Fourth annual Nereid’s Rally welcomed to Guyana

… We are onto something good here – Gaskin

BY KIZZY COLEMAN

The Business Ministry and the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) in collaboration with the Hurakabra River Resort, on Monday, welcomed the Fourth Nereid’s Rally to Guyana during a ceremony held at the Hurakabra River Resort in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).

Fourteen yachts were welcomed to the land of many waters with great pomp, sailing from countries such as Italy, Britain, Russia, Canada and many others.

Since it’s commencement in 2013, the rally has seen more participants coming to the “undiscovered” Guyana more and more; the event started with only three yachts visiting.

“On behalf of the Government of Guyana, I am proud and honoured and delighted to welcome this fourth Nereid’s Yacht Rally to our country, to our continent, and to the Guiana’s and I hope that your time spent in Guyana is enjoyable and that you can make many precious and lasting memories in this country,” said Business Minister Dominic Gaskin, as he welcomed the participants.

The Minster explained that it is important for Guyanese to exploit the gift that is theirs, and to use the land of many waters to its fullest potential.

“This rally being welcomed yet again to Guyana is another way of putting to use our many waters. So therefore, this is happening and I am happy that you (yachters) decided to come to Guyana”.

Gaskin underscored the fact that yachting is becoming popular in Guyana, citing the growth of the event since its inception.

“It is still small but I think that we are on to something good and if we can make the right decisions and take the right actions over the coming years, this is something that could very well mushroom into something a lot bigger,” he said.

Encouraging the over 30 tourists to explore Guyana, the Minister said “we have a rich fauna and flora that is meant to be seen, to be explored”.

Founders of the Hurakabra River Resort, Kit and Gem Nascimento spoke of their delight at being able to host the yachters, yet again. They noted that Guyana has the easiest customs clearance for yachters.

Organiser of the event, David Matelacani who “accidentally” landed in Guyana a few years ago during a freak storm, ended up in the hands of Kit, who already had the idea of establishing a marina in Guyana.

Working together, the two successfully launched the Nereid’s Rally and have since been working to improve the event.

“I believe that I make an honest claim when I say, it is one of the major, consistent, repetitive tourism events that we’ve been able to have in Guyana over the past five years” Nascimento announced.

Alluding to the Nereid’s Rally, the Regional Chairman of Region Seven, Gordon Bradford, noted that some years ago, a baby was born. He said that like babies that keep growing, the Nereid’s Rally, if nurtured correctly, will continue to grow.

He opined that seeing the yachters coming in their numbers to Guyana, signals an economic boost for the country’s efforts and drive for eco-tourism and tourism development.

“On a regional level, we have been collaborating with the Ministry of Tourism to make this event a success from year to year,” Bradford explained.

The Chairman said that in Region Seven, tourism is seen as an economic salvation due to the fact that currently there is a shock in the mining sector which a major part of what the region promotes.

He therefore advocated for a greater effort to promote tourism in Guyana.

One yachter, who along with his wife sailed the largest yacht to dock in Guyana since the beginning of the rally, thanked the organisers and the Guyanese people for the “warm” welcome which he along with his companions received.

He especially thanked Matelacani for his hard work “for having a vision to conceive of the rally, which has encouraged many of us to join and for putting in the sheer hard work into shepherding all of us through the bureaucracy of travelling and reef building”.

During their stay, yachters can look forward to a tour of Georgetown, and a visit to Kaieteur Falls. Residents of Bartica will come out as the town hosts a picnic by the sea to entertain the tourists, and on Saturday, Hurakabra will be hosting a “reggae on the river” concert.