington; Resident in Paediatrics at the District of Columbia General Hospital and Howard University Hospital and Senior House Officer at the Department of Paediatrics at Princess Margaret Hospital in the Bahamas.

Source: South Florida Caribbean News

The Bahamas collected a total of 115 points at the 37th Central American and Caribbean Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships in Saint George's, Grenada to finish third overall while Barbados dominated the competition for the 2009 title.

Pictured is James 'Jay' Darling who led team Bahamas to a third place finish at the 2009 Central American and Caribbean Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships with a gold medal in the middleweight and the masters divisions.

The Bahamas collected a total of 115 points at the 37th Central American and Caribbean Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships in Saint George's, Grenada to finish third overall while Barbados dominated the competition for the 2009 title.
Barbados garnished 208 points to secure the championships for the second consecutive year while Trinidad and Tobago pulled off the second place finish with 137 points.
James 'Jay' Darling sponsored by Pro-Lab, Natrol and Bally Total Fitness Bahamas, led The Bahamian charge and secured two gold medals winning the men's masters and middleweight championships.
At the International Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation Caribbean General Assembly in Saint Georges, Grenada it was revealed that there was some point errors in calculation of the 2008 championships which saw The Bahamas

emerged as the champions.
The General Assembly concluded that Barbados was the official winners of the championship in 2008 with The Bahamas finishing second.
The triumph triggered huge celebration for the Barbadians who had won the championships here in The Bahamas last year but were only officially declared winners at the General Assembly.
Having now added the 2008 title to the 2009 championships because of statistical error, Barbados also added the Mr CAC bodybuilding title through light heavyweight champion Martinus Durrant, and Renee Cobham's Miss Fitness CAC crown.
Other category winners include bantamweight Hemradj Mulai of Aruba, lightweight Diego Salinas, of El Salvador, Bermuda's lightweight Ross Caeser, Puerto Rican Juan Carlos Bega capturing the heavyweight title, and Jamaica's Phillip Clahar, the super heavyweight champion.
Grenada's Damien Daniel, who won the Eastern Caribbean championships in Trinidad and Tobago earlier this year, did not live up to expectations and placed fifth in the heavyweight category.
Guest posers were Grenada's Vaughn Francis, who won the CAC two years ago, and Dennis James, a 14th place finisher in the prestigious Mr Olympia competition, who came off the stage and posed his way through an audience of screaming female fans.
Attempts reach Darling, Bahamas Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation president Danny Sumner and the federation's public relations officer Chevy Roker on Monday for comment were unsuccessful.
About 250 bodybuilders and delegates from 19 countries participated in CAC Championship which will be held in Aruba next year.

Source: Bahamas Journal

In recognition of sales growth, operational execution and guest service, 60 top CiCi's general managers were awarded a three-day, two-night Nassau, Bahamas, cruise. The second WOW Cruise was designed to recognize exemplary general managers throughout CiCi's 650 restaurants and provide them with tools to grow personally and professionally.

"We feel it is one of the best ways to demonstrate how important and truly valued our team members are to the CiCi's brand," said Kyle Smith, vice president of operations at CiCi's. "The cruise was specially designed to celebrate team members by rewarding them for achieving their personal bests, which shine through in their restaurant's performance. It's a way for us to say thank you to those who have put their heart and soul into this brand."

Last year, the top 60 managers who were honored on the cruise were able to build sales at a rate eight times higher than the average CiCi's restaurant. These key managers also ranked in the top 10 percent in their CRI Operations Index in 2008 and were the only group in the system that ranked positive in comp sales over the prior year.

Source: Pizza Marketplace

"Ugly Betty" is going to get a lot prettier this season in the Bahamas.

Shakira and model Christie Brinkley will guest star for the November sweeps episode of "Ugly Betty" set in the Bahamas, says TVGuide.com.

The Mode crew will be on location in the tropical venue for a photo shoot. Shakira the "She Wolf" will play herself and will be identified by Justin (Mark Indelicato), who naturally knows her alias. We're not sure why Justin would be invited along for the ride, but we're hoping this means more opportunities to work with Mode and interact with Marc (Michael Urie), with whom he has a great chemistry.

Brinkley will play Penelope Graybridge, editor of a competing fashion magazine, who will mainly appear in New York scenes.

"Ugly Betty" begins its new season on Friday, Oct. 9 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

Source: Zap2it.com