Thursday, November 26, 2009
Race Team Banquet 2009
The banquet was another success this year , with a big group of Opti, Laser and 420 team members in attendance.
Tine MC'ed the proceedings , with Chris and Jen handing out trophy's to the many winners thru the evening.
All in all a fun time was had by all , with an beautiful spread of food put on by the kitchen.
The Opti and 420 team are largely done for the season and we will see them in March.
The Laser team is planning for the regattas in florida in January and February.
Al
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Blue Nose Regatta/RVYC Club Champs
The Club Champs was sailed at the Blue Nose Regatta hosted at KYC on November 7 and 8th.
It was a very cold weekend! But we had a great turnout, with Alex Heinzemann placing 1st, Isabella Bertold placing 2nd and Kyle Martin placing 3rd in the Laser fleet. In the radials Jaime Bone was 1st, Joanna Moore was 2nd and Natalia Montemayor was 3rd. The 420s also competed in the event, but it was not their club champs, Emma and Alana placed 1st and Kia and Leif placed 2nd.
Next we have the RVYC Race Team banquet held on Tuesday November 24th at 6pm. Tickets can be purchased at the front desk.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Laser Halloween Training 2009
We had a great weekend of training, with sunshine and breeze both days!
A total of about 15 sailors came out at least one of the days.
Were onto our winter training season for the next few months and this was likely the last of the sunny mild weather!
Al
Friday, October 23, 2009
Pumkin Bowl 2009
The Pumpkin regatta took place October 17-18th at West Van YC.
A real fall regatta with heavy rain, wind and even some sun shine. Over 200 sailors came from across BC, Alberta and Washington to participate. The most amazing fleet was the Opti fleet with over 70 racers competing!
It was quite a sight seeing all of them leave the docks!
Royal Van faired really well in the regatta.
In the light green fleet (first regatta ever) there were 24 racers. Tara Yuen won the whole fleet, followed by Nicholas Donaldson in 3rd, Max Cameron in 8th and Jamie Bennett in 12th.
This fleet sailed different reaching courses and had a great time. In the dark green fleet, Katrina McCallum was 2nd,Mikaela Frame was 10th, Dim Dimitrov 13th and Julia Ho 23rd. It was so much fun seeing these sailors race to the far away windward mark in the wind and the rain.
In the championship fleet, Alex Fritz won the entire event just like last year. In second was Lloyd Lyall who won the blue fleet. In second in the blue fleet was Andrew Moreno. Third in red was Graham Harney followed by Ellie Shaw in 7th, Jake Cullen in 8th and Hailey Linton in 9th. In the blue fleet was Eric Lyall 4th and Jim Donaldson 7th. In the white fleet ( 10 and under), Henrik Moberg-Parker was 3rd followed closely by Michael Mastracci in 5th and Dylan Cochran in 6th.
In the 420 class, Royal Van did great with Joren Jackson/Leif Pederson finishing second, Emma Toone/Alana Tacy in 3rd and Kia Meiklejohn/Elizabeth Hardy in 5th.
In the 29’er class, Sam Gustin with crew Ian Woodbury were 2nd.
In the Laser full rig class, Chris Tulip was 5th, Thomas Roehrl 6th, Sebastian Fritz 8th and John Tulip 12th.
The Radial class was big with 31 racers. Natalia Montemayor was 4th, Cameron Ho 5th, Joanna Moore 8th and Tony Henderson 11th.
A lot of fun and a great event for all our sailors.
Results:
http://www.wvyc.bc.ca/racing/pumpkinbowl/opti_results2009.html
http://www.wvyc.bc.ca/racing/pumpkinbowl/alpharesults_2009.htm
Pictures:
http://s899.photobucket.com/albums/ac199/WVYCsaildir/
Tine
A real fall regatta with heavy rain, wind and even some sun shine. Over 200 sailors came from across BC, Alberta and Washington to participate. The most amazing fleet was the Opti fleet with over 70 racers competing!
It was quite a sight seeing all of them leave the docks!
Royal Van faired really well in the regatta.
In the light green fleet (first regatta ever) there were 24 racers. Tara Yuen won the whole fleet, followed by Nicholas Donaldson in 3rd, Max Cameron in 8th and Jamie Bennett in 12th.
This fleet sailed different reaching courses and had a great time. In the dark green fleet, Katrina McCallum was 2nd,Mikaela Frame was 10th, Dim Dimitrov 13th and Julia Ho 23rd. It was so much fun seeing these sailors race to the far away windward mark in the wind and the rain.
In the championship fleet, Alex Fritz won the entire event just like last year. In second was Lloyd Lyall who won the blue fleet. In second in the blue fleet was Andrew Moreno. Third in red was Graham Harney followed by Ellie Shaw in 7th, Jake Cullen in 8th and Hailey Linton in 9th. In the blue fleet was Eric Lyall 4th and Jim Donaldson 7th. In the white fleet ( 10 and under), Henrik Moberg-Parker was 3rd followed closely by Michael Mastracci in 5th and Dylan Cochran in 6th.
In the 420 class, Royal Van did great with Joren Jackson/Leif Pederson finishing second, Emma Toone/Alana Tacy in 3rd and Kia Meiklejohn/Elizabeth Hardy in 5th.
In the 29’er class, Sam Gustin with crew Ian Woodbury were 2nd.
In the Laser full rig class, Chris Tulip was 5th, Thomas Roehrl 6th, Sebastian Fritz 8th and John Tulip 12th.
The Radial class was big with 31 racers. Natalia Montemayor was 4th, Cameron Ho 5th, Joanna Moore 8th and Tony Henderson 11th.
A lot of fun and a great event for all our sailors.
Results:
http://www.wvyc.bc.ca/racing/pumpkinbowl/opti_results2009.html
http://www.wvyc.bc.ca/racing/pumpkinbowl/alpharesults_2009.htm
Pictures:
http://s899.photobucket.com/albums/ac199/WVYCsaildir/
Tine
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
National Qualifying Regatta 2009
The NQR (Sport Carding from the CYA, read money) was held in Victoria October 1-4 for the Lasers and Radials (Men and Women).
We had a big group over for the event, with a number of sailors well in line for these Cards,(this was also a qulaifier for the youth worlds too).
The event started out a little slow on the Thursday with light wind and 2 races , the Friday saw even lighter wind and one race sailed.
Luke Ramsay (Lasers) and Jen Spalding (Radials) took the lead early in the event, and both never relinquished it.
The Saturday we say good breeze out of the north and we sailed 5 races, a very full day.
Abe Torchinsky in Lasers was now in a solid second and in Radials Isabella and Alanna vitery were well in the hunt, with Keamia Rasa just a hair off the pace.
The final day of racing saw again a good northerly with 3 races sailed and a 2nd drop coming into play.
In the end Royal Van was 1st, 2nd, 6th , 7th and 9th (5 in the top 10!) in the Lasers.
Alex Heinzman was 7th and earned another spot to the youth worlds next year in Turkey, (he competed in Brazil this past year).
In the Radials we had 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 6th
Results are @http://www.rvyc.bc.ca/results/1254704219.htm
Well done team!
We will have as many members of the National team as ever this coming year.
Names include- Mike Leigh, Luke Ramsay, Abe Torchinsky in Laser, Jen Spalding, Isabella Bertold, Alanna Vittery in Radial, John Romanko, in Finn, Zak Plasvic and Nicola Girke in boards.
An end to a successful year of competing for the Race Team, we head into the winter training season with our next trip in Miami in January.
Al
Fall Dingys Regatta 09
The team went over to Victoria for the annual fall dingy regatta September 26th and 27th. We had a big group this year with the Double Handed 420 team coming out in force.
Mark Patacky has a keen group that are training regularly on weekends and thursday evenings.
We also have a active 29er campaigning on the circuit, Sam Gusin and Ian Woobury, they've been busy getting good results in the Youth Champs and at CORK this past summer.
The Laser Team also had a big group, (14), with a number of sailors keen on using the regatta as a practice run for the upcoming NQR's regatta the following weekend.
The regattas had one light air race on the Saturday and then 5 good medium breeze races on the Sunday.
We won all the classes we entered and had top finishes as well in all the classes!
Joren Jackson and Dylan Sanderson 1st in the 420 class
Sam Gustin, Ian Woodbury 1st in the 29er Class
Luke Ramsay was 1st in the Laser Class,
Isabella Bertold 1st in the Radial Class,
Results are @ http://rvyc.bc.ca/results/1254100495.htm
Well done team!
Monday, September 21, 2009
Fall Training
The summer season has come to a close and after one of the busiest ever the team is ready to into some solid blocks of training leading up to the National Qualifying Regatta for Lasers and Radials Oct 1 thru 4 in Victoria.
We have had decent weather for the first few weekend as well as the evening sessions.
The new team members meeting on Thursday September 10th went well and quite a number of new sailors came aboard in the Opti's , Double Handed (420's) and the Lasers.
Chris Cowan has taken over for Rob Douglas in the Optis and has some big shoes to fill as Rob had done an fantastic job raising the participation of the team to new heights!
Thank you Rob for all your efforts , you will be missed.
We look forward to great sucess with Chris doing his best to follow in Robs footsteps.
Of course Tine stays on working specifically with the highest performance sailors and the wet feet program she initiated.
Another note is that the double handed team seems to have reached critical mass and is going great guns with Mark Patacky at the helm.
The team took part in the Canadian Youth Championships this summer and is off to Victoria this coming weekend as well as a few more events of over the coming year .
Thanks Royal Van for all the support
Al
We have had decent weather for the first few weekend as well as the evening sessions.
The new team members meeting on Thursday September 10th went well and quite a number of new sailors came aboard in the Opti's , Double Handed (420's) and the Lasers.
Chris Cowan has taken over for Rob Douglas in the Optis and has some big shoes to fill as Rob had done an fantastic job raising the participation of the team to new heights!
Thank you Rob for all your efforts , you will be missed.
We look forward to great sucess with Chris doing his best to follow in Robs footsteps.
Of course Tine stays on working specifically with the highest performance sailors and the wet feet program she initiated.
Another note is that the double handed team seems to have reached critical mass and is going great guns with Mark Patacky at the helm.
