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.

President’s Report March 2022

Canadian 2.4mR Class Association 

 Canadian News

This report is well overdue. We are finally getting closer to pre COVID normal. The February CAN AM winter series event in Florida had fifteen boats including three Canadian boats. Alan Leibel placed second with Bruce Millar finishing third in his jib boom boat. The March final CAN AM regatta will see at least seven Canadian boats and an expected fleet of more than twenty boats.

Future Regattas

 In January we had a successful regatta scheduling meeting which finalized dates for the 2022 summer season. I would like to thank Brian Robinson, Aaron Wong-Sing, Louise Anstey, Joe Gerlinsky, Angela Cromarty, Paula Stone, Peter Eager and Darrell Suderman for being on the Zoom meeting.

The 2022 Canadian 2.4mR championships will be held at National Yacht Club in Toronto August 26 – 28. It will be held 5 days after the finish of the Canada Games in Niagara on the Lake Sailing Club. Already the Saskatchewan Sailing Team is planning to stay in Ontario for our championship. We are hoping that other Canada Games teams will also attend.

Both the Victoria and Toronto fleets have an active summer schedule with Victoria just recently hosting the David Bleakney Ice Bowl (March 12). The Toronto fleet starts off its sail season with the Canadian Olympic Classes Ice Breaker Regatta May 21 & 22. The Victoria fleet sails Wednesday afternoons and Sundays out of the Royal Victoria YC while the Toronto fleet has organized one regatta per month for June, July, August and September. Please check the class website www.canada24mr.com for the complete schedule of future regattas.

As restrictions across the Canada United States border have eased it is great to see that there are two new 2.4mR regatta hosts in the Eastern United States. On April 30 – May 1 the Tred Avon Yacht Club in Oxford MD is including the 2.4mR class in its spring invitational regatta. This is a beautiful club in a quiet part of the Chesapeake Bay. Although I have never raced here, I have cruised the region and am working hard to find an excuse to attend this regatta. The second event is the Sandy Bay Yacht Club invitational in Rockport MA on July 8 – 10. The Sandy Bay fleet is new, and we should give them some support as they grow their fleet. Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t let everyone know that I will be attending the Clagett Regatta in Newport RI. June 21-26. Sailed out of Sail Newport I have been attending this event for more than ten years. They have the best coaching, great race committees, excellent on shore support and the best sailing conditions.

Growing the Class 

There are a few issues hindering class growth in Canada. One of course is the availability of good used boats. This is aggravated by the availability of new boats with slow delivery from the current principal builder. I am hoping that the International Class is addressing this problem with new builders in Germany and England.

The second issue hindering class growth is our reluctance to promote the boat to potential boat owners. In my mind the target sailors are either a person who is 40 years old or older who previously or currently sailed a physically demanding One Design dinghy such as a ILCA 6 (Laser) or who sailed a One Design Keelboat and is tired of chasing crew for weekend regattas (J-24, E 22, Sharks, T-Birds etc.).  We need to let them sail our boats. In my mind there are three ways of doing this. One is to organize a “try the boat” day where sailors can come to the club and sail the boat for 60 minutes or so. The second approach is to persuade owners who cannot participate in a race or a weekend competition, because of other commitments, to lend their boats to sailors who meet our target market. The third approach is to organize a regatta and invite the best sailors from other fleets to sail in our 2.4mRs. Copying the Victoria Fleet at Royal Victoria YC, the Ottawa fleet is organizing a club fleet championship inviting each fleet in the club (there are twenty fleets) to nominate a sailor to compete in the championship. Because we have only 5 boats, we will be running heats. We are hoping we will have enough heats so that each sailor will get to race against every other sailor at least once. Low point scoring will prevail with no discards. After the event we will survey the participants about their thoughts on the event and on the boats.

International News 

The class elected a new International President in December 2021. Heiko Kröger is a Paralympian gold medallist who has been active in the class for a number of years. Bruce Millar from Victoria was re-elected to the Executive Committee and was elected to the Technical Committee. Tim Ripley of the USA continues to serve as class secretary.

