AHMEN Report 2014

Aristosera's crew, Melissa, Ryan, Richard, Nick and Kevin, celebrate AHMEN 2014

The annual AHMEN awards dinner was held on Feb. 6. It was a well attended event with over 55 attendees. The speaker was  PC Richard Baker, Community Services Officer, Toronto Police Marine Unit. He provided an excellent overview of the marine unit’s operations. The main event was the award presentation. The divisional winners were: White sail 1, Daybreak, NYC, Bonnie Reid helm; White sail 2, Zig Zag, QCYC, John McLeod helm; Spinnaker 1, Shaping, MCC, Andrei Sokolski helm; Spinnaker 2, Aristosera, NYC, Richard McKean helm. In addition Gypsy, ABYC, Cliff Walkington helm, won both the R Boat division and the Argosy Rose Bowl Trophy.

The AHMEN is a series of 6 races held in Humber Bay in August and September (and sometimes Oct.). There are 4 starts. A flag is awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd finishers, as well as a flag for the overall results. Boat participation has been steady for the past three years. About 35 boats participate in each of the races. The largest participation is in the faster Spinnaker 1 division, with an average of 14 boats at each race. About half of the participation is from NYC (48%), with AYC, EYC, MCC and QCYC each contributing about 10%.
 
The races are organized by a committee of the Humber Bay Clubs (plus QCYC). Each club (except the Boulevard Club) provides a RC for a race. Interestingly, TSCC with only 2% of participants, still provided a RC. NYC sponsors one race even though it has 48% of the participants. Thanks to PRO John Waddell and his crew for his excellent officiating at the NYC race!
 
The schedule for the 2015 season has been finalized: Sat. Aug. 8 EYC; Sun. Aug. 16 NYC (Argosy); Sun. Sept. 13 MCC; Sat. Sept. 19 AYC; Sep. 26 TSCC; and Sun. Oct. 4 QCYC. Race information can be found at www.ahmen.ca.