The team took part in the Canadian Youth Championships this summer and is off to Victoria this coming weekend as well as a few more events of over the coming year .
Thanks Royal Van for all the support
Al
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Optimist Canadian Championships 2009
Report from Canadian Optimist Championship 2009 in Victoria
The 2009 Canadian Optimist Championship was held in Victoria the last week of August. With excellent conditons for those who love light air, the sailors raced for 5 days straight right outside the yacht club. The parents had excellent views of their sailors from shore as well as from all the parents who brought over their boats for housing.
It was really fun for our team to have 24 racers competing in the fleet of 95 sailors. We were over 25% of the entire event! Most of our sailors attended their first ever Canadian Championship and it was an exceptional experience.
CHAMPIONSHIP FLEET
Our top sailor was Lloyd Lyall in this his first Championship. He sailed an excellent regatta and despite a very unfortunate finish in a race where 50 boats all crossed the line on a reach within 15 seconds, Lloyd used his brilliant tactics to stay in clean air throughout the regatta.
Veteran sailor and retiring after the event, Laura Konitzer, finished 15th and made the national Optimist team. She was hoping for a bit more wind as she just returned from the worlds with the same light air conditions. Laura was an excellent role model for all our Optimist sailors and will stay involved volunteering for the race team program in the fall.
Eric Lyall finished 30th and as one of the youngest in the blue fleet, Eric was impressively fast being able to concentrate throughout the entire regatta. Alex Fritz finished 31st, a bit disappointing as he was hoping for wind to use his strength. Ernesto Rengifo also sailed his last Optimist event as he aged out and is now sailing Laser Radial and had some excellent finishes. Ernesto was outstanding selecting the correct side to go upwind in the current ridden bay.
Sam Atkins and Graham Harney sailed better and better as the event went on. Both put a lot of pressure on themselves, but the learning which came out of this event was so worth while and will take both of them in a great direction in the future. Sam and Graham were 39th and 41st respectively.
Andrew Moreno finished in 48th and sailed some excellent races throughout the series. It is a very long event with 6 days including one day for measurement for our young sailors. It was a great event for growth though.
Jake Cullen and Jim Donaldson who just started on the race team in September finished right beside each other as best friends often do. These two boys have come so far and having been to the training and regatta in San Francisco in June with our team, both Jim and Jake have taken huge steps in their sailing abilities in less than a year.
Ben MacVicar with his excellent attitude and leadership skills came in the 50s. Ben was also hoping for more wind, but the event went better and better for him as the week went by, showing strength in his sailing and personal skills.
Hayley Linton finished 60th in this her first big regatta. She also started last year and has brought a lot of enthusiasm to our team. Connor Black had an excellent regatta and sailed so well. He is a delight on and off the water. Ellie Shaw had a tough time getting of the starting line and getting out to a side. The ping-pong sailing in the middle of a big fleet with very light air was a hard lesson to learn, but nonetheless, an important one she will benefit from later having done at the Canadians.
In 65th place with the same score were Dylan Cochrane and Henrik Moberg-Parker. Dylan is 9 and Henrik is 8 years old. Both boys had raced where they were in top 10 around the first marks and in 3 of the cancelled raced (as the wind died) the boys were often in the top 15. Both loved being part of our huge team and learnt so much from all the older role models on our team.
Michael Mastracci and Robert Tulip were excellent representatives from Royal Van, bringing a fighting attitude and willing to soak in the new skills throughout the entire week.
With only 2 of our sailors retiring this year, we have 22 sailors returning for another year plus a whole new gang starting out! We are hoping to get up to close to 40 sailors on the Optimist team.
GREEN FLEET
The green fleet is for sailors who are new to our sport and where coaching is allowed while racing. Katrina McCallum finished in an impressive 2nd place overall. There were 20 racers. This is her first year and she brought along Julia Ho who finished in 10th place.
Cody and Fraser Buck raced in their first ever regatta and we have two budding stars coming up. Nick Donaldson was the biggest winner of all, he raced his hardest and spent the entire time loving the time on and off the water.
Graham Harney also took home the biggest prize of all, the SPORTSMANSHIP trophy. Graham was the most outstanding role-model for all the younger sailors, including and caring for every new sailor on and off the water. Graham was rewarded with a beautiful trophy and a spray-top. We are very proud that our sailors win on and off the water.
On a different note, after the awards were finished, Rob Douglas who has been coaching these sailors for the past 8 years and has been instrumental in the successes of the Optimist race team members, told all the sailors and their parents that he had decided to move to Comox to pursue his teaching and coaching future. We are so grateful for all the time Rob dedicated to the Royal Van Optimist race team and we will for ever feel the positive impact Rob has had on all the sailors, parents and co-coaches lives. We wish him and his wife Katrina the very best and we are sure he will come back to race of do training camps with us again.
A huge thank you to all the parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts and uncles who helped with the event. We were a great team, the biggest ever!
From the 4 coaches, Rob Douglas, Chris Cowan, Cameron Ho and Tine Moberg-Parker
The 2009 Canadian Optimist Championship was held in Victoria the last week of August. With excellent conditons for those who love light air, the sailors raced for 5 days straight right outside the yacht club. The parents had excellent views of their sailors from shore as well as from all the parents who brought over their boats for housing.
It was really fun for our team to have 24 racers competing in the fleet of 95 sailors. We were over 25% of the entire event! Most of our sailors attended their first ever Canadian Championship and it was an exceptional experience.
CHAMPIONSHIP FLEET
Our top sailor was Lloyd Lyall in this his first Championship. He sailed an excellent regatta and despite a very unfortunate finish in a race where 50 boats all crossed the line on a reach within 15 seconds, Lloyd used his brilliant tactics to stay in clean air throughout the regatta.
Veteran sailor and retiring after the event, Laura Konitzer, finished 15th and made the national Optimist team. She was hoping for a bit more wind as she just returned from the worlds with the same light air conditions. Laura was an excellent role model for all our Optimist sailors and will stay involved volunteering for the race team program in the fall.
Eric Lyall finished 30th and as one of the youngest in the blue fleet, Eric was impressively fast being able to concentrate throughout the entire regatta. Alex Fritz finished 31st, a bit disappointing as he was hoping for wind to use his strength. Ernesto Rengifo also sailed his last Optimist event as he aged out and is now sailing Laser Radial and had some excellent finishes. Ernesto was outstanding selecting the correct side to go upwind in the current ridden bay.
Sam Atkins and Graham Harney sailed better and better as the event went on. Both put a lot of pressure on themselves, but the learning which came out of this event was so worth while and will take both of them in a great direction in the future. Sam and Graham were 39th and 41st respectively.
Andrew Moreno finished in 48th and sailed some excellent races throughout the series. It is a very long event with 6 days including one day for measurement for our young sailors. It was a great event for growth though.
Jake Cullen and Jim Donaldson who just started on the race team in September finished right beside each other as best friends often do. These two boys have come so far and having been to the training and regatta in San Francisco in June with our team, both Jim and Jake have taken huge steps in their sailing abilities in less than a year.
Ben MacVicar with his excellent attitude and leadership skills came in the 50s. Ben was also hoping for more wind, but the event went better and better for him as the week went by, showing strength in his sailing and personal skills.
Hayley Linton finished 60th in this her first big regatta. She also started last year and has brought a lot of enthusiasm to our team. Connor Black had an excellent regatta and sailed so well. He is a delight on and off the water. Ellie Shaw had a tough time getting of the starting line and getting out to a side. The ping-pong sailing in the middle of a big fleet with very light air was a hard lesson to learn, but nonetheless, an important one she will benefit from later having done at the Canadians.
In 65th place with the same score were Dylan Cochrane and Henrik Moberg-Parker. Dylan is 9 and Henrik is 8 years old. Both boys had raced where they were in top 10 around the first marks and in 3 of the cancelled raced (as the wind died) the boys were often in the top 15. Both loved being part of our huge team and learnt so much from all the older role models on our team.
Michael Mastracci and Robert Tulip were excellent representatives from Royal Van, bringing a fighting attitude and willing to soak in the new skills throughout the entire week.
With only 2 of our sailors retiring this year, we have 22 sailors returning for another year plus a whole new gang starting out! We are hoping to get up to close to 40 sailors on the Optimist team.
GREEN FLEET
The green fleet is for sailors who are new to our sport and where coaching is allowed while racing. Katrina McCallum finished in an impressive 2nd place overall. There were 20 racers. This is her first year and she brought along Julia Ho who finished in 10th place.
Cody and Fraser Buck raced in their first ever regatta and we have two budding stars coming up. Nick Donaldson was the biggest winner of all, he raced his hardest and spent the entire time loving the time on and off the water.
Graham Harney also took home the biggest prize of all, the SPORTSMANSHIP trophy. Graham was the most outstanding role-model for all the younger sailors, including and caring for every new sailor on and off the water. Graham was rewarded with a beautiful trophy and a spray-top. We are very proud that our sailors win on and off the water.
On a different note, after the awards were finished, Rob Douglas who has been coaching these sailors for the past 8 years and has been instrumental in the successes of the Optimist race team members, told all the sailors and their parents that he had decided to move to Comox to pursue his teaching and coaching future. We are so grateful for all the time Rob dedicated to the Royal Van Optimist race team and we will for ever feel the positive impact Rob has had on all the sailors, parents and co-coaches lives. We wish him and his wife Katrina the very best and we are sure he will come back to race of do training camps with us again.
A huge thank you to all the parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts and uncles who helped with the event. We were a great team, the biggest ever!
From the 4 coaches, Rob Douglas, Chris Cowan, Cameron Ho and Tine Moberg-Parker
Monday, August 31, 2009
Laser Worlds 2009
A strong team of Royal Van sailors qualified for the mens Senior Worlds Championships.
Mike Leigh, Luke Ramsay, Abe Torchinsky, Andy Wong, Ricardo Montemayor and Alex Heinzman.
The regatta was preluded by ten days of training , with upward of a hundred competitors doing "rabbit" starts. fantastic training, especially for the Jr members of the group.
The event was started in perfect sunshine and a eighteen knot sea breeze. Two races were sailed and the results were good for Mike and a few of the others.
