Easter Camp

Royal Van's annual Easter camp wrapped up this past weekend. The camp was well attended and lived up to its reputation of always having a large Optimist fleet. Nearly 35 optis took part, as well as Lasers, Radials, 4.7's, and a few 420's.

We were lucky to have two nice days of weather before the rain and cold returned, but all of our sailors were keen to be out there. The optimist fleet was split into two groups- novice, and racing fleets and the all the Lasers sailed together. On the Saturday, the Lasers sailed several races with any varying factors to keep it interesting.

Next up for the team is Kitten Cup happening at Royal Van this coming weekend (April 30/May 1). Then followed by a trip to Victoria the following weekend.

More reports will follow as our events unfold.
Until next time...

Chris Cowan

Elvstrom Regatta , April 16-17

Two weeks after our trip to California we decided to head down the I5 for the Elvstrom Regatta in San Fransisco. This is an event we have been intersted in going to for some time and was a good chance to reaquaint ourselves with the bay. Kyle Martin and Alex Shepard sailied in the Laser , Cameron Ho in the Radial and Alex Fritz in the 4.7, (I sailed as well in the Laser).

We had a good trip down and stopped at West Coast Sailing for some gear , arriving in SF the Friday evening. Racing started the next morning at 11 and we had 3 good races with the breeze building through out the day.

The Sunday we saw classic SF conditions with winds peaking in the high 20's and 3 races again. A highlight was Alex Fritz getting 2nd overall in the 4.7 class , The team fought hard and finished every race, (Cam missed the start of the last race after a wipe out but sailed around the course anyway).

I ended up winning the Laser class , remembering that its better to stay upright (than not) to win races.

Results are @ http://www.regattanetwork.com/clubmgmt/applet_regatta_results.php?regatta_id=3932

We will continue training on the weeknights and though each weekend leading into the Summer season where we have an ambitious plan to dominate the North American events, with any luck.

Al Clark

Laser 4.7 Update

The Laser 4.7 Team has been busy since beginning the 2011 season at the beginning of March. We are pleased to welcome new members to our team including Jake Cullen and Connor Black. We began our March training with regular Thursday evening and weekend training. Unfortunately English bay had other plans for us as a few of our days came with lighter winds than expected.
On March 20, Jim Donaldson, Graham Harney, Jesse Liu, Rachel Spinelli, Alex Fritz, and Coach Chris Cowan headed to La Cruz, Mexico to train at the International Sailing Academy (ISA). The sailing venue is approximately 15mins north of Puerto Vallarta, and all boats, housing, and meals are provided in the price. Training each day was a mix of everything from drifting conditions to heavy air. The wind typically starts building each day around 11am, and by 12:30 the wind is usually blowing anywhere between 15-20kts. The kids sailed for six days with a focus on both windward and leeward mark-roundings, and finishing the camp with some starting practice. The benefits of a six day camp were evident near the end as each sailor made huge improvements in their sailing. This was a great way for our kids to spend spring break and we’ll definitely be back next year. A huge thanks to Tanya Chamberlain for chaperoning this trip- your help was greatly appreciated.
Next up for the team is our annual Easter Training camp running through the Easter Long weekend, followed by Kitten Cup, then a trip to Victoria the two weeks later. Keep an eye on the results of these events as our kids are hoping to show how all their hard work has paid off.
More reports will follow as events and results unfold. Be sure to check out the Royal Van blog, and Facebook page: Royal Van Racing, for all the latest details about what the team is up to. A huge thanks to all the Royal Van members for all your continued support.
Chris Cowan
Training@royalvan.com

Mids West 2011 final day and prize giving

Ricardo and sister Natalia get their prizes for winning the West Coast Laser Midwinter Championships