The 2022 World Championships will be hosted by Davis Island Yacht Club in Tampa Florida November 5 – 12. The Notice of Race has been posted here.

The 2022 European Championships is being held in Quiberon France May 15 – 20 with expected entries to exceed one hundred boats. Further details are on the international website.

Final Thoughts 

Let’s get out on the water and enjoy our boats.

Peter Wood
CAN 14

Canadian 2.4mR Class Notice of AGM 2021

To Canadian 2.4mR Members and Non-Members,
 
Notice of Annual Meeting

Note: Traditionally, the Annual Meeting of the Canadian 2.4mR Class Association has been
held at a time and place in conjunction with the annual Canadian 2.4mR Class Championship.
However, after the success of a virtual (Zoom) meeting last year, it became apparent that it was important that all our members be given the opportunity to attend the Annual General
Meeting, not just those who are at the Canadian Championship.
 
Date and Time: The meeting will take place Thursday November 18, 2021 at 7:30pm Eastern Time (4:30pm Pacific Time)
 
Who can attend? Members who have paid their 2021-2022 Class membership dues by
November 8, 2021 can attend and vote on any resolutions and election of officers for 2022.
Non-Members, including boat owners who have not paid their 2021-2022 Class membership dues by November 8, 2021, can attend as observers and may be invited to participate in the discussion, but will not be able to vote on resolutions and election.
 
How to Attend: A link to the Zoom Meeting website will be provided along with
Association financial statements on or before November 11, 2021 to Members. Non-Members may register for the AGM, if they have not received the invite, by sending a request to [at][dot] .
 
Agenda:
1. Reports from the Fleets (three minutes each maximum please)
Victoria
Saskatchewan
Toronto
Ottawa
Kingston
Montreal
2. Report from the President
3. Report from the Class Secretary
4. Report from the Treasurer including Class Financial Statements January 1, 2020 – March 31, 2021 and Interim Class Financial Statements April 1 – September 30, 2021
     a) proposal for 2022 Class Membership dues
5. Report from the National Measurer
6. Report of the Web Master
7. International Class Association Activities
8. Date for a Regatta Scheduling Meeting to be held in the Winter
9. Requests for proposals to host the 2022 Canadian 2.4mR Championship
10. 2022 North America 2.4mR Championships (whose turn Canada or USA?)
11. Election (appointment) of Officers (President, Secretary-Treasurer, Chief Measurer, Web Master)
12. Other Business
       a) Any other business brought forward
 
Brian Robinson
Canadian 2.4mR Class Secretary
 
Canadian 2.4mR Class Association e-mail: [at][dot]
 
 

#BacktheBid Campaign to Reinstate Sailing in the Paralympics

Hi Sailors!
 
Some of you have asked how you can support the #BacktheBid campaign to reinstate sailing in the Paralympics.
 
I’m below is some info about the campaign (don’t worry about the embargo, the date has passed).
 
Also some links to World Sailing Facebook page with one featuring yours truly on Cadboro Bay.
 
It’s worth noting that our fleets here in North America grew out of disabled/inclusive/Paralympic sailing, an example of how inclusion works in all directions. Another reason to support our sport!
 
Thanks & share away
 
Jackie Gay

Continue reading “#BacktheBid Campaign to Reinstate Sailing in the Paralympics”

2.4mR Canadian Championships 2021

Royal Victoria Yacht Club, Victoria BC
10-12 September 2021

We did it! We actually managed to host a championship regatta, the first held one at RVicYC since the pandemic began in March 2020. So on behalf of the organising committee we’d like to start by thanking club staff, our volunteers, supporters, sailors, coaches, race committee, jury and especially our visiting teams for making the huge effort required to come to this beautiful bay and sail.

There were many moments during the planning stages when we wondered if this would ever happen, with constant pivoting, adjusting, organising and re-organising. However when our visiting sailors from Saskatchewan, Alberta, Ontario and Seattle finally drove down onto the foreshore with their boats, we knew we had a regatta.

