We had a great regatta this weekend. Winds were light and shifting, generally 3-6 knots. Seas got a bit lumpy Sunday. It was pretty hot here in Toronto, so it was great to get out on the water. Darrell and Trish gave us a terrific BBQ Saturday.
The Victoria fleet hosted the class Pacific Coast Championship on June 16-17. The event attracted two competitors from out of town: Wendy Frazier, Calgary, and Jeff Reinhold, Seattle, to make an eleven boat fleet. Unfortunately, our Saskatchewan friends were unable to attend.
We delayed our practice session on Friday afternoon by an hour awaiting the flood tide to return enough water under the jetty to launch the visiting 2.4s. Friday morning was a ten-year record low tide!
On Saturday morning the SE wind was very weak and turbulent for the initial race, switching to the N by the last leg. Boats could make big gains on one leg and experience a significant lose on the next leg. It mixed the fleet quite successfully. Ones view of the race depended on one’s final finish position. After a short postponement, the wind settled into a 4-8 kt southerly at the mouth of Cadboro Bay with enough shifts and pressure changes to reward those with their eyes on the water. By Race 4 the flood current set in gently at the weather mark and it had enough strength that it caught some by surprise. Trying to shoot around the mark was risky; the result was two competitors demonstrated their skills at 360-turns. We completed five races by 3.30. After putting away the boats, we retired to the patio for refreshments and contemplated the close results – ties between four pairs of competitors.
Sunday dawned sunny and clear. The Caddy Bay summer northerly showed its first zephyrs by 9 am and built to 4-6 kt by race time. The RC set up a short course, maybe 300 m long, from the RVYC breakwater to the beach. Early in the day, the pressure and lifts favoured the right side of the course. In the latter races, lifts on the left side of the course were dominant. However, all day competitors needed to watch their compass for shifts, watch the water for puffs and be prepared to revise their plan to be successful.
Thank you to the race committee: John Edwards (PRO), Ron Jewula (ARO), the crew from Kairos and many others. Besides running nine races, they found time to serve bbq’d hotdogs between races on Saturday and fresh baked brownies on Sunday. What a team!!
Check out the Hotdog Drive Thru in Rod Mack’s video . See the deluxe ‘dog’ he collects when he eventually gets in the queue.
Award winners: 1st Bruce Millar, 2nd Louise Anstey, 3rd Doug Bell. See full results here.
CAN AM Winter Series: The second year of the 2.4mR CAN-AM winter series is in the books. The final regatta was picture perfect with winds 8 to 13 knots, air temperature 28 degrees Celsius and water temperature about 20 degrees Celsius. Racing was incredibly close throughout the fleet with first and last boats finishing 120 seconds apart. Ironically, the days after the conclusion of the regatta were dead flat calm. The schedule for the 2018 – 2019 CAN Am Winter Series should be available by late May.
2018 Regatta Schedule: As regatta dates, host clubs, and venues are known they are being posted on the class website. The Toronto area regatta schedule is now posted. Royal Victoria Yacht Club is hosting the first Pacific Coast 2.4mR Championship June 16 & 17th. Pointe Claire Yacht Club in Montreal will be hosting our 2018 Canadian Championship August 10, 11, & 12th. Events in the United States which may be of interest to our members are being posted as we become aware of them. Please check the website regularly for all the latest news.
2018 Class Membership and Dues: Our class membership year runs April 1 to March 31. The webmaster has edited the procedures to join the class on line through the website. This requires both renewing and new members to complete the jotform and pay the membership dues through Paypal. Although we do take payment by cheque as well, our preferred payment option is Paypal. Please don’t hand either the class secretary or myself cash at a regatta to pay your membership dues. Although we are honest we are also forgetful so your dues may not be credited to you.
2018 dues are $ 50.00 (same as 2017).
Class Website: We had problems in September 2017 with the host of our class website. Thanks to the tireless work of Aaron Wong-Sing, the website was rebuilt and we continue to receive positive comments from our members, from 2.4mR sailors from other countries, and from sailors in other classes within Canada. Making the job easier for Aaron has been Doug Bell, Dee Smith and Bruce Millar all who have contributed articles to the website. The website is our voice to the sailing community at large so if you have anything you wish to share please pass it to the webmaster.
Buoyancy Tests and Certificates: Regular buoyancy tests are a safety issue. At the 2017 Canada Games two boats failed their initial buoyancy tests and required addition floatation materials before they were permitted to race. It was a good thing because two boats did swamp in the one heavy air race and required assistance in being pumped out. If you do not have a buoyancy certificate for your boat or if your certificate was issued in 2013 or earlier you must be tested before you will be permitted to race in class events in 2018. Contact the class measurer (Bruce Millar) to arrange for a buoyancy test.
Jib Boom Boats: Last winter, Tony Pocklington and Bruce Millar spent time with Bjorner Erikstad (NOR) about the development of jib boom boats. Bjorner has had international success with his jib boom boat and the consensus is that competitive jib boom boats will make 2.4mR sailing accessible to more sailors without diminishing the competitiveness of the fleet. In the future I will ask Bruce to prepare an article on jib boom boats for the website.
Please remember to send your questions, reports, pictures and gripes to the class e-mail address [at][dot]
Unfortunately four of the five sailors who expressed interest in attending the Nepean Sailing Club’s under 25 2.4mR training camp June 13 –15 are now unavailable due to schedule conflicts. The camp is now cancelled. Although this is disappointing I will be maintaining contact with these athletes to see how the Canadian 2.4 Class Association can assist them in the future and help them prepare for Canada Games 2021. If you have identified athletes who are planning to sail the 2.4mR in the 2021 Canada Games and wish to receive specific advice about the boat and the class they can contact us through our e-mail address [at][dot]
Finally we have some warm weather and can think about 2.4 sailing in Toronto. See attached newsletter for the local 2.4 racing schedule and make note of some of the out-of town listed regattas as well. Print a copy and hang it on your fridge and sign up for the regattas!
The out-of-town schedule is not complete, so make sure you go to www.canada24mr.com/events for the complete list.