Nova Scotia Sailors at Ice Boating Worlds

What a treat it was to attend the annual Yachtsman's Spring Thaw Luncheon on Friday April 23 at the Boulevard Club. The Port Credit Yacht Club was well represented with Commodore Peter Howells, Vice Commodore Fleet Don French and a dozen other members in attendance. The highlight of the luncheon is always the honouring of three members of the boating fraternity – this year the Environmental Award was presented to Geoff Hadrill of National Yacht Club, the Yachtsman of the Year for Power to Find Christiansen, founder of Bronte Harbour Marina, and most exciting – the Yachtsman of the Year for Sail to PCYC's own Hans Fogh! Hans is the patriarch of one of the three generation families at PCYC, with sons Morton and Thomas also being members and Grandson Marcus making his mark as an up and coming Optimist sailor in the PCYC Learn to Sail program.

All eyes were on the skippers and crews of Zingara and First Today as they prepared for the final day of the Beneteau First 36.7 North American Championships held at the National Yacht Club in Toronto, Canada. The two yachts were tied at 24 points each after three days and nine races and, with years of fierce competition between them, it had all the makings for a long drawn battle to the death. But within one minute of the first of two scheduled races on the last day of the regatta it was all but over.

Richard Reid owner/ skipper of Zingara summed it up by saying that they were looking for a good lane at the boat end of the line but got caught with their pants down and were forced to go the right side of the course which was the wrong way to go.

A tough start to the 30,000-mile round the world race saw CSM's yacht Spartan cross the line in last place, plagued with minor breakages. But CSM, an experienced sailor fresh from leading a crew of 18 in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, has since settled into life at sea, clawing back miles on the rest of the fleet to move into second position.