The second day dawned with a dense fog, we went out and tried racing thruout the day but in the end one race was held that remained and the other was tossed in a protest , all in all the day was a near loss for most.
The Saturday morning we saw a solid 18 plus knots of breeze and a schedule of three races.
All the money was on the line on this day. The fleet was to be split into Gold , Silver and Bronze.
Mike sailed very well and entered the gold fleet portion of the event in 7th, Luke and Abe had touger days and were in the middle of silver fleet, Andy, Alex and Rick were at their first worlds and were in the bronze fleet.
After the final qualifying day we had to store the boats away indoors in anticipation of a hurricane, (that never amounted to much). Three 75 minute qualifying races with a few hours of putting boats away made for some very tired sailors by days end.
The Sunday was alot of waiting for the hurracane to blow thru then monday was more waiting on the water for wind that never appeared.
Finnally we were back to racing on the Tuesday with 3 good races, (10-14 kts) and then 2 races on the final day in 14 to 18 kts.
Both of these days we sailed out thru the fog to find our race course.
The final scores showed the top sailors being at the top and the rest falling in line. This is , in my opinion, the tougest sailing regatta on the planet and the sailor that wins it must be skilled and fit in every possible way.
Mike Leigh had a very solid event finishing 10th, Luke finished 6th and Abe 10th in silver , Rick, Alex and Andy gained valuable experience for their next wortlds.
A sucessful event that was tough because we had plenty of delays and our share of fog, but not unusual.
next year the worlds are in the UK and the team is off to more events to try and qualify.
Al
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Canada Games 2009
Day 1
The first day of racing took place in light to no wind in PEI. We started the first race with a solid 6 knots which lasted for one race for the double and single handed sailors. Both the fleets races a second race, the double handed finished the race, the single handed did not finish, it was cancelled half way through.
In the 29'er, Jonathan Scott and Mark Pataky had a great day, finishing in 2nd and 3rd after having led in both races.
In the single handed classes, both Kevin Grierson and Isabella Bertold won their races. Kevin won by only a few inches over Nova Scotia while ISabella was far ahead despite being last at the start.
Day 2
The wind stayed longer today and we got 3 races in for the single handed sailors and 4 races for the double handed sailors. The light breeze which blew 4-7.5 knots and shifted left throughout the day gave for some good light air racing.
In the single handed class female class, Isabella Bertold continues to dominate and sits 1st overall with 3 first and one second place. She was over early in a start and went back with 3 other boats and sailed herself back to a close second race. In all the other races she as dominated from start to finish.
In the single handed men's class, Kevin Grierson sailed a solid 3 races and finished with a 3, 1 and a 4th. .
Jonathan Scott and Mark Pataky had a rougher day and are sitting 4th overall.
So far, Isabella is 1st overall, Kevin is 3rd with another 3 days of racing to go.
Day 3 at the Canada Games
The single handed sailors raced 3 excellent races with hiking conditions in all of them.
Isabella Bertold was over early in the first race, but went back and came back to win the race. She also won the next 2 races easily. She is sitting first with 6 points after having won 6 races and one second. There are 3 races to go.
Kevin Grierson finished second twice and won the last race. HE is also first overall, but tied in that spot with Nova Scotia.
Mark Pataky and Jonathan Scott got a 2,3,4 and are tied in third. One more race for them to sail today.
We have two more days to sail. We have a great team spirit and feel great about the way we are sailing.
Final Report
Canada Games 2009 is over with a complete series of races finished a day early.
Thursday gave us excellent breeze and our sailors worked hard to either extend their leads or hold on to a medal.
In the Laser Radial class, Isabella Bertold easily won the first 2 races and went in.
Kevin Grierson won all 3 races today with great distance and claimed the gold medal so Royal Van swiped the single handed gold medals.
In the 29er class Mark Pataky and Jonathan Scott got a 3-3-4-4 and got the bronze medal, well done!
The regatta was run by excellent race committees and our sailors and coaches are looking forward to 2 days with taking part in the games and watch other events.
For pictures and complete results, please go to www.teambc.org
Tine
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Opti North Americans 2009
Event report by Alexander Fritz
North American Optimist Dinghy Championships, Boca Chica, Dominican Republic
June 26th to July 9th
After travel by bus to Seattle, flying overnight to Newark, NJ to meet up with some of the other Canadian team members, the final flight took us to Santo Domingo, DR. Boca Chica is just 15 minutes away from the Las Americana’s Airport, in the South West of the Island.
Arriving at the airport, it was hot and very humid. We arrived at the hotel Hoteur, which was accommodations as well as event site in one for all competitors, coaches and parents. While the hotel was older, rooms were ok and more importantly food was good and plenty. We were told not to leave the hotel grounds and in fact it had armed security guards all around, even at the beach where all the equipment and boats were stored. The people we met everywhere were very friendly though.
The Canadian team consisted of 11 sailors, the biggest in recent North American Optimist Championships for Canada, since there was no 2009 Canadian Euro team this year. Our coach was Fran Bellocchio from the Nova Scotia based “COAST” and Rhode Island based “FAST” Optimist teams. Fran arranged a 4-day on-site race clinic to get us used to the sailing area, and conditions. It also allowed us to checkout our boats early and we were first to measure everything.
Some other countries had already arrived for training, some as much as 2 weeks earlier, including from Japan, Germany, Puerto Rico and the Bahamas.
Where we initially thought we would sail inside the bay, behind a huge protective reef, we learned from the other teams quickly that in fact we would sail on the outside in open waters, which meant a long sail/tow as well as big 2+ meter swell and current. The swell was so bad that some sailors and later many parents on the spectator boats became seasick.
Winds during the training days were light – usually 8-10kn. With the steep swell it was tough to make the boat go fast, sometimes you couldn’t see the marks or other boats would come up on you last second. It was constantly steering up and down the waves.
It was also hot and humid, we all definitely had to hydrate and some of the sailors on many teams had trouble getting used to the conditions, having upset stomachs and trouble sleeping. During the event several sailors even ended up in the hospital for infusions.
The Opening Ceremonies were done on an old Military Base but very nice. Over 200 sailors attended the event from 26 different countries around the world. Overall everyone cared a lot for the sailors, they had even built huts for our gear and to provide shade at the beach and all kinds of food and fruits were plenty.
Racing days were long because of the daily tows out into deep water. Once the regatta started winds actually increased significantly, especially in the afternoon when on some days major local thunderstorms developed. The increased wind unfortunately also increased the short choppy waves developing white caps slapping into our Optimist from all directions and sail & bail was key.
Fran always setup a debrief after dinner with video footage of the day. We learned a lot from that and also laughed about some of our mistakes, its good to see yourself on TV doing things you don’t think you actually are doing, or doing good things you don’t realize. For example Fran had also taped one of my starts where all was going well except the last 5-8 seconds where I accelerated way faster then the boats around me and I got an OCS. Starts were very critical and many sailors were very aggressive.
On our lay-day the Canadian and Swiss teams together booked at trip on open trucks into the interior of the country, which is part rural, part jungle. We went to a big waterfall for swimming and a BBQ. Because it was Sunday it was crowded with local people.
While driving along the often gravel country roads, I was shocked about the poverty we saw and kids begging not for money but school supplies, simple pencils and paper, books. The Swiss team had anticipated that and came prepared. The truck would stop along the small villages and we all together handed out all kinds of things to kids often not even having shirts or shoes. It was certainly quite the contrast to us lucky kids sailing and being able to go to school at home.
Overall the event was very well organized and good facilities, going home I will miss the warm water and beautiful white sandy beach. I learned a lot, made a lot of new friends and certainly improved my sailing, especially the starts in a big fleet.
I also want to sincerely thank the RVYC Corinthian fund, which helps support my training and attending an international event like this. I hope I have the chance to go back to the Dominican Republic, and next time I will for sure bring lots of school supplies to hand out to the kids there.
Results @http://www.optinam2009.org/app/do/results_view.aspx?id=1123
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Laser Europeans 2009
Mike Leigh , Abe Torchinsky and Ricardo Montemayer attended the Laser Europeans in Sweden from Aug 1 to 8th, with Kevin Black as their coach.
The group did a training camp in lake Garda the week prior with some world class sailors. All in preparation for the upcoming laser worlds in Halifax beginning Aug 20th.
It appeared to be generally a light air event that was hard fought with the best in the world in attendance. Mike ended up 20th with a few tough races and Abe 57th in the gold fleet.
Ricardo sailed in the youth europeans and ended up third in the under 19 portion of the regatta. A very good result! Way to go Rick!
Results are @ http://www.nordicweek.se/resultat_2009.asp
The boys fly direct to Nova Scotia for the build up to the Worlds.
We have a big team this year who have qualified: Mike, Abe , Rick, Luke Ramsay, Alex Heinzman and Andy Wong.
Kevin black will be coaching, Good Luck Guys !
Al
Friday, August 7, 2009
Opti Worlds daily report
We finally had a start and the first race got off with a mountain of OCSs in 5-6 knots. Max and Devan got off the line with excellent speed and space, while Linor and Laura were shot out the back and there is no catching up at the worlds. There are some very aggressive sailors on the line with regards to skulling, something Cameron experienced as a Polish sailor propelled away from him.
The jury catched one or two per start. Cameron also had a great start but was caught over early. There weree about 40 OCS boats in race 1. Race 1 was short with light air and shifts and puffs coming in from both sides. Our sailors got some of the shifts and missed others. The downwind stretch was tough too.
The second start was great for most of our sailors. Devan was in start one and struggeled a bit to get off the line. The rest of our team were front row. THe problems arose as the race progressed with no wind and puffs coming from the left. There were boats going upwind, downwind and reaching all within 100 metres of eachother. Max rounded the reachmark in first, but the wind collapsed and he lost 25 boats.
The last two fleets did not even complete the whole course, it was shortened at the bottom mark. All our sailors sailed their best race in race 2. We are back on shore with postponement, hoping for wind. As we are watching from our bed, it is glass out there. Cameron and Linor are the only ones who know their scores, they were both OCS in race 2. It was impossible for the others to tell as fleets were all mised up and coming together in huge lumps of different fleets.
