2016 FALL CORK

On the weekend following the Ontario Sailing Combine I participated in the annual Fall CORK event at Portsmouth Olympic Harbour in Kingston. This year there were 57 boats competing in the Laser Radial fleet.

Though sunny, the weather this year was unfavourable for sailing with extremely light and shifty winds. The race committee managed to get 3 races off in the difficult conditions. Unfortunately racing was called off on the first day just as the wind reached steady conditions after a general recall.

Light and shifty wind conditions at Fall CORK regatta frustrated the race committee and sailors alike. As seen here when the wind completely died in the middle of a starting sequence.

Light and shifty wind conditions at Fall CORK regatta frustrated the race committee and sailors alike. As seen here when the wind completely died in the middle of a starting sequence.

I fell victim to inconsistency and poor results leading to a finish of 4th place. I would like to thank the race committee and everyone involved with the event for doing their best given the frustrating conditions and I hope for better racing next year.

2016 FALL CORK RESULTS

ONTARIO SAILING COMBINE 2016

In September I participated in the Ontario Sailing Combine. This 2-day event is held each year prior to Fall CORK in Kingston, Ontario. Across the two days coaches are evaluating you on your fitness, sailing ability, and character for possible selection to one of the Ontario teams.

On the morning of the first day there is a fitness circuit that all athletes do. It consists of push ups, pull ups, flexibility, plank, and measurements. The measurements taken include height, weight, and BMI. After this all athletes participate in the beep test. I am proud to say almost all of my fitness scores improved over last year.

The rest of the evaluation comes on the water. There are two on-water sessions, one in the afternoon on the Thursday and one on Friday. This is a good pre regatta tune-up and an opportunity to display your skills. Additionally we were treated to a great talk from Ken Dool; Canadian Sailing Team Head Coach and High Performance Director on what being an athlete is about.  Having only just returned from coaching our Canadian Olympic Sailing Team in Rio, his perspective was invaluable and thoughts were inspiring.

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I enjoyed this year's combine and was able to retain my place on OST Elite Radial Team. I would like to thank Ontario Sailing and all of the coaches for running a great event.

ONTARIO SAILING TEAM MEMBERS 2016/17

2016 CORNISH HENS REGATTA

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The annual Cornish Hen Regatta was hosted this year over the September 10-11 weekend at RHYC. This regatta often draws a small but competitive fleet of local racers, and is named after the prize given to competitors who podium.  

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This year I chose to sail in full rig for a fun and more competitive experience. I ended up coming 2nd in the regatta after 5 races. I had finishes of 3, 6, 2, 4, 1 leaving me with 10 points after the drop. The conditions were excellent on the first day with 20 knots from the south west but the race committee sent us in after 1 race with concerns about the safety of some of the younger sailors. The second day brought light and shifty conditions that are common in Hamilton Harbour.

Sailing in the full rig was an interesting and fulfilling experience that will help me when I move into the class full time for 2018.

2016 CORNISH HENS REGATTA RESULTS

CORK - SAIL CANADA YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIPS 2016

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My summer culminated with the CORK International - Sail Canada Youth Championship Regatta at the end of August in Kingston Ontario. This regatta held significant importance for me as it was the qualifier for the ISAF / Youth World Sailing 2016 Championships to be held in New Zealand this December.  The winner would be offered the spot to represent Canada.  My main goal while I sail the laser radial (before I move on to the Olympic Class Laser Standard boat) is to attend an ISAF/World Sailing Youth Championship before I age out. Which means I only have two left.  Qualifying this time out was a small stretch but entirely doable and I trained hard all summer with this goal in mind.  Sadly I fell just slightly short.  After 12 races in total in a fleet of 148 I finished up 4th overall and 3rd Canadian.  A huge improvement on my previous years finishes but two places out of the opportunity to represent Canada at the Worlds this year .

