What a great weekend! Over 260 boats registered for the Regatta, and check out the Saxe pictures waiting for the launch. We also had our first experience with the trapezoid course. And though winds were on the light side and shifty at times, we had some good racing on the water and together with a few sociables afterwards we had a few laughs on the shore!
On Saturday the winds were very light to start and inconsistent in direction. After a few false starts, we finally got going around 1 pm for the one and only race that day. We nearly got the pin end at the start believing it was favoured on a wind suggesting left side. Well it turned out that the boats that went right seem to do better than first thought. We none-the-less were in the hunt near enough behind the leaders, Venture, Raven, and Thisbe. Though at one time during the race the winds of fortune had us nearly last and then we got it back overtaking Norseman and Quest after finding a wind shift on the second beat. Off the wind in the final run for the finish we overtook Thisbe, but unfortunately at the gate mark she just got buoy room with the help of another boat, and went in to finish ahead leaving us in fourth at the finish.
On Sunday, we had two races and a little more wind with some more stability in the direction. We had good near the pin end starts in each race with the last one being the best. In the first race of the day, went to the left and capitalized on the favoured side of the course, this time. We were on the heels of the leaders at the first mark, Venture and Raven with the rest not too far behind us. On the next several legs Venture continued to pull ahead and though we had some close moments with Raven downwind she covered us to finish as we did with Norseman behind us to give us a third for this race. In the second race, we led the Fleet at the start, and covered Raven, Venture, and entire fleet all the way up the first beat to get to the windward mark first. We had established a comfortable lead and held it on the reach and downwind, though the Fleet caught up with some following wind. Held our own upwind again on the next beat and still had the lead going for home. Nearer the end of the leg, the gybing started between ourselves, Venture and Raven each covering the other boats. We did some 6 – 8 gybes as we neared the finish. Each time Venture was gaining and finally overtook Raven and closed in on us but we held on to take the race and third overall for the regatta!
Look forward to trying it again on Saturday at the Hospice and we’ll see you then. In the meantime check out the rest of the Saxe pictures of the Fleet which follow.
What a day! With the verified reports of hail, rain, and wind in different parts of the city in the morning and rain continuing off and on until lunch time it wasn’t looking very promising. We had lunch on shore in between rains and then the sun came out as we prepared to leave the dock. The Fleet Captains’ race got started in light westerly winds and we maneuvered ourselves to take the favoured end of the line at the pin which gave us a four boat length lead at the start. Heading towards the western gap, we covered Norseman’s tack towards the city across the airport makers.
Then it hit, the next storm cell that wasn’t supposed to be there according to the radar reports. Gusts of winds up to 30 knots in the space of minutes coupled with blinding rain made it difficult to see other boats, not to mentioned the 10,000 dollar markers! By the time we got the jib down, it had a few rips, and the main under control after a tear and lost upper batten, it was all over. We hoisted the number 3 jib more out of caution than wind velocity. In the meantime, Norsemen had retired from race after the squall. Though it seemed chaotic in the brief time when the squall hit, we got everything squared away and Severn carried on with the race.
After tacking thru the Western Gap, the sun came out again, and with the moderating winds we hoisted our spinnaker. After one gybe across the top of the Island, and then thru the Eastern gap with winds picking up as we beat to the finish, we took third place line honours in the overall RCYC Fleet. All in all it was a physical day for our first race, and made for some tired guys over the après race beers.
By the way, for those who were not there, Raven has officially arrived at the RCYC, though at the last moment decided not to go into the race ….. did they know something that no one else did? But she will be there and apparently taking part in Sailpast next Saturday. She looks great! Hoping for full tours next weekend.
We are giving away a NEAMA hat (courtesy of Regatta Brands) to the best photo submission. To qualify, send us your best shots by February 28, 2009 to (caullyn@regattabrands.com) and we’ll have a good old fashion vote. To vote for a photo, please leave a comment below with the photo number (place your cursor over the photo and note the number), on March 1, I will post a new voting form for the top 10 photos from which you may choose the winner.
Thanks to Ced Gyles for this report: The photos will be in the next posting.
The 2009 8 Metre Ski Weekend event was held at Blue Mountain on Saturday, February 14th under sunny skies, with perfect ski temperatures and fabulous snow conditions. And though we had representation attend the event from all of the yachts in our Fleet, we were a little lighter in the participation for this year’s race. The yachts that did participate had some very competitive and fun racing which of course was carried over afterwards at the après party with the “shot ski”. We again had a race course that was a little longer than in prior years, which received good reviews from the competitors, and some for their first time! Many thanks to Blue for the day and the race course organizing.