The sprits are great, we are improving from one race to the next.
Hope to get another race in today.
Tine
The jury catched one or two per start. Cameron also had a great start but was caught over early. There weree about 40 OCS boats in race 1. Race 1 was short with light air and shifts and puffs coming in from both sides. Our sailors got some of the shifts and missed others. The downwind stretch was tough too.
The second start was great for most of our sailors. Devan was in start one and struggeled a bit to get off the line. The rest of our team were front row. THe problems arose as the race progressed with no wind and puffs coming from the left. There were boats going upwind, downwind and reaching all within 100 metres of eachother. Max rounded the reachmark in first, but the wind collapsed and he lost 25 boats.
The last two fleets did not even complete the whole course, it was shortened at the bottom mark. All our sailors sailed their best race in race 2. We are back on shore with postponement, hoping for wind. As we are watching from our bed, it is glass out there. Cameron and Linor are the only ones who know their scores, they were both OCS in race 2. It was impossible for the others to tell as fleets were all mised up and coming together in huge lumps of different fleets.
The sprits are great, we are improving from one race to the next.
Hope to get another race in today.
Tine
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Canadian Youth Championships, Victoria 2009
Aug 6th 2009
2009 Canadian youth championships Report
by Francois Hebert BC Provincial Coach.
The Royal Vancouver yacht club Laser race team was at the Canadian youth championships in Victoria BC from Aug 1st to 6th 2009.
Over 150 competitors from 7 provinces were competing at this event at Royal Victoria Yc. Light air predominated during the event with an average wind speed of 6 knots.
!3 Athletes from the Royal Van Race team were present in the Laser and Laser radial Classes.
Very tricky conditions were the story of the week here in Victoria. Strong tides combined with light and shifty winds made the game quite complex at times. The race committee did a great at getting the sailors racing. 15 races were completed in the 5 day series.
The smart sailors with consistent starts and slightly more conservative tactics did well.
Alex Heinzeman sailed a solid series, capitalizing on his local knowledge of Victoria, won the laser full rig with a 14pts lead. Ben Scott sailed well, however a few mistakes combined with an episode of food poisoning, kept him away from the top spot.
In the Laser radial male Dominic Fritz sailed a good series coming in 4th place only 2 pts from 3rd. Good tactical decision combined with good light air boat speed allowed him to reach this result.
In the Laser radial female Joanna Moore, despite a few inconsistencies and a protest, had a respectable top 5 finish, reaching her pre-regatta goal of top 6
Results:
Full Rig:
Alex Heinzeman 1st
Ben Scott 2nd
Kyle Martin 8th
Chris Tulip 9th
Sebastian Fritz 11th
Laser Radial Male
Dominic Fritz 4th
Eric Servais 6th
Tony Henderson 7th
Alex Kroitzsch 9th
Gabe Frame 13th
Laser Radial Female
Joanna Moore 5th
Natalia Montemayor 8th
Alex Ninow 10th
For Full Results see http://www.rvyc.bc.ca/results/1249600705.htm
2009 Canadian youth championships Report
by Francois Hebert BC Provincial Coach.
The Royal Vancouver yacht club Laser race team was at the Canadian youth championships in Victoria BC from Aug 1st to 6th 2009.
Over 150 competitors from 7 provinces were competing at this event at Royal Victoria Yc. Light air predominated during the event with an average wind speed of 6 knots.
!3 Athletes from the Royal Van Race team were present in the Laser and Laser radial Classes.
Very tricky conditions were the story of the week here in Victoria. Strong tides combined with light and shifty winds made the game quite complex at times. The race committee did a great at getting the sailors racing. 15 races were completed in the 5 day series.
The smart sailors with consistent starts and slightly more conservative tactics did well.
Alex Heinzeman sailed a solid series, capitalizing on his local knowledge of Victoria, won the laser full rig with a 14pts lead. Ben Scott sailed well, however a few mistakes combined with an episode of food poisoning, kept him away from the top spot.
In the Laser radial male Dominic Fritz sailed a good series coming in 4th place only 2 pts from 3rd. Good tactical decision combined with good light air boat speed allowed him to reach this result.
In the Laser radial female Joanna Moore, despite a few inconsistencies and a protest, had a respectable top 5 finish, reaching her pre-regatta goal of top 6
Results:
Full Rig:
Alex Heinzeman 1st
Ben Scott 2nd
Kyle Martin 8th
Chris Tulip 9th
Sebastian Fritz 11th
Laser Radial Male
Dominic Fritz 4th
Eric Servais 6th
Tony Henderson 7th
Alex Kroitzsch 9th
Gabe Frame 13th
Laser Radial Female
Joanna Moore 5th
Natalia Montemayor 8th
Alex Ninow 10th
For Full Results see http://www.rvyc.bc.ca/results/1249600705.htm
Optimist Worlds 2009 , Brazil Update
Day one started with no wind, continued on with no wind and ended up with postponement back on shore. We started the day with breakfast and a coach's meeting. After a team meeting, the sailors were sent on the water in no wind. The wind came from the north at about 2 knots for 5 minutes at a time before dying every time. After a few hours of meeting new friends, eating (Cameron) and hanging out we learnt a few things: the lunches provided were not for people and that the water is extremely dirty. The sailors are not allowed to wash their boats with soap, so the dirt will just add up over the next 7 days.
Back on shore the sailors went in the pool and it is actually nice we have overcast so we do not get as hot. There is a slide with a great pool right beside the boats, so the sailors are getting wet regardless of lack of on water racing.
All our sailors are in great spirit. Speaking English and most of the sailors at least one more language helps in communicating with other nations. There are 47 nations present here. The sailors are divided into 6 groups, sailing against eachother two against two groups at a time.
We are hoping for better sailing tomorrow,
Tine
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Optimist Worlds 2009 , Brazil
The first official day of sailing brought us 4-6 knots from 145 degrees which meant from over the hills in the small bay we are racing. The hills are steep and the wind comes down in puffs, making it a challenging place to sail with quick shifts from both sides of the course.
Our team plan was to go on the water 3 hours before the practice race for extra time, but the organizers had the ramp closed off so we had to wait with everybody else. As with most practice starts at Opti Worlds, the sailors are not just pushing the starting line a bit, they are miles over. This was also the case today, but all our Canadian sailors came back and the coaches organized for a third start where the coaches were on the line keeping the sailors back.
It was hard to tell how it went as sailors were joining in as they saw fit, but we learnt that even the heavier sailors can point high because of no waves and that the puffs came from the sides. We also learnt that the water boat (to give the sailors water on the water) never came and other minor things. The pin boat has a very long achor line despite the entire bay being 4 meters deep only.
One hour late, the opening ceremony started. The pictures will come soon. We looked like a great team with by far the best jackets. Our pants were left in the room, it was too hot. The opening ceremony was right on site, small and efficient compared to many the other years. Then we had a team meeting and a de-brief before dinner. We love the meet down here and are experiencing a new juice every day just about.
Stay tuned, racing starts tomorrow. We have not been told what fleet the sailors are in yet, hopefully they have that sorted out at the coach meeting in the morning.
Tine
Our team plan was to go on the water 3 hours before the practice race for extra time, but the organizers had the ramp closed off so we had to wait with everybody else. As with most practice starts at Opti Worlds, the sailors are not just pushing the starting line a bit, they are miles over. This was also the case today, but all our Canadian sailors came back and the coaches organized for a third start where the coaches were on the line keeping the sailors back.
It was hard to tell how it went as sailors were joining in as they saw fit, but we learnt that even the heavier sailors can point high because of no waves and that the puffs came from the sides. We also learnt that the water boat (to give the sailors water on the water) never came and other minor things. The pin boat has a very long achor line despite the entire bay being 4 meters deep only.
One hour late, the opening ceremony started. The pictures will come soon. We looked like a great team with by far the best jackets. Our pants were left in the room, it was too hot. The opening ceremony was right on site, small and efficient compared to many the other years. Then we had a team meeting and a de-brief before dinner. We love the meet down here and are experiencing a new juice every day just about.
Stay tuned, racing starts tomorrow. We have not been told what fleet the sailors are in yet, hopefully they have that sorted out at the coach meeting in the morning.
Tine
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Women's Radial Worlds 2009
Royal Vancouver YC sent a team of women sailors to the Radial Worlds in Karatsu,Japan this year.
The group consisted of Keamia Rasa , Isabella Bertold and Jennifer Spalding.
We flew from Vancouver on July 18th to Tokyo and traveled to Karatsu via a local flight and a subway, instantly appreciating the heat and humidity of Japan in the summer months.
The plan was to arrive for the early boat charter and get as much time on the water to be acclimated to the local conditions. Isabella came a few days later on route from the Youth Worlds in Brazil (she finished 4th!).
I had chartered a coach boat and we were on the water by the 20th, giving us a week to get sorted.
We trained with the other Canadian women as well as some of the other countries.
Everyday at 2 pm the race committee had a organized practice race, which was great and unusual.
We saw every wind direction and strengths of 2 to 15 kts . There was a few days of sunshine but most days it was overcast and trying to rain or just raining hard, (there was flooding in many placers in Japan while we were there).
We all felt confident as the regatta approached that good results were possible.
We took the day before day 1 off and attended an excellent welcoming party , where the Japanese hospitality was in full display.
Day 1 of racing started with arrival at the club at 9.30 then on water at 10.30 first race at 11.30.,(I attended the coaches briefing at 9).
All our sailors were in the second start, so it was easy for me to observe the whole race.
Keamia made her mark early and sailed an excellent race through out finishing 4th, Isabella and Jen were solid in the mid teens. This race we saw the wind from the north at 8kts with a number of good oscillations.
The second race the breeze had picked up a bit and the current had switched. It turned into a go right parade and continued thru the race. Our girls were caught left and struggled to get back in the hunt. Jen got flagged on the bottom reach.
Day 2 saw more of the same wind direction and similar patterns, as in go right or at least rightish. Boat favored most every start. The wind was 8 to 12 from about 25 degrees.
We saw the first of the ocean swell that rose to 10 feet from time to time.