The conditions in Kingston for this regatta were unusual.  I had spent almost 6 weeks in Kingston training 5 days per week with the Ontario Sailing Elite team but none of that would prepare me for what nature served up.  Usually during the summer Kingston will get a thermal almost every day. This wind will be around 12-15 knots and from the south-west or just to the right of the island. There was not a single one of these types of days during the regatta. This year the wind was light to medium for every race except one. That one race was the final race of qualifiers and a squall  came through with fog, rain, and 25 knot winds.

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Race 6 - rounding the leeward mark just after the squall had passed.

My best race of the regatta came on the first race on the second day of qualifiers. In that race I was one of the only people to notice a massive wind shift favouring the pin end of the start line at about 1 minute left to go. I sailed to that end of the line, had a clean start and crossed in front of the fleet by a significant amount. I led the entire race and won by over a minute. It was an exhilarating feeling.  I am really proud of this result and would like to believe this is a sign of things to come.

PHOTO CREDIT: Sailingshot.ca

Unfortunately this regatta also had it’s share of disappointing races. Some poor starts, bad luck, and sometimes poor decisions led to results that weren't my best. Over the entire regatta I was fairly consistent with race finishes of 5, 5, 4, 1, 8, 2, 11, 4, OCS, 11, 3, 10. The regatta came down to the wire with fellow Ontario Sailing team mate Matti Muru, Quebec sailor Justin Vittecoq and I all tied in points for first place.

Had the regatta finished after 11 races I would have won. At one point it seemed unlikely that the race committee would manage to get a 12th race started before the time limit for the final day ran out, but with less than 5 minutes left on the clock they started us. Unfortunately in that final race I was unable to keep ahead of Justin and Matti and in the end I finished 3rd Canadian and 4th overall.  Although this was disappointing I’m really proud of my effort and how I put myself in the position to win.

Many thanks to all who worked so hard organize and run this event. Special thanks to my coach Chris Hewson, to Sarah Douglas and to the rest of my team for being the best of training partners.  Finally congratulations to Justin, Matti, Campbell Patton (Bermuda) and Alex - my fellow competitors on the podium this year.  Good competition makes great sailing - my thanks.

PHOTO CREDIT: Sailingshot.ca via @CORKKingston Twitter feed

RESULTS CORK INTERNATIONAL - SAIL CANADA YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIPS 2016

ONTARIO SUMMER GAMES

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PHOTO CREDITS:  unknown

The Ontario Games Program started in 1970 in Etobicoke as a showcase for amateur sport. They have now become Ontario’s largest multi-sport event, including both team and individual sports.

Provincial level athletes from ages 12 to 18 qualify through a regional selection process conducted by the Provincial Sport Organizations (PSOs). The Games take place every two years and are awarded through a bidding process. They are supported by the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport in collaboration with host communities.

For many young athletes, the Ontario Summer Games is the highpoint of their sporting career, while for others the Games are a stepping stone for the Pan Am Games or even the Olympics.

About the Ontario Summer Games
 

I have been fortunate to have participated in the Ontario Summer Games twice now and enjoyed both experiences.  For my first games in 2014 I had only been racing the laser radial for about a month and found it to be a great learning and development opportunity.  This year I had the opportunity to share some of my learnings over the last two years with other up and coming racers.

The theme of this year's games was "bring it home."  

To our young athletes, we issue the challenge of coming to Mississauga with energy and enthusiasm, intending to ‘bring home’ wonderful experiences and quite literally, awards, accolades and hardware that come from being successful during team and individual competitions. ‘Bring It Home’ is intended to be positive and a motivating phrase to encourage athletes to get to the finish line with their best.
 

I want to thank the province, Ontario Sailing, our coaches, The City of Mississauga, our host Port Credit Yacht Club, all of the volunteers, and my fellow participants/ competitors for making this years games a memorable and successful event.

