Kitten Cup 2008 Day 2

Well we saw the very little wind this AM and then it started raining.

Not the most promising start to the day.

Guy tried getting a race off and we did get part way into a race before the wind died and it was cancelled , we waited for a little longer and that was it.

In the end it was Luke winning another KC in Lasers, with Andy 2nd and Kevin 3rd .

In the Radial Isabella's consistency in all the races gave her the win with Diego 2nd and Alanna 3rd

In the 4.7 class Alex and Tony tied for 2nd with Alex winning the tie breaker .

Well done to the whole team, were off to Victoria next weekend for the Spring Dinghy's regatta .

It was great having Jen on the course coaching over the weekend.

Back to work this week with training and fitness.

Al

Kitten Cup 2008

The Regatta started on schedule on Saturday with a nice westerly that grew to about 12kts by mid afternoon.

Guy Walters did a nice job of getting 5 races in.

The beach was favored more and more thru the day as the current was running hard later in the afternoon.

A battle was going on in the Laser fleet with Kevin Greirson Luke Ramsay and Andy Wong at the front.

In the Radial fleet it was a battle of Diego Reyes, Isabella Bertold and Alana Vitery.

Diego was unstoppable in the light and Alanna came to life in the breezy conditions .

In the 4.7 our boys were having lots of fun, with Alex Sheppard , Tony Henderson and Mark McBride fighting it out with the Seattle team.

Royal Van put on a good spread for dinner that evening , (we had big lunches on the water as well)

Thanks Rob Scott for alot of value for a $50 enrty regatta.

Over 25 members of the Laser/Radial/4.7 team came out for the event .

Al

Nice Start

Just noticed a picture from the Hyeres Regatta and when I blew it up a bit I realized that the boat at the pin end, well punched out, was Mike.

I guess this is one skill needed to win grade 1 events!

Nice start Mike, we'll see you at the Holland Regatta

(A good group of our team is off to the Holland Regatta mid May to train and compete against the worlds best).

Al

Mike Leigh wins the ISAF Grade 1 Hyeres Regatta in France

From the ISAF website:Paul Goodison’s (GBR) victory in the Medal race will not be enough to lift the British on the podium. Michael Leigh (CAN) and Andrew Murdoch (NZL) keep their earlier overall position on the podium, while Athens Silver medallist Andreas Geritzer (AUT) takes the Bronze after placing 4th in the medal race. The Canadian, winner of the 2007 Sydney International regatta, has made the podium twice before in Hyères with a 3rd place at the 2007 Laser European Championship and the Semaine Olympique Française in 2006.

Seems to us that Mike is now the best Laser Sailor that Canada has ever produced!

A great example to all the up and coming members of the Royal Van Racing Team.

Al

April Weekend Training

The forcast was for snow all weekend and it didn't look good when we arrived on Saturday morning.

Jen had a meeting at 10 for the sailors interested in going to Halifax for the Canadian Youth Champs in August.

Right on cue at noon the wind began to pick up and by 2 pm it had built into a solid breeze.
We worked our way up wind towards the bell bouy and sailed against a increasinf flood tide with many starts and finish drills being practised.

about 12 sailors came out, Alex H and Recardo kept going after we began to head home at 3.30 .

All in all a classic day for sailing in Vancouver in the spring.

Al

Patio Lounge

We tend to spend a fair deal of time in the Patio Lounge before and after sailing , especially in the winter months

Thanks Kat for the excellent service !

Looks like a cold weekend ahead , I recon will see alot of Kat.

Al Clark

Laser Worlds 2009

The Mens Worlds are being held in Nova Scotia and the Womens Worlds are being held in Japan, both in August 2009.

The qualification system has been announced by the NA Laser Class Association.

Go to: http://www.ilcana.org/, And see Laser Worlds Qualification System.

We hope to have a big group qualify to go to both events.

Al

Laser Radial Worlds – Takapuna Beach – New Zealand Mike Leigh crowned 2008 Laser Radial World Champion!

Last month ,prior to starting our new Blog, Mike Leigh won this major regatta and is on track to doing very well in the up coming Olympic Games in China in August.

Mike will have RoyalVan Racing members, Abe Torchinsky and Luke Ramsay as training partners in Europe thru the spring.

Good luck boys

Al Clark

Star Worlds Web Site - starworlds2008.com

Star Worlds

Ross MacDonald (boat 91) is sailing in another Star Worlds, this time in Miami from April 7 to 18th.
He is sitting in 6th place with plenty of time to strike gold .

Hunter Lowden and Jr Advisor, Brett Wilson (boat 70) are competing in their first worlds and are doing respectable in 43th.

Go to the web site and check it out , lots of ex laser sailors in the event, including Robert Scheidt, (boat 55), last years world champion.

Go Ross, Hunter and Brett!

Training Today

Jen Spalding, our new full time Laser Coach, was out in a Laser today, (which is a great way to work with the team on technique).

We had another big group out today, 19 was my count again but with a few faces we haven't seen for most of the winter.

Adrian , Gina and Alex N were out as well as most of the new recruits like Tony, Alberto and Gabe .

Everyone had good moments as we did a number of pursuit style races, with the slower boats starting first.

We eventually worked our way well out to Spanish Banks , then had a low sail home as the wind went light.

Jen's having meetings with those thinking of doing the Canadian Youth Champs in Halifax in August.

Jen has been a great asset to the Laser Team already since starting a month ago!

Al

Spring Training

The weather finally seems spring like


We had a big group out training tonight, (19).

We did starts with all the boats on the line at the same time then windward marks of variing lenght for the 4.7 , Radial and the Standard rigs.

Race Team update

The team is getting geared up for the spring sailing season.
Royal Van will be hosting Kitten Cup from April 26-27th, and after that the race team will be heading over to Victoria for the Spring Dinghy Champs.

We have ordered a bunch of new sailing gear from Rooster Sailing, which will be printed with the Royal Van race team logo. All the sailors are really looking forward to that!
We are also in the process of getting team wear, RoyalVanRacing tshirts and jackets for off the water.

We are also happy to welcome back Tamara the fitness training. She is doing monday night sessions with the team from 5-630pm.

Rosa

A great waitress that helps the team in the Patio Lounge thru out the week.

Thanks for all your hard work!

The New Tow Truck

Royal Van Race Team recently purchased a GMC 2500 Diesel Truck to pull our big Laser trailer. We would like to thank the Corinthian Fund for all of their support as well as the sailing director, James McDonald, for his hard work putting together the proposal and of course the Finance Committee.

The truck pulled the trailer to San Diego and we are really pleased with it. All the features such as the navigation system were invaluable. The truck has been outfitted with logos provided by Gord Gemmel Custom Graphics and Design.

Diego Reyes sailed fast thru out the Mids West regatta to finish 3rd overall, nice work!

Al Clark

Midwinters West 2008 results

The Midwinters were held at Mission Bay Yacht Club, in San Diego over the past weekend.

It was a great event for all the sailors of the Royal Van race team.

Congratulations to Luke Ramsay on winning the event by 25 points!
Al Clark placed 3rd overall, 1st place master.

To see a full list of results, http://www.mbyc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=347&Itemid=51

Sping Break Training Pictures

Here are some pictures from the spring break training camp.