Isabella continued to get good races in and had an 9th the first race , Jen caught up and just nipped Keamia in 14th , so all was well for all 3 to get in Gold fleet.
The second race the wind went left at the start and temped many to start down at the pin , but as we saw before it was important to get right by half way up and all 3 of our team was stung by this , Jen got a 2nd flag on the run and had to head in.
Day 3 was stronger breeze from the north again and big swell, classic racing conditions, and overcast as usual, near raining from time to time.
My group had been in the blue fleet, second start for the last few days but today Keamia was in the first start. This mad it a little tougher to follow all. Thank goodness I had a good RIB!
The day started promising with a 16 and a 17 for Isabella and Jen and a 20 for Keamia , not great but qualifying scores. Jen was still very much on the bubble and needed a good final race.
The 2nd race was more of the same, the top girls knew the routine and really put on a boat speed clinic, with large separation in the fleets , Isabella had another decent race ,19th , Keamia was 9th to the top mark and ended 21st with a few unlucky events, but made gold fleet comfortably. Jen was 29th and missed the Gold fleet by 12 points, a shame.
Keamia is excited because her starts have been excellent and much discussion has been tossed around at our end of day debriefs regarding eliminating small mistakes. Isabella is very fired up, she is top Canadian at the moment in the low 30,s and
I think she can move up, she has had the most mature regatta to date I believe, she deserves it for all the hard work she has put in for the last few years!
The 1st day of gold silver split racing was another solid wind day out of the north again, actually at between 30 and 40 degrees consistently with pressure of 15 to 20 kts and good size seas
Isabella worked very hard after a tough first beat and climbed back to as good as 19th and ended in the low 20’s, she was saying how physically and mentally exhausting the gold fleet is!
Keamia had a tough start followed by a not too hot result but was keen to go again.
This regatta has been characterized by the need to get a good start, normally near the boat then a quick tack and hike hard out to the right side or right corner, depending on your nerve.
Jen was at the front of the sliver fleet all day and was on form against a few highly ranked women.
The second race of the day was just as tough and Isabella and Keamia pushed as hard as they could, but arrived at the weather mark towards the back and ended the race in the 30’s.
This put Isabella in 30th and Keamia 41st, Jen was 3rd in the Silver.
So we rode our bikes (the regatta organizers arranged for every competitor and coach to have a bike to ride for the regatta!) to the club for the 2nd day of the split and low and behold wind same direction and building to solid teens in speed, a bit like Groundhog Day!
Isabella had a couple of cracker starts but unfortunately she had a port tacker foul her and she ended up capsized, then later in the race she had to do a 720 so she was only ahead of a few boats, she keep her sprits up and finished the 2nd race with a 23, even with a very sore back. Keamia struggled again and stayed in the 30’s most of the day.
Jen again had excellent downwind speed and sits in 2nd in her fleet.
The final day of racing we mere met with overcast sky’s, wind building to 18kts out of the north , actually around 25 degrees , so a little left of usual, and good size seas.
Pretty close to a groundhog day. The Finnish girl won the opening race and headed in , having the regatta won. Isabella had an excellent start and went to port heading to the favorite right corner. She didn’t quite have the wheels and rounded the top mark in the high 20’s , Keamia was close behind her and had an excellent run only to go thru the bottom gate the wrong way , and fell back to the high 20’s. In the end Isabella had a low 30 and a high 20 to finish the regatta in 32nd place overall, an excellent result for an 18 yr old .
Keamia was in the low 40’s and would have liked to be the top 40% to receive the national team card that Isabella did.
Jen fought hard to the end and finished 3rd in the silver fleet.
All in all a true test for a classic world championship, where the leader were fast, fit and started well.
Our team went home with a solid list of things needed to reach their goal of being top 10 in the world. Training begins shortly to get ready for Scotland next July.
Thanks to Royal Vancouver YC for all the support
Al Clark
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Summer Sailing
The past couple of months the team has been keeping really busy sailing regattas all over the world.
After the Detla Lloyd regatta, there were a couple training camps held out of Royal Vancouver Yacht Club to prepare for WAVES and for some the Laser North Americans.
The Laser NA's took place at Buffalo Canoe Club. The Buffalo Canoe club put on an excellent event and the team was billeted by members of the club. We saw wind of most strengths and assorted directions.
The first day of racing was cancelled eventually after we headed out to the race course twice then back in due to thunder storms. The next three days were good racing , with one day of qualifying then on to the gold fleet racing.
From the beginning Luke Ramsay was well in the hunt for the trophy as well as Jen Spalding, both fought hard for the trophy.
In the end Jen was a close 2nd to fellow national team member Lisa Rossafter a match race in the final heat, Alex Heinzemann (on his way to the youth worlds) finished 3rd overall. Luke finished 5th overall in a hotly contested Laser fleet. Luke is training hard for the upcoming Laser Worlds in Halifax.
This year WAVES regatta was also the Laser Canadian Championships. We had great conditons for it and were really happy to have the whole team out for the event! 25 team members competed in the event!
We had 3 days of great racing, westerly breezes and plenty of current. PRO John Culter did an excellent job of getting a maximum number of races off.
Congratulations to Luke Ramsay who is the new Canadian Champion in the Laser class! Luke really dominated and was well on form. Derik Vranizan from Seattle,(another Race Team member) was a solid 2nd, Ricardo Montemayor, top youth, also had a great event finishing 3rd overall, with Abe Torchinsky in 4th and Jason Rhodes in 5th, (keeping the young guys honest!).
In the radial fleet Alexander Heinzemann is the new Canadian champion! Dominque Fritz finished 6th and Chris Tulip finnished 7th. Results are @ royalvan.com
After the Canadians the team packed up the trailer to head down to the Gorge for 2 weeks of training and racing. We started off with 2 days of training to get warmed up for the Laser District 6 regatta. The trip to the Gorge is going really well, and its great to see everyone out there getting some heavy wind training.
The trip to the Gorge will finnish with the Blow Out, a 20 mile downwind race which starts in Cascade Locks and finishes in Hood River. That will happen on Thursday July 16th. The Blowout is followed by the Pacific Coast Championships which are from July 17-19.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Opti's in San Francisco Racing Update Day 2
We started an extra hour earlier than usual to get some races in as we lost 3 races yesterday due to the heavy weather. It was jsut like racing in Vancouver, light and shifty with current and tricky conditions. After 5 races in all kinds of conditions, the wind arrived. IT was terrific. After 5 long days practicing sailing in 20 plus winds, our sailors embraced the wind. Our entire team did amazing with Cameron winning the last race with Alex in second, Graham in 7th and Jack in 10th. Jake went in but made it without difficulty, Jim finished the race in style. Alex capsized 20 seconds before the start in the first race today after a huge and strong windshift hit his boat. That was a tough one to recover from. Cameron started off the day with poor starts in the middle of the line and after 2 of these starts, he change to start at the pin with clean air. It worked so well, everybody is for sure learning heaps.
We raced 6 races! Sam and Andrew were troopers as they worked so hard and long finishing almost all the races. Sam finished all, Andrew almost all.
We are looking forward to the last 4 races tomorrow, starting early again. Then we have to pack the whole trailer and the truck. We have 9 parents here so it should be just fine.
We raced 6 races! Sam and Andrew were troopers as they worked so hard and long finishing almost all the races. Sam finished all, Andrew almost all.
We are looking forward to the last 4 races tomorrow, starting early again. Then we have to pack the whole trailer and the truck. We have 9 parents here so it should be just fine.
Opti's in San Francisco Training Update Day 2
Day 2
After a light air yesterday, we started off the day with a light but very strong current and back eddies all over day. It was an amazing experience for all the sailors when we finally made it to the windward mark and sailors were trying multiple times to get around the mark. After a few tries, practice makes perfect and all the sailors were comfortably understanding laylines with massive current.
After a couple of hours, the true San Francisco breeze showed up. It was a blast. We were practicing 720s and Andrew kept trying in the 20-25 knots of breeze. His determination resulted in improved 720s but also 3 capsizings.
The heavy wind gave us the opportunities to hike and surf. Our sailors became very comfortable with hiking, despite the pain and the ones who forgot their hiking pants at the hotel had to tough it out. At the end of the day, the whole group was going up and downwind, it was a great sight for the coaches. We stayed out an additional half an hour to surf extra waves.
Tomorrow we are training with 25 other OPtimist sailors from the bay and we are doing starts. It is a different skill to start with the current pushing you back 20 feet for every tack you do.
So far it has been a fantastic 2 days and we have 2 more days of training before the regatta starts.
Take care
Rob and Tine
After a light air yesterday, we started off the day with a light but very strong current and back eddies all over day. It was an amazing experience for all the sailors when we finally made it to the windward mark and sailors were trying multiple times to get around the mark. After a few tries, practice makes perfect and all the sailors were comfortably understanding laylines with massive current.
After a couple of hours, the true San Francisco breeze showed up. It was a blast. We were practicing 720s and Andrew kept trying in the 20-25 knots of breeze. His determination resulted in improved 720s but also 3 capsizings.
The heavy wind gave us the opportunities to hike and surf. Our sailors became very comfortable with hiking, despite the pain and the ones who forgot their hiking pants at the hotel had to tough it out. At the end of the day, the whole group was going up and downwind, it was a great sight for the coaches. We stayed out an additional half an hour to surf extra waves.
Tomorrow we are training with 25 other OPtimist sailors from the bay and we are doing starts. It is a different skill to start with the current pushing you back 20 feet for every tack you do.
So far it has been a fantastic 2 days and we have 2 more days of training before the regatta starts.
Take care
Rob and Tine
Opti's in San Francisco Training Update
Day 4 is often the most tiring day with already 3 long days on the water and sailors getting exhausted. This morning, the sailors went to Fisherman's Wharf and rode the cable car before we went on the water for a 2 hours session in 20-25 knots of breeze. THe improvements since Monday were dramatic and all the sailors could identify themselves how much they have learnt in 4 days.
The older group of the team with Cameron and Emily are setting the stage with strong commitment to focus and hard work. Emily is injured and might not race starting tomorrow, she has re-injured her wrist and is presently at the hospital to check it out.
