Important Information about the 2019 2.4mR Open World Championships

From the president of International 2.4mr Class –Steve Bullmore 

Keith Gordon and I had a very full day in Genova this week with the aim of making contact with the organising yacht club for our 2019 Worlds which will take place between the 12th and 18th October. Elena Polo and Nicole David from the Italian NCA joined us there and we enjoyed a very good reception from the organising committee and came away very enthusiastic for the event.

The Yacht Club Italiano is the most prestigious yacht club in Italy and the clubhouse and facilities are fabulous. All very professional and they have huge backing from the Genova Commune who are providing fifty percent of the large budget to stage the event.

Genova itself is a very old city and the beautiful Ligurian countryside gives great opportunities for exploration during the event for sailors and supporters. The marina and yacht club are central to the city.

Our ‘Worlds Village’ is a short way from the yacht club premises and is housed inside the huge exhibition centre that is alongside the marina where our boats will be berthed.

Berthing will be against fingers coming off the floating dock that is anchored to the marina side so is very stable. Along this huge length there is capacity for over 100 2.4s with any disabled sailor being moored side on to the stable floating dock and there will be personal hoist possibilities for any sailor requiring it.

Every part of the ‘Village’ is fully accessible with smooth concrete over the outside area and lifts within the building for access to separate rooms for secretariat, jury, race officials plus a room with chairs and tables for our AGM on the Sunday.

The club is very aware of our measurement needs and will be allocating eleven people to perform this from the Saturday to Monday.  This measurement process will be very efficiently performed and will allow quick and hassle free launching of the boats within the measurement timeframe.

There are huge concrete areas for parking of vehicles and trailers which will be open from the 11th October, Friday but before that may coincide with the Genova Boat Show breakdown so arrival before that date will not be possible.

Part of this area and very close to the main Village building has a high canopy under which motorhomes can be stationed and the cost of this will only be to cover electricity and water provision payable onsite.

Within the ‘Village’ will be toilets and shower facilities.

The club have rescue ribs allocated as one rib per ten boats and this will be done in conjunction with the waterborne Red Cross. There is provision with the coastguard to signal a disaster scenario at any point with possible helicopter evacuation.

The yacht club have a very long and renowned history of staging international events and the Olympic qualification event in April there is a good example of this.

Luigi Monaco who is running the technical side, NOR, SIs etc, is also acting as race officer. He has forty years experience of race organising so we can be sure of good racing.

There will be food availability in the ‘Village’ during the whole event and there will be pasta offered within the entry fee at the end of sailing each day together with prizes for the winners of each days racing.

The Friday dinner and prizegiving will take place in the beautiful yacht club with 140 years of history attaching.

Entry fee has been set at 350 euros and coach boats at 130 euros. These will include all social events and the Worlds polo shirt. Additional supporters may be included in the social events at 60 euros

There is an initial notice on https://www.yachtclubitaliano.it/en/news-162/campionato-del-mondo-classe-24.html

Very shortly the NOR will be issued online on the yacht club website and this will make entry possible with payment taken either by bank transfer, card or Paypal. Please make sure your entry is made as soon as possible as organisation is dependent on knowing sailor and supporter numbers early in the process

.There will be an opening ceremony including the hoisting of country flags and we will be asking NCAs to provide their country flag.

There is about a half hour sail to the racing area which is outside any commercial shipping areas and accords the possibility to be viewed from the main promenade as a spectacle for the city. There is also a possibility that a boat will be provided to take spectators on the water.

We have ten races planned plus the practice race from the Monday through to the Friday and we can be sure of a worthy world champion once again.

All in all it seems to me that we will have a fantastic event and we will continue to liaise with the club over the coming months to assure success.

Any comments please come back to me.

This is a World Championship not to miss.

Best wishes
Steve

President International 2.4mR Class

From Tony Pocklington, US 2.4mR Class President

My wife and I are making travel plans for Genoa this October.

If there is any interest from the rest of NA I could ship my container over to the venue for the event.

Or, I have soon to be shipped boats on order with Charger at the moment, I could leave one in behind for me to use.

Thought I would send out a note to see if there is any interest.