ONTARIO SUMMER GAMES - SAILING RESULTS

FOUR SISTERS REGATTA 2016

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The annual Four Sisters Regatta took place on July 16 and 17 at Port Credit Yacht Club. This year 60 competitors attended for the radial class. We had two great days of sailing on Lake Ontario with winds ranging from 3 to 8 knots and some small to medium waves. The sun wasn’t always out but it was warm nonetheless with temperatures in the high 20s celsius on the water.

This is a local event for me and Port Credit is a great facility capable of hosting the large numbers of sailors that come out to compete in this mid-season event.  My results have continued to improve year over year.  In 2014 I finished 14th, last year I placed 5th and this year I was very pleased to have won the event with finishes of 1, 1, 61 BFD, 1, 11, 1, 1.

Competition is always good at Four Sisters - and this year was no different with all of the laser radial sailors on the podium finishing within one point of each other. The event offered great practise for me in the areas of covering and fleet management both up and downwind. Congratulations to all my fellow competitors, and thanks to the coaches, parents, organizers, and volunteers who made this event happen.

2016 FOUR SISTERS RESULTS

PRACTISE, PRACTISE, PRACTISE...

VIDEO CREDIT:  Chris Hewson, Ontario Sailing Team Coach.

Boat time is key and I'm  happy to get as much practise time in the boat as possible.  

In the early Spring months while school was still in, our team trained out of Toronto Sailing and Canoe Club and we aimed to be on the water 4 times a week - usually two evenings after school and both days of the weekend.  Once summer hit we moved to a Monday-Friday full day training schedule.

For the next few weeks we will be based in Kingston to take advantage of more consistent and heavier thermal wind conditions.  

No matter the location, one of the side benefits of being out on the water is being treated to fantastic views.  The trick is not to let them distract you :)

US NATIONALS 2016 - MENTOR HARBOR YACHT CLUB

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PHOTO CREDIT: unknown

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN FOR TEAM ROOSTER SAILING GEAR BLOG

In early July the Ontario Sailing Team and I travelled to Mentor, Ohio for the USA Laser Nationals Regatta. This four day event was hosted by  Mentor Harbour Yacht Club on Lake Erie and offered both a variety of conditions and challenging competition with over 100 radials in attendance.

The first day of the regatta winds were light to medium and shifty. The waves were large rollers and were accompanied by some current. I had great starts but some poor choices resulted in me being on the wrong side of the fleet for some shifts. I finished the day with a 9th and a 15th.

Day two brought my best racing of the regatta. With conditions medium in terms of wind (ranging between 4 - 12 knots) and big rollers for waves. Less current led to more difficult starts as a majority of the fleet could have good accelerations. I felt I had some of the best boat speed on the race course and was fast all day. I had finishes of 3, 4, 17, and 6. This marked the halfway point of the regatta and the end of the qualifying series. After 6 races with 5 to count I was in 14th place and qualified for gold fleet.

After the highs of day two came the lows of day three. The breeze and waves came up resulting in some unfamiliar  conditions for me including the biggest waves I’ve ever sailed in. Unfortunately I struggled unsuccessfully all day to  figure out how to sail fast in these new conditions. To compensate for my perceived lack of speed I was extremely aggressive in my starts resulting in 2 black flags. I had finishes of 21, 26, 52 BFD, and 52 BFD.

The final day of racing was extremely light and the race committee only managed to race us once in winds ranging between 1 and 4 knots. After one of the best starts in the fleet at the midline I worked my way up the left side of the beat staying first row. Much to my disappointment another right shift came in at the top ⅓ of the beat. This resulted in me getting passed by a number of boats out of the right corner. I finished the race with a respectable 19th.

This regatta was a great opportunity to test my skills against a large and talented fleet. It offered a valuable learning experience; be prepared for the different conditions. Getting the opportunity to go before a regatta and spend time training at the venue can be immensely important for boosting your confidence going into the event. Sadly for this event I didn’t do that and it cost me when I faced difficult new conditions on the third day.