The racing itself was tight, varied, challenging, exciting and eventful. Friday dawned bright and clear with very light wind from the SE and Race Officer John Abel ran two races in the bay before we felt the warmth of the westerly and moved out into Oak Bay for two more in the breeze, with enough waves to surf downwind. Visiting sailors were heard whooping with delight! Unfortunately on Saturday it was wet and windless all day and we only succeeded in filling up our bilges with rainwater. However this did give us precious time to reconnect with our much-missed sailing community (and a bit of boat fixing). On Sunday the there was a battle between a SE wind and the westerly, causing much moving of committee boats, resetting of marks and radio chatter. We sailed three races in very varied conditions with plenty of ladder climbing, sliding down snakes and all types of spinning.

In the end, however, the biggest battle was for the championship, with Bruce Millar and Bob Britten duking it out right up until the final leg, with Bruce winning on a tie-breaker. Louise Anstey completed the podium with her third place. In the disabled event Bruce was winner with Jackie Gay second and Peter Eager third. It is heartening to note that of 21 boats, 11 were disabled sailors and seven were women. Truly inclusive sailing of the highest calibre.

It is exciting to see our young sailors mixing it up with this highly experienced fleet. All the sailors had great moments and huge learning opportunities. Bring on the next one!

Jackie Gay
CAN 23

 Full results here: https://theclubspot.com/regatta/UHQ9CKF99i/results

2.4mRs Sail at Nepean Sailing Club’s NOD (Nepean One Design) Regatta August 14 & 15th

A fleet of eight 2.4mR’s competed in the NOD regatta. For most of the fleet it was their first competition in 18 months or longer and it was great to get out on the water. The regatta offered interesting sailing conditions with the average wind speeds of 9.5 Knots. (16 knots on the first day and 3.5 knots on day 2).

The higher wind speed on Day 1 caused serious attrition with only Peter Eager (Toronto) completing all races. Eric Gouin & Erick Poirier of AQVA Pointe Claire sailed all three races but confusion about the courses to be sailed resulted in them only being scored for Race 3. Other sailors retired with a variety of boat issues (Aaron Wong broke his forestay pendent and Brian Peckover & Peter Wood had steering issues) or general fatigue from a lack of experience in the heavy air conditions.

Day 2 had very light conditions and the whole fleet came out for a challenging experience of seeking wind pressure on the course. Three races were sailed with the final race shortened to three legs. It was great to be back on the water.

2.4mR Fleet

Sailed: 6, Discards: 1, To count: 5, Entries: 8, Scoring system: Appendix A
 
Rank Boat name Sail # Helm Club Race 1
Aug 14
Race 2
Aug 14
Race 3
Aug 14
Race 1
Aug 15
Race 2
Aug 15
Race 3
Aug 15
Total Net
1st   CAN22 Peter Eagar NYC 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 (2.00) 2.00 8.00 6.00
2nd   CAN 14 Peter Wood NSC (9.00 DNC) 9.00 DNC 9.00 DNC 2.00 1.00 1.00 31.00 22.00
3rd Inspiration CAN 88 Aaron Wong-Sing NSC 7.00 DNF 7.00 DNF (9.00 DNC) 3.00 3.00 3.00 32.00 23.00
4th La Vagabonde CAN 85 Erick Poirier PCYC (7.00 DNF) 7.00 DNF 3.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 32.00 25.00
5th   CAN 66 Brian Peckover NSC 7.00 DNF 7.00 DNF (9.00 DNC) 4.00 4.00 4.00 35.00 26.00
6th   CAN 40 Eric Gouin PCYC AQVA (7.00 DNF) 7.00 DNF 2.00 7.00 6.00 6.00 35.00 28.00
7th   CAN 77 Debbie Reinhart NSC 7.00 DNF 7.00 DNF (9.00 DNC) 6.00 7.00 9.00 DNC 45.00 36.00
8th Small Expectation CAN 84 Paula Stone PCYC (9.00 DNC) 9.00 DNC 9.00 DNC 8.00 8.00 9.00 DNC 52.00 43.00

President’s Report June 2021

Canadian News

While the ice went out on our lake early this spring, COVID 19 has played havoc with the start of our sailing season. While the Victoria members have been sailing regularly on Wednesday afternoons and on Saturdays, Members in Ontario and Quebec are now seeing their provincial lockdowns slowly being eased and access to sailing and yacht clubs returning to near normal. At my club (Nepean Sailing Club in Ottawa), the large keelboats are being launched June 5 so our first 2.4mR sails will begin after that. We look forward to the easing of provincial travel restrictions and even travel restrictions within provinces (between health units in British Columbia, for example).

