The 70s were an exciting time in Eastern Canada. Montreal hosted the Olympics and built a spectacular new stadium as well as the Portsmouth Olympic Harbour in Kingston. There was also a new focus on youth sports as part of the Olympic legacy.
Earlier this month 22 teams, split evenly Canadian and US, travelled to CORK in Kingston to battle it out over seven races. Glenn Darden’s Baby Doll, sailing with Willem Van Waay, Jackson Benvenutti and Min Min Kelly, have been crowned 2023 J/22 North American Champions.
Three skiff classes – 29ers, 505s and VX Ones – were treated to warm freshwater and dependable winds that CORK has become known for. Over four days the Canadian Champions in the 29er class was settled after 15 races in a wind range of conditions.
At Mimico Cruising Club, Captain Paul is as happy as I’ve ever seen him at the awards ceremony. The crew, our wives, girlfriends and daughters are having a fine dinner in good company, enjoying a drink or two (or three) at the MCC.
Carlos Charabati from Montreal earned 6th (of 287 competitors) at the 2023 ILCA 4 Youth World Championships held until today in Greece. This is the best Canadian performance at this competition or Laser 4.7 Youth World Championships since at least 2005.
Our third regatta in Newport this summer was the IC37 US Nationals held July 13-16, hosted by the New York Yacht Club at Harbour Court. Two races were held on Friday inside on Narragansett Bay in very shifty, puffy conditions. We ended up with an 8, 10 in the 16 boat fleet.
Racing a sailboat, especially one-design racing, makes a sailor learn a new set of skills, tactical skills, needed to navigate through that 10 – 40 boat fleet of identical boats to win races. There are two distinct areas of focus for the tactician.
Serious racing, serious fun. Short for Lake of the Woods International Sailing Association, the LOWISA 57 Regatta is taking place this year from August 5 – August 12, 2023.
Sailors came from as far as Hong Kong, Mexico, Vancouver, Nova Scotia, Beaconsfield, Frenchman’s Bay, Lake of Bays, Sarnia, Kingston and South Portland more to the 64th PCYC Steerers’ Invitational and the 22nd Four Sisters Open events this past weekend at Port Credit Yacht Club.
Eric Pesty became a fan-favourite in the 2023 Race to Alaska (R2AK), embarking on the incredible 750-nautical-mile race singlehanded, for the second time as Team Pestou. The R2AK is a two-stage event, with a 40-mile qualifying race.
CORK has had a busy start to July with foiling taking the spotlight so far this summer. CORK hosted the 2023 WASZP Americas Championship from June 28th – July 3rd with an impressive fleet of 33 boats including competitors from Canada, the United States and Argentina.
Don’t miss out on the Race Social Event of the year! What to expect! We are less than a few weeks out from the start of the 2023 Race to Kingston Event, August 11th thru 14th. All race registration details can be found at Yachtscoring.com, Race to Kingston.
Thirty-one sailors competing at the 21st C. Thomas Clagett, Jr. Memorial Clinic and Regatta have completed three days of racing which was preceded by a two-day coaching clinic.
I felt quite lucky to have the opportunity to drive Dirty Dog with excellent crew Connie Leung spinnaker trim and Paul Watson foredeck and tactics for the Round Bowen race as owner Matt Collingwood was out of town. At the start things seemed relatively normal despite a steady drizzle and 12 C temperatures.
LOOR is very pleased to report that this year’s LOOR race series presented by driveHG is off to a great start. You couldn’t ask for any better and we had more racers participate in both the Susan Hood and LOSHRS races then in each of the prior three years!
Helly Hansen Chester Race Week 2023 will take place in scenic Chester, Nova Scotia from August 16 to 19 and organizers expect that the event will be bigger and better than ever. Billed as the largest fixed keel regatta in Eastern Canada, Chester Race Week offers an unsurpassed racing venue.
