CYA National Sailing Championships Training

CYA National Sailing Championships

The CYA National Sailing Championships regatta was held at the St. Margarita Bay Sailing Club between Sept-28th and Oct-1st. I finished 16th out of 22 boats. The regatta results can be found here.

Ricardo and I flew out four days before the event started. The first day there was not a breath of wind so we unloaded our boats from the trailer and did not sail. Later on that night Al (my coach) got in after multiple flight delays. The next day brought more of the team and enough wind to sail. We had a great session sailing, at the end the wind swung a round and we got some hiking breeze out of the SW. There was more of the same the next day and we got great training in with some really good sailors. The day before the regatta started we went out for a shorter session and it was by far the best wind we had had so far.

The first day of the event brought winds of about 10-14kts. I had a good first race after which I had some good up winds and some slow down winds. I was not overly happy with the way I sailed. Day 2 brought almost a carbon copy of the first day and I sailed about the same. On day three I was just hoping for something different and I got just that. We woke up to some serious fog but by the time we were to start racing it had burned off a little. There was 12kts for the start of the first race then it built to a round 18kts by the end of the day. This was my best day so far, I could finally make the boat go. My results got better throughout the day although my down winds were still nothing special. The last day was a lot like the first two; I had a good start although I was OCS. Despite that it was a good race and I was happy with how I sailed.

Overall the event was excellent. We had great accommodation as we were staying a 30sec walk from the sailing club and we had our own launch ramp and dock right outside of the place we were renting.

As for right now I am happy to be home and looking forward to spending some time here which is something I have not done in a long long time.

Dale Jepsen One Design Regatta

The Dale Jepsen One Design Regatta was held in Bellingham Harbor out of the Bellingham Yacht Club on the weekend of September 17 and 18. There were 17 boats entered in the laser fleet.

Day one brought around 20kts building as the day went on. The wind was shifty and unstable we got three races off before the wind got to be too much and the race committee sent us in. My scores the first day were 1,1,2.

On day two the race committee held us on shore for an hour because it was too windy. By the time we went out the wind had died off to about 18kts and it would continue to die throughout the day. There were 5 races run with the last two almost drifters. In fact the wind did completely die on our sail in. My results from day two were 1,2,1,6,3. I won the event with 10 points between me and the boat in second. The event results can be found here.

CYA Youth National Sailing Championships

The CYA Youth National Sailing Championships were held at the St. Margaret Sailing Club, between August 26 and September 1st. There were 15 boats entered in the laser fleet. The first two days were a training camp. We had wind and a good training session the first day but the next day there was a hurricane predicted to blow through so the organizers canceled training for the day. Our Royal Vancouver team went out anyways and it was a great day of training although the wind was really starting to pick up during our sail in. After all the preparation for the hurricane it was downgraded to a tropical storm and almost missed us altogether.

 For the first day of racing there was still a bit left over weather from the storm the day before and there was around 18 kts. The race committee got two races off, I finished 1st and 2nd respectively. The wind was out of the SW and it paid to go left.

The next few days saw the breeze lightening and swinging N as the passing storm had sucked the sea breeze out with it. The last day of racing brought one really light race in the morning then the wind swung around to the SW and the last race of the event was sailed in a fresh sea breeze.

 I won the event with a 9 point gap to 2nd. The event results can be found here. I am looking forward to heading back to Halifax for the CYA National Sailing Championships next week.

CYA Youth Champs

Write up in the local paper after the second day of racing at the CYA Youth Champs.

Up to date results can be found here

CORK Olympic Classes Regatta

CORK Olympic Classes Regatta started out great for me with my first race a 5th. The weather at this event was ok. The first day brought some wind for the first two races then dying for the last one. Day two brought thunder shower warnings and great wind, We got one start off just as the lighting started and it wasn't long before the race committee blew off the race and we returned to dry land. That was it for day two. On the third day we got one race off right away. There was ok wind for this one. I had a good start near the pin and headed to the left witch had been the favored side all week. I had good upwind speed I finished up 8th. Then there was a wind shift and it took two hours to reset the course. We got one more race off before the wind started to do circles. On day four the race committee was in makeup mode. We did four races in four hours. I did not have the best day, but it also was not the worst day. The wind was about 10-12kts and a little shifty. Last day, day five. When we get to the club the AP flag is up and there is great wind really great wind. Well it turns out that the race committee thought that there was too much to race in. According to the coach that went out there was only 20-22 kts. That was it- they called off the day. What sailing we did get I think was excellent training. I ended up 15th overall and top junior. Results can be found here. Now we are off the CYA Youth Champs in Halifax.

CORK International

CORK International was held in Kingston at the Portsmouth Olympic Harbor which is a fantastic place to sail. Most of the summer there are good winds out of the west, but not for the first three day of racing this time. Day one was ok wind was out of the north east, it was very shifty and there were some very big puffs. All three of our starts where really pin favoured, the first one you could not make on starboard. I made it work and I came out of the day with three bullets. On day two the wind started out coming from the west. We got one race off before the wind completely died. I managed to work my way to the front and win the race. We sat on the water for a long time but did not get any more races off. Day three was a lot like day oneand we did five races I got a 4th in the first and bullets in the rest. It was definitely the kind of wind that keeps you on your toes. On day four we finally got the wind that we had all been expecting. It was out of the west at 10-15 kts. There was only time to get off 2 races. I finished 2nd and 1st accordingly. I won the event with 9 points over the 11 races including two drops. Results can be found here. This event was a great tune up event for CORK OCR which starts in two days.