All in all I had a fun time in Mentor for this regatta. I felt that I gained a lot of valuable experience in larger fleets and learned a ton.  I finished up in 26th place overall.  I am happy with my effort and look forward to taking some of my learnings to my next regatta back in the familiar waters of Lake Ontario at Four Sisters Regatta hosted at PCYC the July 16-17 weekend.

2016 US LASER NATIONALS RESULTS

ATLANTIC COAST CHAMPIONSHIPS 2016

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Tying the laser radial onto the roof of the car at Toronto Sailing & Canoe Club in preparation for heading to ILCA Atlantic Coast Championships in Bellport NY.

I recently made the trip down to Bellport, NY for the ILCA Atlantic Coast Championships. The overall experience was good but was not without its downsides - including an 18 hour round trip drive that involved coming through traffic Sunday night in New York City and a major equipment breakdown.

I was looking forward to the opportunity to measure myself against a broader pool of competitors.  Faced with a good fleet of 42 boats and difficult conditions I managed to finish up 10th overall. On Saturday there were varying wind speeds and some big shifts, at one point a large cloud brought 20+ knot winds and a furious downpour. I managed to end the day with a 11, 3, 14, and 18. Sunday brought equally challenging conditions. In this case it was extremely high winds gusting up to 30 knots! Unfortunately on the way out to the course for the first race, my bottom section broke at the deck.

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Bottom section... busted.

Lucky for me the race was postponed due to high winds and the fleet was sent in giving me time to find a spar to borrow. About an hour later the race committee sent us back out and raced us twice where I secured pretty consistent results of  a 9th and a 10th. Although capsizing because I missed my hiking strap at the first windward was pretty frustrating and didn't help my results. All in all a good learning experience and I look forward to improving on these  these results a lot before Atlantic Coast Championship is hosted next year in Carolina!

Big thanks to my dad for driving the whole 9 hours there and 9 hours back and to Chase Burwell for lending me a bottom section that allowed me to continue racing on Sunday!

ATLANTIC COAST CHAMPIONSHIPS 2016 RESULTS

LILAC REGATTA 2016

Lilac regatta took place recently on May 28-29 weekend. Twenty two competitors competed in the laser radial class. On Saturday 4 races were completed in light wind and extremely shifty conditions. I scraped out of the day with finishes of 8, 5, 1 and 5 placing me in 3rd at the end of the first day. Sunday brought steadier breeze and colder temperatures with wind reaching 12 knots. I was delighted with how I sailed on the second day, winning all 3 races and leading the one that was called off by significant margins. Sunday's results moved me into first place overall as the regatta finished up.  Hamilton harbour being a smaller body of water creates conditions that are difficult to master and is it's an interesting place to sail, I look forward to facing the challenge again soon.

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LILAC FESTIVAL REGATTA 2016 RESULTS

ICEBREAKER REGATTA 2016

ORIGINALLY POSTED ON TEAM ROOSTER SAILING GEAR BLOG

This past weekend I had the opportunity to sail at the TSCC Icebreaker Regatta in Toronto, Ontario. Perhaps the best description of this regatta is the one found on their website;

The Toronto Sailing and Canoe Club Icebreaker Regatta is a long standing tradition in the local sailing scene and a proving ground for many young sailors.  This is one of the first big regattas of the season and can be a test of skills as the weather can be a range of all types, but one thing is for sure, the water is cold!
TSCC ICEBREAKER WEBSITE

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My team, the Ontario Sailing Team, trains out of TSCC regularly and hosted a 2-day pre-regatta tune up camp with the development team to prep for the conditions. We put a lot of work into our down speed boat maneuvers to be used on a start line. This was very helpful especially when starting in close quarters with other sailors.

Racing ran Saturday and Sunday with a healthy turnout in 3 fleets - 29ers, laser standard and laser radial - despite it being a holiday weekend.  Most are local sailors, although we were fortunate to have some top notch competition make the trip from the province of Quebec to join us.  Twenty-one boats attended this year's event in the Laser Radial fleet.

