Disabled World Championship 2018 – Sheboygan Wisconsin – Sept 16 – 22, 2018

As you may or may not know the 2018 Disabled World Championships are coming to the USA.

This regatta will be one of the last chances for World Sailing (WS) to showcase sailing to the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) before it is decided on re-instatement to the Paralympic Games in 2024. The regatta is going to be held on the waters of Lake Michigan in the city of Sheboygan WI. This would be a great opportunity for disabled sailors in Canada to come together and present a strong showing for team Canada and will also provide an opportunity for all abilities to get some valuable experience.

This announcement by WS is a little late but now that we have it we should work together to make plans for all of us to attend and we need to gather support from Sail Canada, Provincial Sailing Associations, Yacht Clubs, Coaches, Support personal and other supporters. I have now put this event on my calendar and hope you will as well. Lets band together and show how Canada has a strong and skilled disabled sailing community. This is also one of the few times when everyone can drive to the event location in a reasonable time.

http://www.sailing.org/news/85458.php#.WgHXS63MwdU

The decision from IPC about re-instatement for the games in 2024 s supposed to take place in January 2019.

Go Canada!

Bruce Millar
CAN 39

Report from the 2.4mR Canadian Class President – November 2017

As most of the Canadian Class have either put their boats away for the winter or are planning their travel  to Florida for our CAN-AM winter season I thought that I would reflect on the past summer. First, the class has being growing with new boat owners in both the Toronto and Victoria fleets. The sailors attracted to our class have strong racing resumes from other classes so we know they will be fun to compete against. Rumours have it that at least three of our current members are purchasing new boats so it looks like 2018 will be a strong sailing season.

Meterfest in Newport RI was an initiative of the International 12 Meter Class Association. It was a regatta within the New York Yacht Club’s Annual Regatta. Nine 12 Meters and six 6 Meters participated along with seventeen 2.4 meters. Unfortunately the 8 meters were unable to show up, held back by the high waters on the Lower Great lakes. One of the highlights of the regatta was the Friday Long – Distance race around Rose Island and underneath the Pels Bridge. We finished in front of Fort Adams. How often do we do a long distance point to point race in a 2.4 meter?

The Saturday night dinner on the lawn of Harbour court, the New York Yacht Club’s Newport station was spectacular. Well worth the high price of admission. Meterfest will next be held June 2019

Clagett Regatta also hosted in Newport took place two weeks after Meterfest so many sailors left their boats at Fort Adams and returned two weeks later. Clagett Regatta features great coaching from some of the best small boat coaches in the USA. A great Race Committee and lots of local sponsorship support under the direction of Judy McLennan. It is traditionally a regatta for sailors with disabilities, however the 2.4 Meter event is open and the competition is good. Throw in Newport sailing conditions and it is the reason I have been a regular for eight years. One thing that was interesting was that Paul Tingley sailing a jib-boom boat won the regatta with a very consistent series.

Canada Games The 2.4mR was used as the Para Mixed Sailing event at the 2017 Canada Summer Games in Gimli MB. Entry into the Canada Games is limited to one boat per province and the competitor must be classified according to World Sailing Functional Disability Classification System. There is also a maximum age limit of 35 however exemptions were given in 2017. Five sailors met all the criteria while three sailors were granted exemptions. Gold Medalist was Joe Gerlinsky of Saskatchewan. The 2021 Canada Games will again include the 2.4mR.

2.4mR North Americans at Pointe Claire Yacht Club in August had 21 boats. It was one of the larger class North American’s in recent years. Twenty one boats competed however the weather gods played havoc with one day lost because of lack of wind and a second day lost because of forecast violent thunderstorms. We did get racing on the third and final day and the Race Committee worked hard to get four good races in 6 to 10 knots of wind. Congratulations to Dee Smith from Annapolis MD who retained his title for the second straight year.

Canadian 2.4mR Championships:  was held at National Yacht Club September 15 – 17th. It was a smaller fleet than normal as many sailors had other commitments during that weekend. Six races were held under light wind conditions with Alan Liebel again winning the Canadian Championships with Jerry Wendt second and Peter Eagar third.

