What a great weekend for sunshine! It took the wind until 11AM to arrive, but it did arrive for the nine 8m’s on the line to battle out for glory. Ultimately it was Sarissa that found her way around the course with the greatest success – 1,1,1 followed extremely closely by the gleaming green Venture II who raced an impressive 2,2,2 with lots of boat speed, and excellent tactics. But it was Thisbe(3,5,4), Severn II(7,4,3) and Norseman(6,3,5) who battled out for the next 3 spots in an extremely close run – with Jackeen(4,8,8), Bangalore(8,6,6), Quest(5,9,7) and Ranja(9,7,9) each racing smartly on the North Shore of Lake Ontario.
Lightning, sideways rain with forecast winds of up to 40km/h. Thisbe and crew made her way to the start at 9:30 AM Sunday morning. It was beginning to rain, the winds were light as we made our way through the Eastern gap. At the mouth of the gap the rain began to come down in sheets and we had completely lost sight of the city skyline. Lightning was striking within 1 km at a regular interval. We decided to drop out main and fly only our #3 head-sail. The race committee was on standby as Quest and Norseman began to make their way back to the club, with Thisbe close behind, picking-up a tow from the gray zodiac. Bangalore wanted to wait in the gap for a break in the weather, while no one else really seemed interested. A few radio calls and it was decided to call the day. By 11 am we were all safely in our slips, the rain falling steadily, the wind gone after the main storm had traveled East. The tarps were quickly assembled into a make-shift party tent, and the fun ensued. Even Jackeen made her way into the club to join in the festivities.
So, Severn, Venture, Iskareen and Ranja get a free pass and lose no ground in the season standings. It may have been the right decision to stay out in the gap until the weather cleared, but it seemed too sketchy with the quickly changing forecast. We had sunshine with 35 degrees and 10-15 winds to more thundershowers and winds reported at over 50km. The small craft warning did not make many of us pleased to wait either. Who wants to be a lightning rod? Me neither.
Caullyn.
Ahem, ok, the headline should be Thisbe wins the party, but Venture II wins the race. Being the webmaster allows the privilege to skew the headline, I won’t take advantage often, but from time-to-time I must. What is the real story? Actual results follow.
It was a well raced weekend in my opinion. The fleet stayed close with bullets being distributed between Venture II (1), Severn II (2) and Quest (1). Good work crews. I am sure Severn-Ced will have some wild story about the racing, the truth is we all had a great weekend, each participating crew placing in the top three at least once. If this regatta is an indication, NAEMA should have a very exciting season.
I am looking forward to what Iskareen, Jackeen and Bangalore have in store. Add the moderns and the 2007 Mackenzie North American Championship will be the greatest big-yacht racing on Lake Ontario!
Back to the party. What a great way to celebrate the first racing of the season than with a BBQ? Trick question, there is no better way. For starters, ABYC Open Regatta sponsor Amsterdam Brewing provided a few samples of their fine fine product (Hey Jeff Carefoot, you can deliver more samples to the RCYC c/o Caullyn Godfrey of Thisbe – haha), delicious and cold Amsterdam Blonde Ale. Well primed and hungry, the ABYC BBQ was a measly $8! For eight bucks I had a HEAPING pulled pork sandwich, Tandoori Chicken drummies, a curried veggie patty in a pita, savory potato salad and a full selection of green salads and coleslaw. I am a big fella, and I was stuffed! Even Bart Meuring was satisfied by the hungry-man meal. There was the band playing the usual regatta tunes from Bob Marley to Jimmy Buffet with a healthy mix of classic rock from the 60′s-90′s.
For some, the party may have been a little too wild, with some poor decision making. Sunday morning the race committee had to announce there would be no racing until someone returned the “missing” spin-poles from a few of the J’s and Beneteau’s. The AP was up for an hour before they magically re-appeared. There are still a few missing advertising banners, but at least the postponement had ended.
Congratulations to Jeff Burcher and his new bride Mila. They were married at St. Andrew’s By the Lake Anglican Church and had a lovely reception at the RCYC. Jeff and Mila have raced on Bangalore.
The ice has finally melted away from most of the city, even the ugly bits at road-side have been cleaned away by the mild weather and nice rain we had yesturday. It must be spring. I am sure the chandleries and hardware shops are eagerly awaiting our arrival to top-up supplies of grinder pads, sand paper, west system, vaccuum bags, and of course vast quantities of rum. I am looking forward to rushing for the first work boat on Saturday mornings to have a look what the cold has left for us to repair, have a seat, gossip about what Bart has done “this time” and drink cold rum out of dirty Tuesday night mugs. I am sure you have a similar routine. That being said there are a few items we need to sort out for the site this year, I have been told it needs a little dusting and a patch here and there, so, if you have any suggestions, and would like to contribute to NAEMA.net, please let me know.
Email me with content, photos, ideas. Perhaps you would like to join Ced with a weekly race report (we need someone to balance the Severnian opinion). This year so far we have a commitment from John Mitchele (AKA Buck) and from Guy – Ranja Rants. I suggest the fleet choose a representative from their crew to submit something for the site for each regatta. We are also looking for a party reporter… Will Gyles, this job (non-paying) was made for you!
There is one last bit of business (imagine Columbo almost making his way out the door to spring “one last thing” upon you), it is time to pay your 2007 NAEMA member dues, there is a link at the right hand menu of the site for your convenience.
THE INTERNATIONAL EIGHT METRE ASSOCIATIONINVITATION2O12 IEMA GENERAL ASSEMBLY Date: Sunday 15 July 2012 at 10AMLocation: Royal Yacht Squadron 1. Opening of the Meeting2. Minutes of last meeting3. Election of Class Officers: Proposal of the Nominating Committee Executive CommitteePresident: Fred Meyer (SUI)Executive Secretary: Julia Ormio (FIN)Treasurer: C […]
A star is born again ! After an extensive rebuild at Metur Yachts in Bodrum, Turkey, the famous 1927 Int. 8-Metre Hollandia is back in her element and ready to join the fleet! Hollandia was designed and built in 1927 by Holland’s premier naval architect, G. de Vries Lentsch, to represent Holland at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam. Launched the year before she […]
It is with deep sadness that we learned that on December 4th, 2011, our friend Werner Schifferl has passed away. For so many years Werner raced and cruised his Bera, the famous 1924 Olympic Gold medallist. With a crew of family and friends, he participated in any event that would somehow fit his always busy schedule. Werner sailed his boat and lead his team […]
Crew Bank!
With two World Championships and two North American Championships the NAEMA fleet will be looking for new members of our crew bank. This is an excellent opportunity to become involved in the best big yacht racing program anywhere. Contact us here for details and look out for special NAEMA events and socials this winter!
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Mackenzie Financial
Even Bart Meuring was satisfied by the hungry-man meal. There was the band playing the usual regatta tunes from Bob Marley to Jimmy Buffet with a healthy mix of classic rock from the 60′s-90′s.
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