We plan to arrive in Genoa on the 8th, but could be there on the 7th to help unpack/etc if nec.

e-mail: [at][dot]

From Nilo Salomaa (Finland)

Yes there is plenty of charter boats available in Finland. The price for the charter is 2500€ including transportation to the venue. You can put mine contact information to the website post you are making if anyone has further questions. I would appreciate if we could get all the interested people contact me before the end of March 2019. After we get all the interested people we can start planning the logistics to Italy.

Cheers Niko

Niko Salomaa

[dot][at][dot]

Millar Wins 2019 Edge Sailing Midwinters

2.4mR CanAm 2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
 [dot][at][dot]">Jan Harley, Media Pro International, 401-683-8224

Event Three of the 2019 CanAm Championship Series

Port Charlotte, Fla. (January 29, 2019) – Sixteen competitors took to the waters of Charlotte Harbor over the weekend of January 25-27 for the 2019 Edge Sailing Midwinters — event three in the five-event 2.4 Meter Can Am Championship series. Unlike the previous two events, which each saw four competitors rack up first-place finishes in the 20-strong fleet, the leaderboard for the Edge Sailing Midwinters was dominated by two veteran racers:  2015 2.4mR North American Champion Bruce Millar, of Victoria, British Columbia, and 2018 2.4mR North American Champion Dee Smith of Annapolis, Maryland.

On the first day of racing, featuring overcast skies, intermittent rain, and eight to 10 knots of breeze with gusts to 14 from the north-northeast, four races were run. And while the Race Committee was obliged to make course changes due to shifts in the breeze and pressure changes in three races, the ebb tide and flat water were not adverse factors for the competitors. 

In the first race, Millar picked up a 17-point penalty after confusion at a mark rounding resulted in his being disqualified from that race. However, he rebounded quickly by winning the subsequent two races and placing second in the final race of the day. Smith, meanwhile, finished 1-2-2-1 in those races, to finish the day at the top of the leaderboard with six points to Millar’s 21. 

On the second day of racing, the forecast was for gusts to 35 knots, which, fortunately, never materialized. However, the squall that came through during race one, bringing sometimes heavy, intermittent rain, turned into a consistent torrent during race two that was not enhanced by the 55-degree temperatures. Only the two races were sailed, with Smith winning the first, and Millar winning the second. 

Notably, Smith did not sail the final race of the regatta, mistakenly thinking he had secured the win. “Of course, I didn’t do my math very well,” said Smith. “Racing with Bruce was very close the whole regatta. I won the first one, he won the next two, I won the next two. The last race that I sailed, I was over the line early, had to go back and grind my way through the fleet. I was one boat length behind Bruce at the weather mark…stayed the same on the run, and we took different marks at the gate. When we crossed the next time, I had the lead and did not look back. I thought I won the regatta.”

On the last leg of the final race, after a short tacking duel with Tony Pocklington, of Fort Myers, Fla., Millar prevailed to cross the finish line first to win the regatta. Tied on seven points with Millar, Smith lost the tie-breaker which is decided by the scores in the last race sailed. 

Pocklington’s scoreline for the regatta, 4-6-[7]-4-4-2, placed him third overall with 20 points. The close competition included a photo finish, also in that last race, for Tim Ripley, of Randolph, N.J., and Charlie Rosenfield of Woodstock, Conn., who crossed the line, respectively, third and fourth. Rosenfield took fourth overall in the standings with 22 points, while Peter Eagar of Toronto, Canada, took fifth with 24 points.

“I personally don’t have a preferred condition,” said Millar after securing the win of the 2019 Edge Sailing Midwinters.  “I don’t worry about whether its heavy or light. I like to be at the top [of the results], but I don’t want that to be my focus and I figure the result will come. Dee is a fantastic sailor. We all know he is the sailor that starts the best and he has years and years of experience. It’s something you have to contend with. I have very good boat speed…I can match him, so it puts me together with him a lot of the time if I’m doing my job right. It just takes one mistake and that is the difference between one position. It pushes you hard and makes you think all the time and that’s why I enjoy the sport, because it’s a thinking game.”