Victoria 2.4mR Fleet: While the rest of us have either stored our boats for the winter or for Florida Jackie McRoberts posted pictures from Royal Victoria YC showing that the Victoria fleet is actively racing in Cadboro Bay most Saturdays in October and November. But even Victoria does get the occasional snow fall but rumour has it that the gang waits until 2:00pm in the afternoon for the snow to melt off their boat covers and then get a late start with hot rums in the clubhouse.

Looking Forward:  For many Canadian 2.4mR sailors, the CAN-AM winter series is a nice break from our snowy climate.  Starting with the America’s Regatta in St Petersburg (not scored for the CAN-AM Winter Series) a sailor can race in three regattas in early December, and then one weekend event per month until the beginning of April. After the St Petersburg regatta, all events are held at the Charlotte Harbour Yacht Club which is a short 40 minute drive north of the Fort Myers International Airport. Boats can be stored at Charlotte Harbour YC so there is no need to derig after each event.  Sunday evening departures from Fort Myers allows a sailor to be back at their desk first thing Monday morning.

2018 Summer Regatta Schedule:

 As dates for events become known, they will be posted on the Canadian Website.

2.4mR sailor is Nova Scotia’s Flag Bearer at 2017 Canada Games

Sailor Siobhan MacDonald and paddler Zane Clarke will carry the Nova Scotia flag at the 2017 Canada Games in Winnipeg.

The flag-bearers were announced during the team’s pep rally today, July 8, in Halifax.

Ms. MacDonald, a Mabou native currently studying at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., will carry the flag for the opening ceremonies on July 28 in Winnipeg. She is a double amputee who will compete in the 2.4mR para-sailing event, in which she placed fourth in Sherbrooke in 2013.

“I feel pretty shocked, honestly, just because I know what phenomenal, phenomenal athletes we have on Team Nova Scotia,” said Ms. MacDonald. “It’s hard to put into words how proud I am to lead us into the opening ceremonies in Winnipeg. I still have to pinch myself. I’m just really, really excited.”

President’s Report March 2017

Peter Wood CAN 14

e-mail: [at][dot]

 

We are already past the middle of March 2017, which means we are only 9 weeks away from our first Eastern Canadian 2.4 Meter regatta, the Ice Breaker at National Yacht Club in Toronto. The fleet in Victoria, which doesn’t have the same hard water problems the rest of us do, have been racing once per week out of Royal Victoria YC.

The CAN-AM Winter Series has only one more event scheduled (March 24- 26th) and has been a great success. Ten Canadian boat owners have participated in at least one of the regattas to date. After the final event a number of sailors will staying on in Florida to train for 3 or 4 days before making the return trip north. The organizers of the CAN AM Winter series will be reviewing the event and would like feedback from both participants and those unable to participate with the hopes of growing the event in 2017 – 2018

Summer and early autumn 2017 has a number of interesting regattas scheduled. I have already made contact with the International 12 Meter class who will be participating in Meter Fest with us at the New York Yacht Club in Newport June 9 -11. They are excited we are participating and it will be an excellent opportunity to showcase our boat with the goal of getting a fleet of boats established in Newport. Ten days after Meter fest will be the Clagett Regatta, also in Newport so a number of us are planning to leave our boats at Sail Newport and return for the Clagett. We are anticipating twenty or more 2.4mR’s for Meter Fest.

The inclusion of the 2.4 meter class in the 2017 Canada Games in Gimli Manitoba is important because it puts the class in front of our ten provincial sailing associations. While entry is restricted to one per province and there are both age and classification requirements the inclusion has resulted in boat ownership in eight of our ten provinces with very healthy activity in Saskatchewan.

This year is Canada’s turn to host the 2.4mR North Americans and Alain Dubuc and the crew of the Pointe Claire Yacht Club are already working hard to make sure it will be a memorable regatta. Last year they organized the successful Canadian 2.4mR Championships so they have most of their team back for 2017. The 2.4mR regatta schedule (found on this website) has a direct link into the Notice of Race for this event.

