3 and 5 (in some order)

There was enough wind for us to sail off the dock. We had time to do a chute practise and for Allan to hail the crew about a personal matter (i.e. someone's birthday). When we got out to the start the winds had completely died. The crew discussed their travels/travel plans: Janet's English adventures, Chris is looking forward to a trip to Italy, and Paula will be going to Portugal to compete in a Yling event. I assumed we would be drifting until the RC decided enough was enough; but the wind finally filled in from the east, so we got ready to start. We did some tacks to get the crew back into sailing mode.

Our start was good. I decided to try to shut out Platypus and so we lingered just leeward of the start line. The course was the regular windward/leeward with gates. It was a short course because of the delayed start. We sailed with the old fleet: windward of Polaris, with Avra being behind (and therefore somewhat annoying). VD was well ahead as they had manged to stay clear of the other boats. They brought a chute (last week they didn't) which of course made for a better relative performance. In our fleet, Platypus retired, but Jazz somehow got well ahead. I assume that some of our boat to boat gamesmanship with the old fleet actually slowed us down relative to Jazz. We got a second 2nd.

A Regular Race

It rained on the first regular Wednesday night race. Not the best conditions for sailing but there was wind. There were 'irregularities'. The 'dolly', which was used to help move the trailer to the crane, couldn't be found. The third wheel on the tongue works as 'brake' as much as 'wheel'. Fortunately I am near the crane and there were lots of people around. The RC was late getting started; no mark boat. Our first race would be an old triangular type.

The course was Gibraltar, 1, and 0. The wind direction was 095; the course to the 1st mark was 097. Crew for the first race: Chris was on foredeck, Charles did pit and Paula did mastman. I didn't like my start so we redid it. Actually I was confused with the revised sailing instructions which I thought eliminated the third start. Clearly our fleet hadn't started and the RC was flying "3"; so I was wrong again (!). We had more than enough time to get back and restart on time. It was a better start after the practise.

Did I say it was raining and the wind on the first leg was on the nose? I think the wind was about 15 knots, so there was a good swell. The boat had a much better feel than the Round the Island Race and that made me a happy skipper. I was also using my newer sails. However, with the rain and the wind we were cold.

The spinnaker went up without a problem. The run from Gibraltar to 1 went well except for the fact that the sheet came off. We did an excellent recovery. Victory Dance isn't in our fleet this year but is in our start. We were able to stay ahead of him even with the mishap. (He chose not to fly chute since in his fleet no one was.) Our leeward mark rounding didn't go well and we spent too much time dousing and VD was able to finally get ahead and stay ahead to the finish. (2 nd: we were beaten on PHRF by a shark.)

We sailed back to the dock. Paula and Chris took advantage of the boat's spacious cabin to get out of the wind. Cold and wet but great! I especially enjoyed the little match race we had with VD. Great wind; who cares about the cold?

FINALLY

The "Spring 'round the (Centre) Island Race" was on Sat. May 12. (My first sail last year was on May 22.) The provs said there would be lots of wind from the North, building as the afternoon progressed. Reality on the start line was light winds from the East. A typical early season day on Lake Ontario, i.e. light winds!

There was enough wind for us to sail out to the start at Dufferin. We were the only spinnaker entry; so we were the only boat in the first start (?). Chris reprises his role as 'foredeck', Janet as 'mastman', and with Charles as 'pit'. The course was Gilbraltor, T1 and the finish was in the Harbour. Some of the bigger boats passed us before Gilbraltor. One got caught in the current and stalled out as they tried to pinch around the mark. As a result we were able to overtake. Great photo op! The Gilbraltor - T1 leg ended up being a drifter so we ended up discussing books, e.g. 'the Kite Flyer', and eating almonds (Thanks Janet!). It was a nice day to be on the water. After rounding T1 we put up the shute and gybed. OK. So the only thing left to do was to try the motor. I was very anxious about the motor and true to form it did not start. The boat does come equipped with paddles. I may be anxious but I am also persistent (er, stubborn ?). The paddles weren't needed. On our way through the Eastern Gap we met the RC boat flying 'N' over 'A'.

Not a win but still a great season opnener. Sailing has started for another season. Finally!

J 24 Worlds Weymouth

May Day but don't panic!

May 1st saw me down at the club helping clean up the yard after launch weekend. My goals at launch are to help set up the drysail boats, making sure my drysail spot is OK, and look for potential crew. (Link to drysail .mov. My boat is the black masted J which is located next to the clubhouse.)

I have spent most of the past week trying to organize crews. Last year there was one committed crew member for the first Wednesday race. This year I have commitments for the 'Spring round the Island' (May 12).

May 5/6th saw me fixing up the boat. The deck was washed and the hull cleaned. The main sheet was re-attached. The sails, motor and lifejackets were put back abroad. The lights don't work but I think it is merely a matter of cleaning up the terminals. I didn't demast last fall so 'launch' is pretty easy.

Yacht racing in Toronto (and you ?)

There are many opportunities to be involved in yacht racing in Toronto. Most sailing or yacht clubs have a crew bank which matches crew with boat. Since 1998 I have owned a J24 and been a member of National Yacht Club (NYC). Last year, NYC had three nights devoted to racing. Monday night is for new skippers. Tuesday night rules allow the use of "white sails". Wednesday night rules permit the use of a spinnaker. A spinnaker or chute is a large colourful sail, which is used sailing downwind. The crew bank opens around 17:00 and the boats leave the dock around 18:00. The races start at 18:30. I believe a crew membership costs less than $200. All sailing clubs have a similar program.

The Lake Ontario Racing Council(LORC) is the main organizing body for weekend regattas. The highlight of the regatta season is the Toronto NOOD held jointly at NYC and RCYC on the third weekend in June. Another interesting event is the Youngstown Regatta held at Youngstown, New York. Youngstown is noted as a great party as well as a great regatta. A major long distance race is the Lake Ontario 300, which is a circumnavigation of Lake Ontario.

Most club races are organized under a handicap system (e.g. PHRF) since different boats will be racing against each other. Class racing involves the most competitive boats. When there is sufficient numbers, a specific boat class has a class organization. The ‘class’ organizes ‘level’ regattas. One of the more active class associations involves the J24. The governing body for sailing in Ontario is the Ontario Sailing Association. The OSA supervises ‘Learn to sail’ programs, provides support for sailing instructors, and trains race officials.(If you are not interested in racing, most clubs need volunteers to man the Race Committee boat.) There is also an active program for disabled sailors. The NYC is the base for one of Canada’s yachting para-olympians, Bruce Millar.

My 2006 sailing experiences can be found at my yahoo blog.