Canadians Initiate LA Run at Princess Sofia

Sail Canada Development Squad members Galen Richardson and Madeline Gillis previously took the 11th spot at the 2024 Nacra 17 European Championship in Palermo, Italy.

Apr 10, 2025

A total of 19 Canadians took part in the 54th Princess Sofia Trophy Regatta, which was part of the Sailing Grand Slam Series, and the first major sailing event featuring multi-Olympic classes in this new Los Angeles 2028 Olympic cycle.

“The adrenaline of being back with the fleet was really amazing,” noted Antonia Lewin-LaFrance. “I forgot what it felt like. It was really exciting racing, especially in the finals, but with the offshore wind, conditions were really, really tricky. But a lot of learnings and good things moving forward.” Antonia and Georgia Lewin-LaFrance officially committed to going through the new cycle leading up to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics in mid-February.

Canadian results at the 54th Princess Sofia Trophy Regatta

49erFX (/46 teams)
9. *Antonia Lewin-Lafrance & Georgia Lewin-LaFrance (Chester, N.S)
37. Tara Golonka & Siobhan Golonka (Victoria, B.C)

ILCA 6 (/110 sailors)
33. *Clara Gravely (Toronto, ON)
78. Lilly Rainham (Halifax, N.S)
88. *Annie Balasubramanian (Toronto, ON)
97. Victoria Coady (Coquitlam, B.C.)
110. Elspeth Simms (Halifax, N.S)

49er (/91 teams)
48. *Will Jones (Burlington, ON) & Arie Moffat (Kingston, ON)
69. *Thomas Staples & William Staples (Beaconsfield, QC)

Formula Kite (W/F) (/30 sailors)
24.*Emily Bugeja (Vancouver, B.C

ILCA 7 (/174)
53. *Liam Bruce (Oakville, ON)
69. *James Juhasz (Oakville, ON)
144. Hunter Parks (Pickering, ON)

NACRA 17 (/33 teams)
21. *Galen Richardson (Toronto, ON) & Madeline Gillis (Halifax, N.S.)

*Members of Sail Canada’s National Team

Full results are available at https://www.trofeoprincesasofia.org/en/default/races/race-resultsall.

Related Articles

  • Sailing Shorts, January 2026 

    Sailing Shorts, January 2026 

    January 8, 2026 Irene McNeil named to the Order of Canada We all know Irene as an enthusiastic promoter of sailing especially encouraging women to participate. Particularly notable has been her advancement of women in Race Management. She is a tireless volunteer, teacher, and administrator of so many of the components of sailing and race… Read More…

  • Book Locker: An Atalaya for Gerry Roufs, Memory Notebook

    Book Locker: An Atalaya for Gerry Roufs, Memory Notebook

    January 8, 2026 by Michèle Cartier, updated edition eBook, Bookelis, 2025. “An Atalaya for Gerry Roufs,” by Michèle Cartier, the companion of the sailor who disappeared at sea in 1997, during the Vendée Globe solo round-the-world race recounts the key moments of the long and arduous search for Gerry’s body following his tragic and widely… Read More…