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Toronto is notorious for it’s light wind and shifty conditions.  The best example of this being the 3rd race on day two, when after the laser radial’s first upwind the race committee wisely abandoned when wind readings at the top and bottom of the course were drastically conflicting. But the well experienced race committee did a great job of keeping things fair and managed to get off 5 races.

My results over both days were very consistent and I ended up with 15 points. After the drop I had 9 points which placed me in 2nd. Great starts and excellent boat speed along with staying in phase with the fleet kept me at the top of the fleet and resulted in consistently good placings including my first win of the season. I managed to exceed my goal of top 5 so I am very happy with my event.

This is a nice improvement on my showing last year of 9th place although due to light wind on two of three days of racing the race committee only managed to get 3 races off in total that year.

Next year my goal will be to take this a step further and hopefully win the regatta.

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Overall a great start to the local regatta season here in Ontario and big thanks to all who supported, volunteered, coached and competed!  

TSCC ICEBREAKER REGATTA 2016 RESULTS

SPRING TRAINING HAS BEGUN

ORIGINALLY POSTED ON TEAM ROOSTER SAILING GEAR BLOG

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The 2016 sailing season on Lake Ontario has finally kicked off for myself and the Ontario Sailing Team. Anticipation had been building as a mild winter teased us into expecting an early spring, only then to be followed by several weeks of unusually cold and stormy weather. On our first planned training date – Friday April 15th – the conditions on the water were excellent. It was a sunny day with air temperatures reaching 13°C, winds around 10 knots gusting 12 and water temperature near 1°C.
 

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Not only was I looking forward to getting back in the boat, but my new kit from Rooster had arrived a couple weeks ago and this was the first opportunity to try it out. I was particularly looking forward to putting it to the test in spring’s cooler conditions.

As many of you may know, sailing Lasers results in you getting soaked when sailing on a reach or upwind. Of course in cooler spring weather this becomes a problem as without the summer sun to warm you up when you get wet, you get cold and stay cold. I was happy to discover that the Pro Aquafleece top and Supertherm Longjohn were an excellent combination that kept me very warm. Later into the training session, my teammates were getting fatigued because of the cold. My new kit helped me stay warm for longer and allowed me to put my extra energy towards hiking. In fact, those two pieces on top of my usual summer kit kept me warm enough that I chose to wear a visor instead of a beanie which I have worn in past seasons on early spring days.

Sailing in the cold adds another layer to an already challenging sport. Proper preparation to stay warm is very important to maximizing performance. I’m thrilled to be adding Rooster’s comfortable and super warm pieces to my spring gear line up.
 

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ONTARIO SAILING MARCH BREAK TRAINING CAMP

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Just back from Clearwater Sailing Center again where I spent a week training with coaches Chris Hewson, Chris Cowan, the Ontario Sailing Teams (Elite and Development) as well as Aug and the RNSYS team. A great variety of conditions gave us a chance to work at our skills.  All in all a great week working hard and playing hard with this bunch! I may never get the Surf Style jingle out of my head...

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GREATLY IMPROVED RESULTS AT MIDWINTERS EAST REGATTA 2016

This February I had the opportunity to sail at the North American Midwinter East Regatta in Clearwater Florida.  

The Ontario Sailing Team arrived a few days prior to the start of the regatta to train and prep for the local conditions.

With 100 boats in the fleet we sailed 6 races to split the fleet and this year I was pleased to meet my goal of qualifying for the gold fleet (the top half of the fleet).  In the final round the gold fleet sailed 4 more races where I finished up 37th overall (100 boats total), with my best race being an 11th place finish.

Overall a great experience and I am very pleased with my progress over last year's placing of 42/59 in Silver Fleet or 101st (118 boats total).

LASER MIDWINTERS EAST REGATTA 2016 RESULTS