Racing for the third edition of the 2.4 Meter Can Am Championship series will resume February 22-24 with CanAm #4. The nine-race 2019 CanAm Championship Finale, from March 29-31, will see a regatta winner as well as the determination of the series champion from the results of all five regattas after his or her worst event is dropped from the scoring. For competitors who do not race in all five events, the scoring will count all events sailed (i.e. they will not drop their worst result). Leading the current standings for the 2019 CanAm Championship Series is Dee Smith with five points. He is followed by Bruce Millar with eight points. Tony Pocklington has moved into third with 17 points, just one point ahead of Allan Leibel. Peter Eagar rounds out the top-five with 21 points.

Details of the regatta schedules, social events, hotels and more may be found in the Notice of Race, available here. Full results for the 2019 Edge Midwinters may be found at http://www.regattanetwork.com/event/17798#_newsroom

Links to the results for the first two events in the 2019 Can Am Championship Series are: 2018 2.4mR North American Championship http://www.regattanetwork.com/event/17779#_newsroom ; and 2018 2.4mR U.S. Nationals http://www.regattanetwork.com/event/17797#_newsroom

About the 2.4mR: The 2.4mR originated in 1983 in Sweden and attained confirmation as an international class less than 10 years later. Class racing puts the emphasis on the tactical – not physical – skills of the sailor as the single-handed boats are equal under the strict rules that govern the class. With a length of 13’ 8” and the advantage of being easily transported and stored, this sleek keelboat has gained favor with a wide range of able-bodied sailors and sailors with disabilities (there are 1200 boats worldwide, with roughly 200 in North America). For more information on the class, please visit http://www.canada24mr.com/ or www.us24meter.org/

2019 CanAm Championship Series Draws 20 2.4mR Competitors

2.4mR CanAm 2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
 [dot][at][dot]">Jan Harley, Media Pro International, 401-683-8224

Smith Takes National and North American Titles in Back-to-Back Regattas

Port Charlotte, Fla. (December 13, 2018) – While most of the U.S.A. was getting smacked by an early taste of wintry weather and unseasonably cold temperatures, the conditions were more than ideal for sailors in the 2.4 Meter class as they kicked off the 2019 CanAm Championship Series at Charlotte Harbor Yacht Club (CHYC) in Port Charlotte, Florida. With at least nine competitors from Canada, two from the Virgin Islands, one from Norway, and Americans coming from as far as Seattle and San Diego, a fleet of 20 started the championship series with back-to-back regattas on the Peace River.

The 2019 CanAm Championship Series gets underway in Charlotte Harbor, Florida. (credit: 2019 CanAm Championship Series/Fran Burstein)

First up on the series schedule was the 2.4mR North American Championship, December 3-5, 2018, which got underway in light, shifty breeze from the north. On the first day of racing, the fleet of 20 saw three winners in as many races: Canada’s Bruce Millar, from Victoria, British Columbia, won the first race; Norway’s Bjornar Erikstad took the win of race two; and Dee Smith of Annapolis, Maryland, won the last race of the day.  On day two, with breeze of 12-15 knots from the north-northeast, the sailors faced a challenging chop in the starting area that, fortunately, diminished near the top of the course which was set closer to shore. Day two saw Smith resume his winning style with bullets in the first two races of the day before finishing third in the final race of the event. Canada’s Allan Leibel, of Toronto, won that final race to end the regatta tied on 15 points with Bruce Millar, and Erikstad, with 12 points, finished second to Smith who won the North American title on seven points. Canada’s Peter Eagar, of Toronto, finished fifth overall with 30 points.

The 2.4mR U.S. National Championship, held December 6-9, started under sunny skies with a seven-knot breeze from the east-northeast. Despite the shifty, diminishing breeze, the Race Committee was able to run four races and, once again, it was Bruce Millar across the finish line first in the opening race. Dee Smith powered up for back-to-back wins of races two and three, with the final race of the day won by Charlie Rosenfield of Woodstock, Conn. Day two saw similar conditions, with a diminishing breeze from the east-southeast shifting to the southeast as the day progressed. It was another day of close racing as evidenced, again, by three winners in as many races: Millar won race five, and Janice Graham-Foscarini, of Toronto, Canada, won race six before Smith won the last race of the day. The fourth race planned for the day was abandoned when the wind died. With a cold front pushing its way into the Port Charlotte area, bringing lightning and gusts up to 35 knots, it forced the cancellation of the final day of racing and the championship was decided on seven races, including a discard for each sailor of their worst finish. Smith claimed the 2019 U.S. National Championship title with nine points; Bruce Millar was second with 21 points, followed by Tony Pocklington, of Ft. Myers, Fla., and Bjornar Erikstad, tied with 24 points each. Allan Leibel, with 36 points, rounded out the top-five.

