Regatta Report: It Takes a Village – 631 Youth Sailors!

August 22, 2024

By Penny Sundstrom McLaren, Chair, 2024 PCYC Steerers’ Invitational and Four Sisters Open 2024 

It was fair winds and beautiful sunny weather for the 65th Annual Port Credit Yacht Club Steerers’ Invitational (July 18-19) and the 23rd PCYC Four Sisters Open (July 20-21) this year, thanks to a record number 415 total dinghies entering the two regattas (241 and 174 respectively), with a total of 631 registered youth sailors, and 121 registered on water coaches.

Optimist (both Championship and Green fleet), ILCA 4.7 and 6, and Club 420 spinnaker and white sail courses were set. In addition, nine 29ers teams from Ontario and Quebec had their own start in both events this year, having chosen to include the PCYC Four Sisters Open event in their Quebec/Ontario Grand Prix Series. The 29ers also enjoyed a racing clinic earlier in the week, put on by PCYC’s Head Racing Coach, Federico Donzino.  

The PCYC Four Sisters Open again hosted the 2024 Club 420 Canadian Championships – with a record 50 teams competing! Results from the Four Sisters Open were also used to tally and award the final winners of the 2024 Ontario Sailing Grand Prix Series, with flags and trophies awarded on Sunday by Ontario Sailing. The Fogh Gold Cup Series is also including the Four Sisters results in the calculation of their 2024 Fogh Gold Cup.  

The first three days gave all fleets had 7-10 races at the Steerers’ Invitational 2-day event Thursday and Friday, and Four Sisters Open competitors completed 4 races on Saturday providing a fair set of results. Thanks go to David Sprague, our experienced Principal Race Officer and his team.

The regatta welcomed three sailors from Romania this year, along with their coach Cristian Patache. Bringing sails from Romania, boats were sourced for them here in Canada. The girls are accomplished Optimist sailors and are part of the Asociatia Club Sportiv Constanta Sailing

(https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063544422742)  – a sailing organization for youths in the city of Constanta, Romania, on the Black Sea coast. 16-year-old Sara Cristina Patache, the 2022 Optimist National Champion, medaled in ILCA 4 (see podium photo of Sara draped in the Romanian flag!), while Maria Radu, 13, and Iulia Varej, 12, both competed in Optimist Blue. Romanian Embassy dignitaries visited PCYC and helped us welcome the team to Canada. 

Thanks to the many PCYC members and volunteers, the club staff and to title sponsor DriveHG.ca, plus sponsors Suzuki, Fogh Marine, and Shoppers Drug Mart for being generous supports to these annual youth sailing events. Indeed ‘it takes a village’

But PCYC can’t take all the credit! There were 70 on-water, and 70 on-land volunteers with four racecourses. These were staffed by Race Committee teams plus Mark and Signal boats from Etobicoke Yacht Club, Ashbridges Bay Yacht Club, Royal Hamilton Yacht Club, National Yacht Club, and their members, as well as Port Credit Yacht Club. We were fortunate to have eight experienced Judges (pictured), who came from far and wide: 1 International, 4 National, 2 Regional, and 1 Club Judge – plus 7 more Club Judges within the Race Committee teams. Jury boats were provided by many, one even from Oakville Yacht Squadron, two days after the catastrophic flooding on 16 Mile Creek that caused damage to Oakville Yacht Squadron’s docking system. It was a challenge to get the boat from the OYC dock to the hoist! Two jury boats were lent by CORK, via ABYC and their Seahorse Regatta the previous weekend, with thanks to two of the Judges from RCYC who towed boats to and fro, and to PCYC members to-ing and fro-ing boats from OYS and ABYC.

On top of all that, mentoring of Race Committee volunteers to grow the assets of the whole sailing community was predominant over the four days: 

• A Regional Race Officer mentored a Club Race Officer; 
• A youth sailor (teenager) volunteered on a Signal boat one day and went out with a Judge on another day; 
• A coach and youth sailor went out with the Judges to better understand Rule 42; 
• One of PCYC’s experienced Race Officers mentored a new mark setter; 
• A potentially new Race Officer was provided with mentoring as a Deputy Race Officer for one of the courses; and 
• Eight Club Judges were mentored by National/International Judges on Rule 42 protest hearings and arbitration. 

Thanks to all of you in our Canadian sailing community for regularly contributing your skills and experience to all the sailing events we enjoy. Your efforts at Steerers’ and Four Sisters resulted in a truly first-class event for these growing junior sailors.

Results on Clubspot: PCYC Steerers’ Invitational and PCYC Four Sisters Open. On-water and on-land photographs of the events can be found at www.tillertakes.com (on-water); and Steerers’ on-land, Four Sisters on-land (PINs 9908 and 9798).