The rest of the team has taken to all the training very well. The coaches are very pleased with the progress and we are not concerned about the results of the regatta, rather with the skill improvements and being able to successfully race in the heavy winds. Unfortunately, the weather and wind predictions are 35-40 knots for tomorrow, a bit much for even our team after such a great camp. Time will tell if this is going to happen.
The club here, St. Francis YC has been more than exceptional in welcoming us and the dock master told us today that summer has finally arrived when the Opti team from Royal Van comes for their one week of wind and current in San Francisco.
WE start racing tomorrow, 3 long days with some exciting racing ahead. Rob took pictures today which we are hoping to upload so they can go on the RVYC blog.
Rob and TIne
The older group of the team with Cameron and Emily are setting the stage with strong commitment to focus and hard work. Emily is injured and might not race starting tomorrow, she has re-injured her wrist and is presently at the hospital to check it out.
The rest of the team has taken to all the training very well. The coaches are very pleased with the progress and we are not concerned about the results of the regatta, rather with the skill improvements and being able to successfully race in the heavy winds. Unfortunately, the weather and wind predictions are 35-40 knots for tomorrow, a bit much for even our team after such a great camp. Time will tell if this is going to happen.
The club here, St. Francis YC has been more than exceptional in welcoming us and the dock master told us today that summer has finally arrived when the Opti team from Royal Van comes for their one week of wind and current in San Francisco.
WE start racing tomorrow, 3 long days with some exciting racing ahead. Rob took pictures today which we are hoping to upload so they can go on the RVYC blog.
Rob and TIne
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Delta Llyod Regatta 09
This years version was unusually pleasant most days, the first day of racing was the exception , with offshore stormy winds reaching over 30 kts.
The team that competed were Luke Ramsay, Abe Torchinsky, Ricardo Montemayer, Chris Tulip and Andy Wong in the Laser class,Isabella Bertold and Keamia Rasa in the Radial class.
Luke Ramsay ended up 2nd Canadian and 25th overall in a real world class fleet! Well done Luke.
Isabella was 23rd and had some real high points (a 2nd in the last race), Keamia Rasa was 25th overall.
The younger group of Rick, Chris and Andy had good moments thru the event and gained valuable international experience.
Overall a positive few weeks in the highest level of competition possible.
Next for us is training thru June in Preparation for the Laser Canadians held at Royal Van as part of the Waves Week.
Then off to Hood River for 2 events in July.
Isabella and Alex are working hard in preparation for the Youth Worlds in July, with Marcia MacDonald going as their coach.
Laser Results - http://www.hollandregatta.org/2009/tablecloth/results/results.asp?show=LASE
Radial Results-http://www.hollandregatta.org/2009/tablecloth/results/results.asp?show=LASR
The team that competed were Luke Ramsay, Abe Torchinsky, Ricardo Montemayer, Chris Tulip and Andy Wong in the Laser class,Isabella Bertold and Keamia Rasa in the Radial class.
Luke Ramsay ended up 2nd Canadian and 25th overall in a real world class fleet! Well done Luke.
Isabella was 23rd and had some real high points (a 2nd in the last race), Keamia Rasa was 25th overall.
The younger group of Rick, Chris and Andy had good moments thru the event and gained valuable international experience.
Overall a positive few weeks in the highest level of competition possible.
Next for us is training thru June in Preparation for the Laser Canadians held at Royal Van as part of the Waves Week.
Then off to Hood River for 2 events in July.
Isabella and Alex are working hard in preparation for the Youth Worlds in July, with Marcia MacDonald going as their coach.
Laser Results - http://www.hollandregatta.org/2009/tablecloth/results/results.asp?show=LASE
Radial Results-http://www.hollandregatta.org/2009/tablecloth/results/results.asp?show=LASR
Friday, May 22, 2009
Holland Regatta Training
We arrived in Holland on Tuesday the 19th of May.
Luke and Chris Tulip spent the first few days training with some of the other teams from Australia, Spain, Netherlands, and USA
Keamia arrived today with the rest of the team coming over the next few days.
Luke and Chris Tulip spent the first few days training with some of the other teams from Australia, Spain, Netherlands, and USA
Keamia arrived today with the rest of the team coming over the next few days.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Spring Dingys 2009
The team traveled over to the Island on either Friday evening or Saturday morning.
2 29'er teams, 9 Lasers, 11 Radials and 11 Optimists, a total of 35 sailors and 3 coaches with assorted parents helping with trailers and logistics in general.
The regatta saw strong winds and 4 races on the Saturday and lighter breeze with sun on the Sunday.
Kevin Greirson sailed well in the Lsers and sucured his Canada games spot. Andy Wong gave him a run for the money.
In the radial Alex Heinzman , who just got back in the class to tune up for the youth Worlds in July, won with Isabella Bertold 2nd, also going to the Youth Worlds.
She secured a spot for the Canada Games as well.
They fought hard all weekend and had huge leads.
Natalia Montmeyer ended as the alternate for the Canada Games and have improved greatly!
In the 29'er class Mark Patacky and Jonn Scott won the event and sucured their Canada Games berth. They seemed to improve each race , getting the rust off from being away from the boat for a while.
In the Optimist Laura Konitzer won the event with Alex Fritz 2nd ,Emily Dale-Johnson 3rd and Cameron Ho , very dominant! Well done!
All in all a successful weekend for the team.
Results are at http://www.rvyc.bc.ca/results/1241393072.htm and http://www.rvyc.bc.ca/results/1241393105.htm
Thanks for the support
Al
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
Kitten Cup
This years version of the Kitten cup was a very high caliber event with strong fleets in the Laser,Radial,Double Handed and Opti classes.
Being the first Canada Games qualifying event, many of the sailors well keen to put on a good showing.
In the Laser class a number of the veteran sailors grabbed some laser gear and got out on the water.
Dan Slater from New Zealand (Dan sailed in the Olympics in the Finn in China), Tommy Warton, (Laser National team coach), Jason Rhodes, (Royal Van Member and Olympic Coach in China).
At any rate the young guns were going to have their hands full all weekend.
In the end Dan was first with Ricardo Montemayer second and Luke Ramsay third.
It went right down to the last race and was fantastic to see three generations of laser sailors fight it out.
In the Radial Isabella Bertold dominated the fleet with mostly first place finishes.
There was a large group of new Race Team members out, (13 in total).
Eric Sevais had an excellent result ending 4th overall. Natalia Montemeyer was 2nd girl and 5th overall.
8 of the top 10 were from Royal Van!
On the Double handed course the 29ers were fighting for the Canada birth.
Mark Patacky,(our Doublehanded Coach)and Jonn Scott ended 2nd and lead the trials so far.
In the Opti class Royal Van dominated with Laura Konitzer winning and Cameron Ho 2nd (6 of the top 10 from RV).
Results are @ http://www.royalvan.com/racing_results.asp?TID=3&RID=127&SID=240&DID=2
A excellent weekend of racing, with excellent race management.
Thanks to all the volunteers and Rob Scott for heading up the event.
Thanks Liliah Martin for doing the sailors swap!
On to Victoria for the team this coming weekend for the 2nd Canada Games Trials.
AL
Being the first Canada Games qualifying event, many of the sailors well keen to put on a good showing.
In the Laser class a number of the veteran sailors grabbed some laser gear and got out on the water.
Dan Slater from New Zealand (Dan sailed in the Olympics in the Finn in China), Tommy Warton, (Laser National team coach), Jason Rhodes, (Royal Van Member and Olympic Coach in China).
At any rate the young guns were going to have their hands full all weekend.
In the end Dan was first with Ricardo Montemayer second and Luke Ramsay third.
It went right down to the last race and was fantastic to see three generations of laser sailors fight it out.
In the Radial Isabella Bertold dominated the fleet with mostly first place finishes.
There was a large group of new Race Team members out, (13 in total).
Eric Sevais had an excellent result ending 4th overall. Natalia Montemeyer was 2nd girl and 5th overall.
8 of the top 10 were from Royal Van!
On the Double handed course the 29ers were fighting for the Canada birth.
Mark Patacky,(our Doublehanded Coach)and Jonn Scott ended 2nd and lead the trials so far.
In the Opti class Royal Van dominated with Laura Konitzer winning and Cameron Ho 2nd (6 of the top 10 from RV).
Results are @ http://www.royalvan.com/racing_results.asp?TID=3&RID=127&SID=240&DID=2
A excellent weekend of racing, with excellent race management.
Thanks to all the volunteers and Rob Scott for heading up the event.
Thanks Liliah Martin for doing the sailors swap!
On to Victoria for the team this coming weekend for the 2nd Canada Games Trials.
AL
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Final Report from SF Opti Regatta
After two fantastic days with 14-20 knots of breeze, ebbing currents and fantastic training and racing, San Francisco gave us on the last day a heat wave. Having spent a great amount of time training and sailing in San Francisco over the past years, this was the first time it was glass.
The sailors got rigged and we had a postponement on shore for a while before we were sent out. Hoping for wind, we headed to the same racing area outside Angle Island, but we had to anchor not to drift away. After pizza for lunch on paper plates again and more food for Cameron (he can eat!) and Alex, we were asked to tow over to Sausalito waterfront where there was a little bit of wind (a small patch).
The race course was set up as a windward leeward and the current was so strong against the wind that the sailors were 100 feet below the starting line until 15 seconds when they could head up. After a general recall, the start went and the sailors flew upwind, way past layline and then we had the downwind. The front of the fleet went towards shore hoping for less current while our team of Cameron who rounded in 15th, Alex who was 25th, Graham in 30th and Ellie about 35th all went downwind on the rhumb line where there was more wind.
All our sailors gained big with Cameron rounding in 5th place and the others gaining boats. It was one of the slowest and hottest down-winds our sailors have every done. The last upwind was quick with some of our sailors being washed upwind so fast, they were reaching to the finish line after overshooting the layline.
Unfortunately the race committee decided to start a race at 3.25 and without any wind and too much current, we realized that with the long commute to the airport and traffic, Golden Gate Bridge and flights at 7.30, there was no way we could make the last race. It was the right decision as were left before the rest of the boats had struggled to get around and towed in.