Of note was that Michael Jones representing Broad Reach introduced himself and the Charity at lunch. He not only invited all of our group to attend their event next year but issued a challenge to the winner of our race to compete against the best from theirs. And in turn, we have reciprocated and invited them to our event next year.
With the great weather, participants were able enjoy their Pastissima sausage and salads lunch on the balcony looking out at the hill from the Gyles chalet. Joe Balogh conjured up another batch of his famous Hungarian goulash for the dinner, perhaps even spicier than usual, followed by some excellent strudel, (though you can’t smile and show your teeth after eating the poppy seeds until you have rinsed your mouth).
Many thanks to Barb & Ced Gyles for hosting the lunch and Joe Balogh for the dinner at their chalets. Their hospitality is much appreciated! And special thanks to all of their helpers in the purchasing, preparing, serving, and clean-up of the meals and the party. Also thanks to North Sails, Quantum Sail Design Group, and UK-Halsey Sailmakers for supplying this year’s prizes.
We had a great time on and off the hill and look forward to seeing everyone again as we get our boats ready for the 2009 sailing season.
The overall result summary:
Order of Boat Team Scores:
1st – Severn 112.65
2nd – Norseman 117.97
3rd – Bangalore 122.56
4th – Quest 132.95
5th – Thisbe 136.64
Match & Win winners: Hillary Molnar – Peter Epstein
Winner of the Ski Trophy: “Sarissa” – Ralph Reimann was selected as the worthy recipient this year.
Though light winds and some wet forecasts, the delivery Friday across turned out to a very pleasant motor-sail with sun and a light breeze. On the way back almost no wind but flat water allowing us cross with a speed of 6.5 + knots. Now for a brief description of what turned out to be a three race series with Severn, Bangalore, and Ranja vying for the Severn’s Bell Trophy.
In the first race on Saturday, Severn took what appeared to be the favoured start pin end of the line and well ahead of the other two who preferred to start nearer the boat end. Our patience finally paid off as we took the other competitors to windward to reach the weather mark first. Covered our way downwind to the leeward gate and maintained a comfortable lead. But as we approached the mark, we had problems getting the jib up and the spinnaker down due to some halyard problems which allowed the Bangalore & Ranja to get to windward of us and ahead until we got control of our sails. We clawed our way back on the second downwind, overtaking Ranja and for a while Bangalore, but Bangalore had the angle and beat us over the finish. Though the comeback was reassuring, we felt we should have had won this one, but it wasn’t in the cards. The second & third races didn’t happen when the wind dropped to nothing, so the fleet was sent back early and all that that means on a hot day with the beer tent open and ready for our business.
The next day the winds were up. Severn started with a no 2 genoa and gained a controlling start on the other two and even forcing Ranja off at the start boat. We got Bangalore, but Ranja proved to be a tougher nut, even after having to start nearer the committee boat. So when she didn’t tack over, we did so, taking her stern, knowing that we had all overstood the windward mark, which by the time Ranja tacked we were clear ahead and now leading. We continued to lead on the downwind leg, and with the winds diminishing slightly we went for the no 1 heavy, but after making the change on deck, it appeared that there was something still wrong with our halyards. The jib was a bitch to get up, taking three to deal with the problems causing a delay in getting the spinnaker down. By the time we got things under control, the other two had caught us again and got ahead. We got back into the race, overtaking Ranja who had to do a 360, but still finishing behind Bangalore even though we closed the gap downwind. So close in fact Bangalore touched our spinnaker with her boom causing us to issue a protest.
I guess we were still reeling from the disappointment of the last race, as our start in the third and final race, was less then aggressive allowing Ranja to squirt ahead of both Bangalore and ourselves. We battled Bangalore up wind, but we couldn’t quite get her, beating us to the windward mark. We closed the gap downwind, but couldn’t get ahead. We engaged in some tacks upwind, but couldn’t achieve the lever, and in the end we had to settle for third and dependent on the outcome of our protest from the other race. However, our protest was disallowed, as the ruling was that Bangalore in trying to avoid the obstacle of some port boats, she couldn’t avoid her contact with Severn. Bangalore won the regatta, Severn was second and Ranja third.
Despite all of this we had a good time at the Regatta, taking in all the social activities over the three days. We anticipate we’ll have a better time of it on the race course at LYRA and the NAs over the next two weeks.
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.
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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 […]
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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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