Finally class dues. The 2017 class membership year is April 1 – March 31. Dues can be paid directly from our website. This year on direction from the 2016 AGM we have reduced our annual dues to $ 50.00 per boat owner. As of this date ten members have renewed for 2017-2018

See you on the water.

 

President’s Report January 2017

Peter Wood CAN 14

e-mail: [at][dot]

2.4mR Can Am Winter Series

The 2016-2017 2.4mR CAN AM commenced with three regattas on the Gulf Coast of Florida in December 2016. The First Regatta (The America’s Regatta) was held December 2 – 4 at the St Petersburg Sailing Centre in Saint Petersburg FL. 15 boats competed with Dee Smith from Annapolis MD 1st place, Peter Wood from Ottawa, ON second and Tony Pocklington from Fort Myers FL third. Winds were medium to light.

After using Monday December 5th to move the boats to Charlotte Harbour YC the second Regatta (the 2016 North American Championship) was held December 6-7. Tuesday saw winds of 10 to 13 knots with Allan Leibel of Toronto winning two races and Dee Smith of Annapolis winning the other. On the second day Dee won the first race of the day with Alan in close pursuit in second. The second race saw Allan get around the windward mark first while the rest of the fleet was becalmed and trying to sail against an unfavourable tide to the windward mark. After 20 minutes the RC abandoned racing for the day with the result that Dee became the 2016 North American 2.4mR champion.

The 2016 United States 2.4mR championships were the final regatta of the December series. Four races were held on Thursday December 8, with three races on December 9th and the final two races on December 10th.  Allan Leibel definitely dominated the series winning all nine races. Charles Rosenfield placed second and as the top resident US sailors was award the 2016 US 2.4 Meter Championship. Races on all days were sailed in a 10 to 15 knot wind range. Although a cold front swept through the area on December 9th and 10th it was still comfortable sailing for the northerners.

The next regatta in the series will be January 21 & 22, 2017 in Port Charlotte followed by the Charlotte Harbour Regatta February 3 – 5 (not part of the CAN AM series) and February and March regattas on the 25th and 26th of the  month, respectively.  A limited number of charter boats are available. This would be a great opportunity for those considering joining the class to try the boat and check out the fleet. Contact either Peter Wood  or Tony Pockington  for more information. Continue reading “President’s Report January 2017”

President’s Report, October 2016

Peter Wood CAN 14

e-mail: [at][dot]

 

As many of us contemplate finishing our 2016 summer season and are either putting our boats away or planning for the long migration to Florida, for the winter 2.4mR season, I would like to reflect on the season past and what we have to look forward to starting December 2016.

Class membership: I am proud to say we have 27 paid up boat owning members in 2016. Our membership base stretches from Cape Breton Island NS to Victoria BC making us one of the most diverse one design classes in Canada. We have boat owning members in eight of Canada’s ten provinces, a claim few other classes can match. We have solid numbers and active fleets of 5 or more boats in Victoria, Saskatchewan, Toronto and Ottawa. Interest in the class is strong, our problem is finding good quality used boats for new entrants into the class.

2016 Canadian Championship:   We had 22 Boats at the 2016 Canadian 2.4mR Championship with competitors from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia. Our host club Pointe Claire Yacht Club and our regatta chair Alain Dubuc did such a great job they will be hosting the 2017 North American Championships.

Class Finances:  The class finances are in good shape. We have paid our 2016 class dues to Sail Canada and to the International 2.4mR Class Association. We had a healthy discussion on class finances at the AGM in Pointe Claire and have decided to reduce the annual membership fee to $ 50.00 per boat owner for 2017. We also decided that class membership will not be required for non boat owners participating in the occasional regatta. We will be purchasing sail stickers for measurement requirements and distributing them free of charge to Canadian sailmakers. In 2017 we wish to increase the awareness of the class within the Canadian sailing community. For this we will allocate a small promotional budget.

Winter 2016 – 2017 Continue reading “President’s Report, October 2016”