It was an amazing weekend, worth all the travel, the training and what a great way to start the season. We met some terrific people, got some new friends we will be staying with when we return to San Francisco for one week in June and we must thank San Francisco YC for hosting us, lending us a coach boat for the whole time without cost and for great race management. From our experience, this is worth doing again next year.
Tine
The sailors got rigged and we had a postponement on shore for a while before we were sent out. Hoping for wind, we headed to the same racing area outside Angle Island, but we had to anchor not to drift away. After pizza for lunch on paper plates again and more food for Cameron (he can eat!) and Alex, we were asked to tow over to Sausalito waterfront where there was a little bit of wind (a small patch).
The race course was set up as a windward leeward and the current was so strong against the wind that the sailors were 100 feet below the starting line until 15 seconds when they could head up. After a general recall, the start went and the sailors flew upwind, way past layline and then we had the downwind. The front of the fleet went towards shore hoping for less current while our team of Cameron who rounded in 15th, Alex who was 25th, Graham in 30th and Ellie about 35th all went downwind on the rhumb line where there was more wind.
All our sailors gained big with Cameron rounding in 5th place and the others gaining boats. It was one of the slowest and hottest down-winds our sailors have every done. The last upwind was quick with some of our sailors being washed upwind so fast, they were reaching to the finish line after overshooting the layline.
Unfortunately the race committee decided to start a race at 3.25 and without any wind and too much current, we realized that with the long commute to the airport and traffic, Golden Gate Bridge and flights at 7.30, there was no way we could make the last race. It was the right decision as were left before the rest of the boats had struggled to get around and towed in.
It was an amazing weekend, worth all the travel, the training and what a great way to start the season. We met some terrific people, got some new friends we will be staying with when we return to San Francisco for one week in June and we must thank San Francisco YC for hosting us, lending us a coach boat for the whole time without cost and for great race management. From our experience, this is worth doing again next year.
Tine
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Optimist team training and racing in San Francisco
4 Optimist sailors from Royal Van flew down to San Francisco Thursday April 16th to train for one day and race for 2 in the first of a series of events in San Francisco. On Friday we trained in 15-18 kots of breeze and it was fantastic. Cameron Ho, Alex Fritz, Graham Harney and new member Ellie Shaw were all loving the surfing, the hiking and the current. They spent 4 hours working hard and even went for a couple of swims in the bay. Racing starts today and unfortunately, the racing portion of the event takes place in Richardsons Bay which has no current but also no wind. We are expecting 70 racers so we will really get great starting practices. IF the wind really does not cooperate, the racing will be moved into the bay (we would love that) but the organizers are concerned about the depth for mark setting.
On our way in yesterday we sailed by a dead whale which is anchored to a mark. It was a great science experimence to see it float and how big it was. The marine biologists are doing research on it to find out how it died.
The first day of the Optimist San Francisco YC regatta took place outside Angle Island. There was a lot of fog at the Golden Gate Bridge which made sailing conditions in Richardson's Bay impossible. The RVYC sailors were very pelased about that decision as we trained there yesterday and were used to the steep waves and wind conditions. The first 2 races had a heavy ebb while we had a great flood for the last two races which made rounding the windward mark a challenge.
50 Optimists were in the championship fleet with a whole pile in the green fleet. This was all our sailor's first regatta since October and we were all excited to finally be racing. The first race was very light and Alex Fritz was in the top 10 to the first mark but lost a huge amount on the second upwind by not going to the left close to Angel Island., Cameron Ho sailed a good second beat and was 14th with Graham Harney, Alex Fritz and Ellie Shaw following close behind in the 20s and 30s.
Race 2 started and the wind was coming and going. We had everything from 20 to 2 knots within 20 feet but all our sailors handeled it well. CAmeron was 3rd but was OCS after an excellent start, something he had a goal for the weekend. Race 3 was 15-18 steady wind where Cameron did finish 3rd and the final and last race of the day, all the boys really picked it up in the heavy current and wind and Cameron was 1st by 1 min, Graham was 7th and Alex 11th. Ellie had a great reaching leg and it was really fun to see her enjoy the speedy rides and roler coaster rides downwind. After we all finished, the RVYC sailors stated out and did another long windward just to really get exhausted. Alex was working on hiking, he got hiking finally on the last race while Graham improved his hiking technique too. Cameron was very fast today working hard throughout the day with absolutely fantastic starts.
The sailros were served pizza on paper plates on the water in 16-18 knots winds, interesting menu. We were very lucky we had made our own lunches and Tine was creating sandwiches on the coach boat. Despite the sun, the sailing conditions, wind and fog makes it cold on the water. We are really looking forward to racing tomorrow.
Tine
On our way in yesterday we sailed by a dead whale which is anchored to a mark. It was a great science experimence to see it float and how big it was. The marine biologists are doing research on it to find out how it died.
The first day of the Optimist San Francisco YC regatta took place outside Angle Island. There was a lot of fog at the Golden Gate Bridge which made sailing conditions in Richardson's Bay impossible. The RVYC sailors were very pelased about that decision as we trained there yesterday and were used to the steep waves and wind conditions. The first 2 races had a heavy ebb while we had a great flood for the last two races which made rounding the windward mark a challenge.
50 Optimists were in the championship fleet with a whole pile in the green fleet. This was all our sailor's first regatta since October and we were all excited to finally be racing. The first race was very light and Alex Fritz was in the top 10 to the first mark but lost a huge amount on the second upwind by not going to the left close to Angel Island., Cameron Ho sailed a good second beat and was 14th with Graham Harney, Alex Fritz and Ellie Shaw following close behind in the 20s and 30s.
Race 2 started and the wind was coming and going. We had everything from 20 to 2 knots within 20 feet but all our sailors handeled it well. CAmeron was 3rd but was OCS after an excellent start, something he had a goal for the weekend. Race 3 was 15-18 steady wind where Cameron did finish 3rd and the final and last race of the day, all the boys really picked it up in the heavy current and wind and Cameron was 1st by 1 min, Graham was 7th and Alex 11th. Ellie had a great reaching leg and it was really fun to see her enjoy the speedy rides and roler coaster rides downwind. After we all finished, the RVYC sailors stated out and did another long windward just to really get exhausted. Alex was working on hiking, he got hiking finally on the last race while Graham improved his hiking technique too. Cameron was very fast today working hard throughout the day with absolutely fantastic starts.
The sailros were served pizza on paper plates on the water in 16-18 knots winds, interesting menu. We were very lucky we had made our own lunches and Tine was creating sandwiches on the coach boat. Despite the sun, the sailing conditions, wind and fog makes it cold on the water. We are really looking forward to racing tomorrow.
Tine
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Trailer Repair in Louisiana
On the drive home from Florida I had a breakdown with the Big trailer.
Basically I was on my second day in Louisiana making good time , hoping to make Dallas by that night.
I heard a bang and pulled over to find out that the coupler had broken away from the trailer and it was on the ground.
I had stopped at an overpass and began to get tools out of the trailer, next thing I know two fellows have stopped and are helping (without being asked).
At any rate we got the coupler reattached after help from my friends power grinder.
Next thing I know were done and they're on their way.
I was only stopped an hour, I couldn't believe my good fortune!
Thanks again guys!
AL
Friday, April 3, 2009
Midwinters West, Marina Del Rey , California
I think we set the record for the biggest group to a major event.
19 Lasers, 2 coach boats, 2 trailers and lots of gear and equipment.
We began the trip by loading the trailers at the end of our spring break camp, Friday afternoon.
We had started early that day and by 4 pm we were loaded, Lilah and Kyle were pulling the 6 boat aluminum trailer and i was pulling the 12 boat trailer with the 2 coach boats.
We got on the road by 6 and spent the next few days driving down the I5 to LA, arriving at noon on Sunday.
Most of the team came in that day and we were off and running (literally) the next morning.
Chris Tulip led the running portion of the fitness time set aside for the mornings.
We finished with core conditioning then stretching and cool down.
Next was a trip to the store for lunch supplies and then meet at the club, then on the water by 12.30.
The winds began briskly on the Monday and then lightened thru the week but we had plenty of open ocean training and it was very beneficial.
Thursday was a light day prior to the beginning of the regatta on Friday.
By this point all were ready and focused for the task at hand. Jen Spalding was able to come as coach for the regatta so we had a Laser and a Radial coach.
50 or Lasers and 70 Radials were registered. California YC does an excellent job of hosting events,(we were there for the Laser Worlds in 2006).
Tough, light conditions persisted thru pretty much the whole event and the specialists came to the front.
From Royal Van in the Laser Derick Vranizan,(back on the team after a few years absence)was 2nd , Ricardo Montemeyor ended 4th overall, Alex Heinzman was 12th.
In the Radial Jonn Scott was 8th and Jaime Bone was 9th.
We had a good group this year with a lot of rookie or near rookie team members that performed well in their first Grade 2 event.
A good time was had by the team and plenty of lessons learned in preparation for the summer season.
AL
19 Lasers, 2 coach boats, 2 trailers and lots of gear and equipment.
We began the trip by loading the trailers at the end of our spring break camp, Friday afternoon.
We had started early that day and by 4 pm we were loaded, Lilah and Kyle were pulling the 6 boat aluminum trailer and i was pulling the 12 boat trailer with the 2 coach boats.
We got on the road by 6 and spent the next few days driving down the I5 to LA, arriving at noon on Sunday.
Most of the team came in that day and we were off and running (literally) the next morning.
Chris Tulip led the running portion of the fitness time set aside for the mornings.
We finished with core conditioning then stretching and cool down.
Next was a trip to the store for lunch supplies and then meet at the club, then on the water by 12.30.
The winds began briskly on the Monday and then lightened thru the week but we had plenty of open ocean training and it was very beneficial.
Thursday was a light day prior to the beginning of the regatta on Friday.
By this point all were ready and focused for the task at hand. Jen Spalding was able to come as coach for the regatta so we had a Laser and a Radial coach.
50 or Lasers and 70 Radials were registered. California YC does an excellent job of hosting events,(we were there for the Laser Worlds in 2006).
Tough, light conditions persisted thru pretty much the whole event and the specialists came to the front.