“Racing was tight all week,” said Smith after earning the two championship titles. “Conditions varied from drifting to 22 knots. Many different boats won races and you had to stay on top of the big shifts and wind lines to get good scores. I was lucky enough to put a good string of strong finishes together for the week, but it was not easy.”

Racing for the third edition of the 2.4 Meter Can Am Championship series will resume January 25-27 when the 2019 Edge Sailing Midwinters will be contested, followed by CanAm #4 from February 22-24.  The series concludes with the nine-race 2019 CanAm Championship Finale from March 29-31, with the series champion determined from the results of all five regattas after his or her worst score is discarded.  For competitors who do not race in all five events, the scoring will count all events sailed (i.e. they will not drop their worst result). Leading the current standings for the 2019 CanAm Championship Series is Dee Smith with two points. He is followed by Bruce Millar and Bjornar Erikstad, who are tied with six points each; Allan Leibel in fourth overall on eight points; and Peter Eagar rounds out the top-five with 11 points.

Details of the regatta schedules, social events, hotels and more may be found in the Notice of Race, available here.  Full results for the 2018 2.4mR North American Championship may be found here; and for the 2018 2.4mR U.S. Nationals, results may be found here

 

About the 2.4mR:  The 2.4mR originated in 1983 in Sweden and attained confirmation as an international class less than 10 years later.  Class racing puts the emphasis on the tactical – not physical – skills of the sailor as the single-handed boats are equal under the strict rules that govern the class.  With a length of 13’ 8” and the advantage of being easily transported and stored, this sleek keelboat has gained favor with a wide range of able-bodied sailors and sailors with disabilities (there are 1200 boats worldwide and roughly 200 in the USA alone).  For more information on the class, please visit http://www.canada24mr.com/ or www.us24meter.org/and follow us on Facebook at US 2.4mR Class

America’s Disabled / Open Regatta 2018

The regatta had three days of good racing with both light and medium/strong conditions. On Friday only one race was held in light 4 to 5 knot conditions. After one hour of racing the first four boats all finished within 2 boat lengths of each other with the lead changing hands multiple times in the last 100 meters with Peter Eager winning.

Saturday’s three races saw a building winds with the final race sailed in a 12 knot wind and choppy seas. Dee Smith and Bruce Millar showed they were the class of the fleet while the rest of us fought it out for third place.

Sunday was more of the same with winds starting at 6knots in the first race building to 13 knots in the second. Tony Sanpierre swamped in the second race when three big waves overwhelmed his manual pump.

A great regatta with warm weather, warm water and good competition.

Peter Wood reporting
CAN 14

Results: https://yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative.cfm?eid=6058

CanAm Championship Series Returns to South Florida’s West Coast

2.4mR CanAm 2019

NOR for 2.4 Meter Series Now Available

Port Charlotte, Fla. (November 8, 2018) – The U.S. 2.4 Meter Class Association has announced its return to South Florida’s West Coast for the third edition of the class’ CanAm Championship Series which will feature five regattas hosted from the Charlotte Harbor Yacht Club (CHYC) in Port Charlotte, Florida.  Well-known as an ideal area in which to escape the winter, Charlotte Harbor has become a favored destination of the 2.4mR class due to the reliable breeze and to the protected waters of the Peace River where races are held.

