Eleven Boats Compete in the 2023 David Bleakney Ice Bowl at RVYC

Louise Anstey, December 2023

The Victoria Fleet held the 6th annual David Bleakney Ice Bowl on December 28th.  The forecasts leading up to the day were not encouraging.  ‘Showers and winds of 12 – 18 kts’.  That sounded unpleasant and was over our wind limit for this time of year, especially to enable a good portion of the fleet to participate.  To our surprise, when we arrived at our boats on race day, it was 11 °C (52 °F for our Southern friends) with a gentle breeze, but we could hear winds of 20 kts in nearby Haro Strait.  Nonetheless, the decision was made to race and end racing early if necessary.  So at 11.03 eleven keen 2.4 sailors started the 1st race in a 5 kt SE’er.

For the first 3 races, finding a shift or a little more pressure were huge benefits on both the upwinds and the downwinds.  The tendency was for more stable wind on the right side of the course, whereas a shifty breeze coming off the shore was on the left.  An eagle eye could spot signs on the water, then the challenge was to place yourself to gain the best advantage.  I admit I found successes and failures on both side of the course.  Others must have had a similar experience: Jackie Gay’s results ranged from a high of 3rd to a low of 7th, Brian Robinson, more consistent with a high of 2nd and low of 5th, while Chris Anstey posted a high of 2nd and low of 8th.  Bruce Millar managed the conditions well, posting only 1st s and 2nds.

By Race 4 the breeze increased to 6-8 kts with the occasional puff of 12 kts.  The upwinds were an interesting mix of the right offering more consistent wind and possibly more pressure, while beautiful starboard tack lifts and puffs occasionally graced those on the left.  

In Race 5 a significant chop was coming into the Bay on the right side of the course.  I had tacked onto port early to take advantage of the breeze on the right; however, part way up the beat I felt my speed did not match Bruce’s who was farther left and out of the chop.  I found a favourable shift and tacked onto starboard.  At the weather mark we rounding bow to stern; Bruce had the edge.  Chris and Jackie were next to round.  At the last windward mark the order was the same.  Chris went off to my right looking for the puffs and Jackie went to my left.  Interestingly, during the downwind Jackie made slow gains on Chris and myself.  Then, approaching the finish Chris began accelerating in a significant puff.  I moved closer to the puff and got a piece of it.  We crossed the line three abreast! 

By Race 6 the breeze increased and a noticeable swell was present under the usual chop.  The later was likely due to the wind strength increasing in the Strait.  If you took the right side of the course on the upwind and found a favourable shift to tack to the weather mark, either side of the bay was fine.  On the downwind the swell enabled a bit of surfing.  Jackie capitalized on this on the last downwind, catching up to me, and with one last surf crossed the finish line half a boat length ahead.

The racing was excellent all day.  The RC team under AJ Hesford adjusted the course and start line with the wind shifts.  Most of the fleet was on the line at every start, and all the way around the course there were competitors nearby.  Often two, three and four boats rounded marks one after the other.  At many marks and at the finish line, boats were overlapped.  That makes for fabulous one design racing! 

Final Results: 1st Bruce Millar, 2nd Louise Anstey, 3rd Brian Robinson

Photos below are by Leslie Basham.

In the evening our Victoria 2.4 family gathered in the RVicYC Main Lounge in front of a warm fire for a delicious meal prepared by the Club chef.  We thanked our dear David for initiating this event 6 years ago.  The purpose being to celebrate sailing in December, ‘because we can’ on the West coast, and, more importantly, to enjoy each other’s company.

The day was a beautiful celebration of our 2023 season!

President’s Report May 2023

Canadian News

Spring has arrived and as I write this the Toronto Maple Leafs have made it through to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.  It is also the time when we bring our boats down to our respective clubs and get ready for both our club racing programs and travelling to out of town regattas. I know I will be making a few changes to my control line management after snooping around other boats at the CanAm Winter series.

On the return trip from Florida I had the opportunity to drop my boat and trailer at the Tred Avon YC in Oxford MD for their Spring regatta. The Tred Avon Yacht Club is a relatively small club located on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay about one hour southeast of Annapolis MD.  It hosted the Star Worlds in 2018. Andrew Parish, Vice Commodore of the club, is working hard to establish a 2.4mR fleet at Tred Avon and he has provided storage for boats migrating north from Florida on their way to their
summer home clubs.

BTW the Spring Regatta was great fun. Although we were blown off the river on the Friday we had seven short course races in very shifty winds over the Saturday and Sunday. I definitely plan to attend the 2024 version of this event.

Jackie Gay of the Victoria Fleet has registered for the 2.4mR 2023 World Championship in Tampere,  Finland July 31 – August 5. At this time 47 competitors have registered with the eventual fleet expected to reach about 90 entries before entries close on June 30. We will be cheering Jackie on as the regatta commences.

Sail Canada has reserved one entry for the 2023 World Para Sailing Championships in The Hague, Netherlands starting August 10. At this point the sailor representing Canada has not been confirmed.

Upcoming Events:
May 20 – 21    Ice Breaker Regatta, Etobicoke Yacht Club, Toronto
June 3 – 4    Fleet Championships, Royal Victoria YC, Victoria
June 11     Kickoff Regatta, National Yacht Club, Toronto

Please see more information at www.canada24mr.com.

Hope to see you on the water soon.