The continuing closure of the Canada-United States border is having a detrimental effect on both the recovery of boats and equipment trapped in Florida since March 2020 and the delivery of new boats that have been shipped to Florida in containers along with US boats. At this point there are at least five boats, three trailers, one vehicle and lots of equipment stuck in Florida. It does not appear that the Canada- US border will be open for what is called “non-essential travel” until at least late July 2021. Is not sailing 2.4mR sailboats an essential activity for our mental health?

Almost all of our boat owners have renewed their membership thanks to Brian Robinson, our new class Secretary, Aaron Wong-Sing, our Treasurer, who did a great job revising our website-based membership renewal system, and to all the members who have renewed their membership for the 2021 – 2022 year.  If you haven’t renewed your membership, please go to https://www.canada24mr.com/canadian-class-membership-2021/ and complete the membership registration form. This year, we have reduced our full membership from $50.00 to $40.00. We also have an associate membership category for individuals who are not boat owners but are supporters of the Canadian 2.4mR class, and an association membership for Provincial Sailing Associations, community groups and similar organizations who own one or more boats that their members use jointly.

The Victoria fleet and Royal Victoria Yacht Club are working hard to organize a successful 2021 Canadian 2.4mR Championship September 10 – 12th. The regatta chair, Randy Diamond is an experienced organizer and has a great team working to make this a special regatta. They have a dedicated website http://www.2pt4canadians.com/, which is loaded with useful information. For planning purposes, the organizers are asking sailors considering attending to contact them early. The regatta registration is open, and they are not requesting regatta entry fees until a later date. If you have any questions, you can contact the organizing committee directly at [dot][dot][dot][at][dot].

If you have recently sold your 2.4mR, we would appreciate you dropping a note to the class Secretary at [at][dot] , giving us information about the buyer including name, e-mail address, telephone number, hull number and sail number of the boat sold. If you are keeping your personal sail number because you own more than one boat, we will contact the new owner to issue them a sail number. Of course, we would like to welcome the new owner into the class and provide them with information about regattas etc. We also maintain a data base including current measurement and buoyancy certificate information on all known boats in Canada. We will amend the ownership information on file.

This is also a reminder that boats with Floatation Certificates dated 2016 or earlier must be retested in 2021 in accordance with Class Rule B4. In Victoria, please contact Bruce Millar, Chief Measurer, and in Toronto, contact David Foscarini. In other locations, contact Bruce Millar to identify acceptable alternative measurers.

International News       

A number of positive initiatives are coming from the Executive Committee of the International Class Association. First, the class is updating the look and content of the class website to give it a more modern feel and make it more appealing to the general sailing public while still providing the information class members require. The new revised class website should be online in the later part of July. Second, the EC of the class is asking whether the next AGM should be a virtual meeting. The exact proposition is as follows:

Should the EC run an AGM/Special Meeting in order to hear from NCA representatives and conduct the business of running the class including elections and approval for other class business. This meeting will take place over Zoom and be run in a professional no biased manner by an experienced professional moderator.

Please let the International Class Secretary [dot][at][dot] know your views on this matter.

The third initiative taken by Heiko Kroeger was to prepare and submit an application for the 2.4mR to be added as a mixed event in the 2024 Paris Olympics. As a background, the IOC rejected World Sailing’s recommend class the “doublehanded long-distance event” for among other reasons World Sailing had not run a World championship in the event. On very short notice the International Class put together a submission which was not successful. However, the class learned from the experience and believe it did raise the profile of the class at World Sailing.

Finally, we are receiving reports from the German 2.4mR class and appreciate that they are sharing their ideas of how to grow the class. These, and reports from other National Class Associations (NCA’s) will be posted on the website.

Stay healthy and get your vaccination so we can all sail together soon.

Peter Wood
CAN 14