Island Harbour Bay was again the scene of much activity on Sunday, April 25, following the premier annual Festival Del Mar event over the Easter weekend.
The latest activities were the Jamida Webster bicycle race and the just introduced Karle T. Smith B-class boat race – both events commemorating the memory of the late two Island Harbour residents.
The Jamida Webster cycle race celebrates a once promising young athlete who was murdered in March 2003 while cycling in the Mount Fortune area. A keen cyclist, she was killed on the eve of Sports Day – of the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School – in which she was a competitor.
Her still grieving parents, Kent Webster and Iris Hughes, were among the large bay-side gathering for the bicycle race. The event attracted several groups of cyclists, of varying ages, from Anguilla and St. Martin/St. Maarten.
“It is thirteen years now since Jamida died,” Webster commented. “I can never forget her. To me her departure is just like yesterday. She was making sixteen, so on Monday, April 25 she would have been twenty-nine. She died on March 13, 2003. She meant the world to me and nothing can replace her.”
He added: “I want to thank all those who have donated and continue to donate annually, especially this year, to the bicycle race. I don’t want to call names because I would leave out some and that would not be the best thing to do. All who gave know who they are and I thank them from the bottom of my heart.”
Iris, Jamida’s mother, had similar comments. “I too would like to thank everybody for the donations that are being given every year despite that things are hard with everyone. We appreciate the assistance very much,” she stated. “Everyday I miss her, but whenever this event comes around my heart becomes very heavy. I am grateful for this function in memory of Jamida. The Late Karle T. Smith was really the person who first asked us to hold the bicycle race in her memory; and right now we are having this boat race in memory of him.”
The day-long events provided much entertainment for all in attendance, and spoke to the camaraderie and good neighbourliness among the residents of Island Harbour in particular.
