The Many Faces of Sailing at Mimico Cruising Club
Apr 3, 2024
At Mimico Cruising Club (MCC), cruising is a tradition and racing is a passion. In the January 2024 issue we profiled MCC’s PHRF program where competition on the race course gives way to camaraderie in the clubhouse. This article looks at how diverse MCC sailing community is by introducing some of its members.
Greta Cusworth and Jay Gandy love the club’s cruising tradition. After spending five winters in the Caribbean and the Bahamas aboard their Beneteau 423, they bought “gandydancer”, a C&C 110, and joined MCC. Now they cruise for weeks at a time in Prince Edward County, the Thousand Islands, and other destinations around the lake.
Sophie Bertrand and husband, Mike Lemon, started their sailing journey in Albacores. Sophie joined MCC when they upgraded from a dinghy to a Beneteau Oceanis 31. S/V Talisker became the platform for daily adventures with their two young children who love a sleepover adventure at a reciprocal club on Lake Ontario.
Shelley Worden and her partner, David Rankin, race and cruise their Finngulf 33, “Surprise”, but on a sunny afternoon, Shelley loves scooting across the yacht basin on “Squirt”, an Eastport Pram she and David built from drawings and a pile of Okoume wood planking.
Randy Park and his wife, Nora Cullen, cruise on their Catalina 42, “Ell Cee Cee” but Randy’s other passion is racing his Laser (ILCA). He’s part of a growing fleet of Lasers at MCC from Masters down to youngsters like Adrian Mar, age 12. Adrian is one of several Youth members gaining sailing proficiency in dinghies.
Vid Krznaric, one of the club’s first dry sail fleet members, can be seen launching his CL 14 before the rest of the fleet is launched for the season. The dry sail facilities make this an easy process and they’ve helped nurture MCC’s growing fleet of dinghies and small keelboats.
Eddie Rankin was an early adopter of the MCC’s new boat share program that members can join to access to a fleet of five Club 420s. He loves the agility and responsiveness of these doublehanded, 14-foot dinghies.
Notable racers in the club include Max Mikhailov with his 6-person crew on “Rum Kist”, a Beneteau First 10R. Regulars at club races, they also relish the competition found in offshore races like Race to Kingston, Susan Hood, LO 300/600 and the LOSHRS doublehanded series. Max is often on the podium in these longer distance races and recently crewed in the Caribbean 600 on a large, performance yacht.
Kevin Brown has competed in numerous, prestigious international races. He and his crew on “Notorious”, a Farr 30, had a class win in both the 2022 Bayview Mackinac and the 2023 Chicago Mackinac races, outstanding performances for one of the smallest boats entered. The Notorious team won the 2023 Race to Kingston, an annual race co-hosted by MCC and the Kingston Yacht Club.
Not everyone at MCC owns a stripped-out race boat but you will still see them on the start line for Wednesday night club races from May through October. Michael Lacorte’s racing days started as crew for his father, Victor, who, in 1978, was one of the original members. He now crews for Michael on Michael’s Mirage 29, “Orion”.
Another of MCC’s internationally acclaimed sailors doesn’t sail keelboats. Anna Sagulenko prefers to race much closer to the water on a windsurfer, a foiling windsurfer, or a wing foiling board. In 2019, she placed first in the women’s division at the International Funboard Class Association (IFCA) Foil World Championships. Even in our chilly, northern climate, you’ll find Anna out on the water most months of the year.
If you identify with these many faces of sailing at Mimico Cruising Club – just-for-fun, performance racers or internationally credentialed; on keelboats, dinghies, boards; utilizing club-owned or privately owned boats; dry sailing or using a wet mooring; day sailors and long-distance cruisers – the club welcomes your membership inquiry.