From Royal Van in the Laser Derick Vranizan,(back on the team after a few years absence)was 2nd , Ricardo Montemeyor ended 4th overall, Alex Heinzman was 12th.
In the Radial Jonn Scott was 8th and Jaime Bone was 9th.
We had a good group this year with a lot of rookie or near rookie team members that performed well in their first Grade 2 event.
A good time was had by the team and plenty of lessons learned in preparation for the summer season.
AL
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
March Madness
The next regatta on the Calender, a little later this year. The high school aged team members were starting their spring break.
The wind definitely cooperated, easterlies at 10 to 15kts and we had 3 races each day.
Just shy of 20 sailors came out from our team with a number from Jericho sailing club.
Luke sailed per usual and won most of the races with Ricky taking one off him and a break down for his drop.
In the Radial Jon Scott and Jaime Bone had a good battle with Jon the victor.
Turned out to be an excellent beginning to an extended time of training and competing ending at the West Coast Midwinter's in California.
Oh yea it was snowing at times on Sunday afternoon, we like the cold, but were ready for a little warmth in Cali!
Al
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Mids East Laser Champs
The team arrived Saturday,(Luke Ramsey),Sunday (Ricardo , Natalia and Becky) and Tuesday night (Kyle and Alex) after missing their conection.
The training was excellent prior to the event and was great preparation going into the first day.
Thursday was the first day of racing and after some delays racing was off in moderate breeze. 2 races were eventually completed and then in to the beach.
We continues thru the next 3 days and with excellent breeze on the friday a full complement of races were held (10).
In the end the racing was very close with every type of sailing encountered.
Luke Ramsey had a good event and ended in 5th , also claiming a worlds spot in Halifax this August.
Ricardo Montemeyer also sailed well and was 18th with Alex another youth aged sailer 19th (Alex if off to the youth Worlds in uly in Brazil).
Keamia had a tough event with Airline troubles and broken mast issues , so ended 9th in the Radial silver fleet.
Becky and Natalia both had good moments and learned lots in the Radial fleet.
The third and final event in Florida was a well run regatta and we'll be back next year.
Thanks for the support
Al
The training was excellent prior to the event and was great preparation going into the first day.
Thursday was the first day of racing and after some delays racing was off in moderate breeze. 2 races were eventually completed and then in to the beach.
We continues thru the next 3 days and with excellent breeze on the friday a full complement of races were held (10).
In the end the racing was very close with every type of sailing encountered.
Luke Ramsey had a good event and ended in 5th , also claiming a worlds spot in Halifax this August.
Ricardo Montemeyer also sailed well and was 18th with Alex another youth aged sailer 19th (Alex if off to the youth Worlds in uly in Brazil).
Keamia had a tough event with Airline troubles and broken mast issues , so ended 9th in the Radial silver fleet.
Becky and Natalia both had good moments and learned lots in the Radial fleet.
The third and final event in Florida was a well run regatta and we'll be back next year.
Thanks for the support
Al
Friday, March 6, 2009
Womens Radial North Americans
The next winter regatta on our schedule was the Womens NA's.
Isabella and I arrived in Fort Lauderdale for the Championship on the Wednesday prior to the 3 day regatta.
We had brought the Joker coach boat and Isabella's Radial after the Miami Regatta on a small trailer.
We went on the water for some training on the thursday we went to the registration and prepared for the beginning of the event.
Racing scheduled for Friday morning. That day saw light winds and tough tactical conditions. The fleet was relatively small but was fairly deep with talent , especially in the light air.
Bella had a few tough initial races but found her stride as the regatta progressed. We worked all weekend on sound tactical decisions after clear starts. As the breeze came up on the Saturday we had a chance to work on downwind technique.
In the end Isabella sailed a consistent series , finishing 4th overall , with Anna Tunacliffe 1st (the Olympic Gold Medalist)
Isabella flew home Monday morning and i drove to Clearwater Sunday night to meet up with 7 of our team preparing for the Mids East regatta.
AL
Isabella and I arrived in Fort Lauderdale for the Championship on the Wednesday prior to the 3 day regatta.
We had brought the Joker coach boat and Isabella's Radial after the Miami Regatta on a small trailer.
We went on the water for some training on the thursday we went to the registration and prepared for the beginning of the event.
Racing scheduled for Friday morning. That day saw light winds and tough tactical conditions. The fleet was relatively small but was fairly deep with talent , especially in the light air.
Bella had a few tough initial races but found her stride as the regatta progressed. We worked all weekend on sound tactical decisions after clear starts. As the breeze came up on the Saturday we had a chance to work on downwind technique.
In the end Isabella sailed a consistent series , finishing 4th overall , with Anna Tunacliffe 1st (the Olympic Gold Medalist)
Isabella flew home Monday morning and i drove to Clearwater Sunday night to meet up with 7 of our team preparing for the Mids East regatta.
AL
Monday, February 2, 2009
Miami OCR 2009
We had 20 Royal Van Members at the regatta this year and had good success and plenty of learning experiences all around.
Kevin and I towed the Big trailer with 11 lasers , a RSX board , and 2 coach boats.
Those that headed south were:
Alanna Vitery, Isabella Bertold, Keamia Rasa, Jen Spalding, Erika Vranizan in the Radial Class
Andy Wong, Ben Scott, Alexander Heinzman, Ricardo Montemeyer, Luke Ramsay, Abe Torchinsky, Mike Leigh, Derik Vranizan in the Laser Class
Ben Remoker, Hunter Lowden and Kevin Grierson in the 49er , Bruce Millar in the 2.4 M Class
Nicola Girke in the RSX class,Eric Holden in the 470 class,John Romanko in the Finn Class
Kevin Black and Al Clark Coaches
Generally it was a light air event with strong north breezes on the final day of the metal races.
Highlights for the results of the team was Jen third and Isabella ninth in the Radials,
Mike Leigh forth in the Laser, Nicola sixth in the RSX, Bruce Millar forth in 2.4m
Results are at:
http://rmocr.ussailing.org/Results.htm
We keep the trailer in Florida for the other Laser events coming in Febuary, Womens North Americans in Fort Lauderdale and the Mids East Regatta in Clearwater.
Our new truck was the envy of many in the US Sailing centre parking lot
Thanks for the support Royal Van
Al
Kevin and I towed the Big trailer with 11 lasers , a RSX board , and 2 coach boats.
Those that headed south were:
Alanna Vitery, Isabella Bertold, Keamia Rasa, Jen Spalding, Erika Vranizan in the Radial Class
Andy Wong, Ben Scott, Alexander Heinzman, Ricardo Montemeyer, Luke Ramsay, Abe Torchinsky, Mike Leigh, Derik Vranizan in the Laser Class
Ben Remoker, Hunter Lowden and Kevin Grierson in the 49er , Bruce Millar in the 2.4 M Class
Nicola Girke in the RSX class,Eric Holden in the 470 class,John Romanko in the Finn Class
Kevin Black and Al Clark Coaches
Generally it was a light air event with strong north breezes on the final day of the metal races.
Highlights for the results of the team was Jen third and Isabella ninth in the Radials,
Mike Leigh forth in the Laser, Nicola sixth in the RSX, Bruce Millar forth in 2.4m
Results are at:
http://rmocr.ussailing.org/Results.htm
We keep the trailer in Florida for the other Laser events coming in Febuary, Womens North Americans in Fort Lauderdale and the Mids East Regatta in Clearwater.
Our new truck was the envy of many in the US Sailing centre parking lot
Thanks for the support Royal Van
Al
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Last Day of the NewYearsCamp09
So we started the day with digging out the trailer for the trip to Florida. This took a group of about 8 of us about 45 minutes, (what a winter!).
After that task was done we headed out sailing for a few hours. Started with a long line and short course sailing, the group had plenty of practice with tacking and gybing as well as mark roundings.
After sailing we began to load the trailer and of course eventually it began to snow, oh well we plan to finish loading this week and then begin the drive south on Thursday.
We had Luke, Alanna, Chris, Alex H , Kyle and Eric on the water today.
Well done to all the sailors that came out for some of the sailing at both of our winter camps!
Al
After that task was done we headed out sailing for a few hours. Started with a long line and short course sailing, the group had plenty of practice with tacking and gybing as well as mark roundings.
After sailing we began to load the trailer and of course eventually it began to snow, oh well we plan to finish loading this week and then begin the drive south on Thursday.
We had Luke, Alanna, Chris, Alex H , Kyle and Eric on the water today.
Well done to all the sailors that came out for some of the sailing at both of our winter camps!
Al
Saturday, January 3, 2009
NewYearsCampSnowDay09
Well the day started with flurries that were supposed to be rain, per usual for the last 2 weeks.
We decided to go and had Kyle, Chris , Ben , Alex K , Luke and Alex Heinzman come sailing.
Jen and I thought lets go out , it's worth a photo op at the very least.
So out we went and the snow just kept falling, we ended up with a nice 10 to 12 kt easterly.
We did lots of mark rounding and tacking/gybing on the whistle .
About 2 hours on the water and the coaches were frozen as well as most of the sailers, a few wanted more but we figured it was soup time!
One more day to go and hopefully loading tomorrow for Florida, (assuming we can dig out the trailer in the parking lot!)
Al
Friday, January 2, 2009
New Years Camp 09
We arrived at the club this morning to the parking lot being a literal skating rink.
Eventually by the time we went sailing at noon it had warmed up and it was relatively decent on the water.
11 sailors left the dock and we had a good practice working on start drills as well as mark rounding.
We had a 6kt south easterly for a 2 hour session. Most of the team's feet were numb by the time we went in .
The next important call was to either go hsve a hot shower right away or hold off, (too quick a thaw out in the hot shower causes pain and itching in the hands and feet!)
2 more days for the camp then load the trailer for Florida.
Al
Eventually by the time we went sailing at noon it had warmed up and it was relatively decent on the water.
11 sailors left the dock and we had a good practice working on start drills as well as mark rounding.
We had a 6kt south easterly for a 2 hour session. Most of the team's feet were numb by the time we went in .
The next important call was to either go hsve a hot shower right away or hold off, (too quick a thaw out in the hot shower causes pain and itching in the hands and feet!)
2 more days for the camp then load the trailer for Florida.
Al
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