The 2019 CanAm Championship Series kicks off next month with the six-race 2.4mR North American Championship from December 3-5, 2018, followed later that week by the nine-race 2.4mR U.S. National Championship, December 6-9.  After a break for the holidays, competition resumes in the New Year with the 2019 Edge Sailing Midwinters scheduled for January 25-27, and CanAm #4 from February 22-24, each of which is scheduled to have five races.  The series concludes with the nine-race 2019 CanAm Championship Finale from March 29-31, with the series champion determined from the results of all five regattas after his or her worst score is discarded.  For competitors who do not race in all five events, the scoring will count all events sailed (i.e. they will not drop their worst result).

Reigning 2.4mR U.S. National Champion Dee Smith, of Annapolis, Md., winner of the 2017 2.4mR CanAm Championship Series, has already made his plans to be back in Florida. “The CanAm Championship Series is the best racing you can get in 2.4mR sailing in North America,” said Smith.  “Great race management and fun people. It is tactical, fun racing. I will be back in December!”

Sailors from as far away as Norway, San Diego and Seattle, along with a strong contingent of Canadian snow birds, were among the almost two dozen entries in the 2018 championship series.  For many, the opportunity to race regularly and have a break from the winter weather is an irresistible combination.

“Sailing a monthly 2.4mR regatta against great competition in Charlotte Harbor is an ideal winter activity,” said Ottawa’s Peter Wood, President of the Canadian 2.4mR Class, “especially when you need to put on a warm hat, gloves and snow boots just to leave the house.”

Competitors who register for the entire series by November 30, 2018, will have their boat storage from December through March included as a perk.  Details of the regatta schedules, social events, hotels and more may be found in the just published Notice of Race, available here.

About the 2.4mR:  The 2.4mR originated in 1983 in Sweden and attained confirmation as an international class less than 10 years later.  Class racing puts the emphasis on the tactical – not physical – skills of the sailor as the single-handed boats are equal under the strict rules that govern the class.  With a length of 13’ 8” and the advantage of being easily transported and stored, this sleek keelboat has gained favor with a wide range of able-bodied sailors and sailors with disabilities (there are 1200 boats worldwide and roughly 200 in the USA alone).  For more information on the class, please visit http://www.canada24mr.com/ or www.us24meter.org/

The Clagett announces 2018 Clagett Boat Grant recipients

NEWPORT, R.I. (November 8, 2018) – The C. Thomas Clagett, Jr. Memorial Clinic and Regatta is pleased to announce that there will be four recipients for the 2018 Clagett Boat Grant Program.

“We are thrilled that through the fundraising efforts for the Clagett Boat Grant Program we are able to award 2.4mR boats to sailors in the US and in Canada.  The US boat is going to the Challenged Sailors program in San Diego, California and the boats going to Canada will be going to sailors in Ontario and Alberta.  These boats will bring the total of boats that have been granted through the Clagett Boat Grant Program to six over the three years it has been operating.  It is important that adaptive sailors are supported in their important endeavors and through this program we at The Clagett are able to provide opportunities to sailors to pursue their individual goals in sailing,” commented Clagett President and Co-Founder Judy Clagett McLennan.

Read more:
http://www.clagettregatta.org/announcements/the-clagett-announces-2018-clagett-boat-grant-recipients?fbclid=IwAR14TPiLqhxNcujteBc8biOsQ_ooUP980yC5unFNeLWJix_BELCUNzPPeiw

2019 2.4mR World Championships

The 2019 2.4mR World Championships will be hosted by the Yacht Club Italiano, Genoa Italy October 12 – 18, 2019. The Yacht Club Italiano is the senior yacht club in Italy and would compare favourably to top the yacht clubs in North America. It has a strong tradition of supporting competitive racing including sponsoring contenders for the America’s Cup. It is actively helping to prepare Italy’s sailing team for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Among its membership have been past presidents of World Sailing. It is an honour that the club has agreed to host our class World Championship.

To make life easier for overseas sailors Niko Salomaa from Finland is able to arrange charters of Finish 2.4’s including boat transport to the venue and return. Here is his e-mail:

Yes there are plenty of charter boats available in Finland. The price for the charter is 2500€ including transportation to the venue. You can put my contact information on the website post you are making if anyone has further questions. I would appreciate if we could get all the interested people contact me before the end of March 2019. After we get all the interested people we can start planning the logistics to Italy.

Cheers Niko

Niko Salomaa
+358 50 3477606
[dot][at][dot]