Peter Wood, Class President

Tred Avon YC Spring Invitational 2023

Peter Wood and Peter Eagar raced in the annual Spring Invitational at the Tred Avon Yacht Club in Oxford, MD, and it sounds like the rest of us missed a fun regatta!  Andrew Parish summed up the weekend on the US 2.4 Meter Sailing FB page:

Great turnout, a little rain, some light/heavy winds, just a few little lead changes, lots of laughter, mixed with chile,  pizza and beer.  We are holding 7 boats locally,  looking to build a fleet.  Many thanks to the Race Committee, 2.4mR class officers, TAYC/SSPP volunteers, and Clagett Sailing, followed by a gentleman-like game of Regatta, that made the weekend a great success!  Please come join us next year!

Congratulations on your 1st place finish Peter Wood!  Results here

Canadian 2.4mR Sailors At Fall/Winter Regattas

In November 2022, 13 Canadian sailors attended the 2.4mR Open World Championships at Davis Island in Tampa, Florida. The competition was heavily impacted by Hurricane Nicole with only six races completed over two of the four scheduled days.  Bruce Millar from Royal Victoria Yacht Club was the top Canadian finisher.  Worlds results are here.

Between January and March, Canadians travelled to Charlotte Harbor Yacht Club (CHYC), Florida, to race in the five-regatta CanAm series hosted by the US 2.4mR US Class Association.  CHYC has been the winter home for 2.4mR sailors for 10 years.

The hospitable club’s top notch regatta management and weather attracted competitors from Victoria, Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa along with racers from the US and Puerto Rico. A steady temperature of 27C and good winds ensured close racing.  Again Bruce Millar was the top Canadian.  CanAm results here.  CanAm photos by Fran Burstein  are posted below.

JGASF Independence Cup & U.S. Para Sailing Championship 2022

SAVE THE DATE!
 
Independence Cup
Chicago, IL
August  4-7, 2022


Be our guest for a Fantastic Weekend of Racing, Food and Fun!

COVID-19 Guidelines will be in place.

  • 2.4 mR (Singlehanded) 
  • Independence 20 (Doublehanded) — All New Boats
  • Sonars (Triplehanded)
  • Professionally maintained fleet
  • All boats available at no charge
  • Coaches/racing clinic
  • Hotel accommodations (4 – Star Hotel) and ground transportation, courtesy of our generous sponsors
  • JGASF Travel Grants available
  • Saturday evening barbecue
  • Award ceremony
  • JGASF Swag 
  • And of course, Carol’s Cookies

All Independence Cup & U.S. Para Sailing Championship race and registration information will soon be available on the JGASF website juddgoldmansailing.org.  You’ll be notified when registration goes live. 

Don’t miss this event!

Regards,

2022 Independence Cup Committee
Judd Goldman Adaptive Sailing Foundation
[at][dot]

Winter Series Finale – Can Am 4&5 – US Nationals

March 28- April 2, 2022 – Port Charlotte FL.
Text by Shan McAdoo
Photos by Tina Weida
 
With 25 boats on the line for CanAm 5, winter sailing was back with a vengeance in Port Charlotte.  The US – Canada border reopened and our friends from North of the border showed up in force.
 

Can Am 4

The Can Am 4, a two day series started with light air, but then built over the 2 day series.  After 6 races, Dee Smith emerged victorious followed by Bruce Millar and Allen Liebel. in a 22 boat fleet.  This series was a perfect warmup for the next 3 days of sailing.

Can Am 5 (US Nationals)

This event started out with a howling 25 knot breeze. of the 25 entries 7 sailed the first day. The fleet showed up en-mass for days 2 and 3 of this event. There was a strong mix of Canadians, Americans, new fleet members and experienced sailors. In the end  Canadian Bruce Millar won Can Am 5, followed by Jeff Linton and Allen Liebel bested the 25 entries.
 
Jeff Linton was crowned US National champion as the top finishing US boat in the fleet followed by Dee Smith and Tony Pocklington.
 

Can Am Series

These events rounded out the winter long Can Am Series. While the early part of the series was hampered by a lack of Canadian competitors, there was no lack of rivalry for the the podium. In the end Dee Smith won, followed by Tony Pocklington and Rudy Trejo.
 
 

A Newcomer’s Perspective

As always the 2.4 meter class, and the folks in Port Charlotte are always welcoming new sailors.  Ric Dexter jumped off his J-105 and into a charter 2.4 meter. Here is what he had to say:
 
” Very competitive and high quality racing.  Club, racers and race committee extremely welcoming, friendly and professional.  Competitors were extra helpful to newbies, lots of tips and tricks shared making event fun for all.
Fleet is well behaved making it very comfortable with tight quarter racing.
My second year, big improvement every day for me personally.”

Links to Results

 

Upcoming Schedule

The fleet moves north for the Summer. There are no less than 5 great events planned in the US for this summer as well as several in Canada. The upcoming schedule includes:

  • Spring Invitational – Tred Avon Yacht Club, Oxford Maryland – April 30, 2022
  • Claggett Clinic & Regatta – Sail Newport, Newport, RI  – June 21, 2022
  • SBYC invite – Sandy Bay Yacht Club, Rockport, MA – July 8, 2022
  • US Disabled Nationals Independance Cup – Goldman Sailing,  Chicago, IL August 4, 2022

Check the Sailing Schedule on our web site for complete details.