Laser US Nats 2010

After the youth champs was finished, we packed up the trailer in a massive thunderstorm and got everything ready to head down to Milwaukee for the US Nationals. After the 16 hour drive to get there we were all ready for a day off.

The rest of the team started arriving in Milwaukee on Aug 6th. 11 sailors competed in the US Nationals; Becky Power, Isabella Bertold, Natalia Montemayor, Alex K, Alex H, Tom Roehrl, Kyle Martin, Dom Fritz, Gabe Frame and Cameron Ho.

The conditions in Milwaukee for the regatta were really tricky. The first couple days of the regatta the mornings were foggy and really humid with hardly any wind on the water. The first day of racing, the full rigs got 3 races off in really light tricky conditions and the radials sailed 2 races.

Friday, the second day of racing, there was lots of fog and no wind. The sailors were postponed ashore due to threat of thunderstorms and limited visibility on the water. It was a long day of waiting, and at 3 pm they blew racing off for the day.

On Saturday the races were set to start one hour earlier at 10am. It was another really light day; there was a postponement on water well we waited for the wind to fill in. The wind started off offshore, but half way through the first radial race, it died and did a 180 to the seabreeze direction. That race was abandoned and more waiting was done while the race committee reset the course. Only one race was sailed on Saturday.

On Sunday, there was no fog on the lake, which was a good sign. The day started with a 12- 15 knots offshore breeze and steadily picked up from there. Four good races were sailed on Sunday. It was a long day and was a definite test of fitness for the sailors. Isabella dominated in the Radial fleet, winning 3 of the 4 races by a ways. Which also moved her up to finish 1st overall.
Becky was up and down on Sunday but had a couple great results and finished 12th overall. Natalia also had a great day on Sunday, but unfortunately she was black flagged in the last race and ended up 20th. Cameron had some really good moments, especially in the lighter races and finished 33rd. Alex K was 36th, Gabe was also unfortunately black flagged in the last race and ended up 39th.

In the full rigs, Alex H finished 5th, Kyle was 15th, Tom was 26th, and Dom was 27th.

Congratulations to all the sailors on some exceptional results at these events!

Laser Gulfcoasts and NA's 2010

Harold Fritz went to the Gulf coast championships the weekend prior to the NA's and sent a quick report

"Its 34+C & humid here in TX, starts right out in the morning and keeps burning all day. Unbearable without a breeze. Gulf coast regatta not bad - wind wasn't there on the second day till about 1pm. 5 races - no drop (needed 6 for drop). 65 Radials, some international kids too in prep for NAs. Dom finished 17th and Becky 23. We're getting used to the heat...slowly."

Dominick Fritz, Becky Power, Kyle Martin and Ricardo Montemayer attended the North Americans , both the events were held in Galveston Bay in southern Texas. The event had well over 200 competitors across 3 fleets of Lasers , Radials and 4.7's.

Many of the top Caribbean and central American teams were there in preparation for the central American games. (Ricardo and Natalia are planning to compete for Mexico).

Racing was called off the first day with thunderstorms caused by the exteame heat (40 C). There was no sign of any oil as some had predicted, a pleasant bay to sail in that gets a nice sea breeze most days except when a regatta rolls into town.

The second day the racing went off fine with generally light to medium winds. 3 races for the Lasers and 4 for the Radials. Becky and Dom sailed well in the Radial fleet , unfortunately Dom was OCS in one race and with only 4 qualifying races there was no drop (bad idea). We got into the dock at (pm that day after getting to the club at 8 am. Everyone was ready for bed after a quick dinner.

The final 2 days in the separated fleets was excellent , both Ricardo and Kyle climbed the ranks steadily and Ric finished a strong 9th and kyle a career high 15th.

Becky had great moment in the gold fleet with some tough races and ended a respectable 17th , Dom was disappointed to be in Silver fleet but sailed well to finish 4th.

After a week of 40 plus degrees temps and high humidity it was great to get back to Vancouver summer!

Results are @ http://www.lasernorthamericans.com/

Al

Laser BC Champs 2010

The Kamloops sailing association once again put on an awesome event. There was a great turnout from Royal Van with a trailer full of Opti's and one Radial- Joanna Moore and one Laser Kyle Martin. On the first day of racing there was no wind until around 4 o'clock. The time spent waiting was not wasted, as most of it was spent either tubing behind the coach boat or swimming. At 4 the wind came in and we got 3 races off. The first was in about 20kts of wind and it got lighter after that. We were in around 6:30 just in time for dinner. Kamloops Sailing put on a good show with one of the best regatta dinners I have had in a while. The next day brought more sun and great wind. With racing starting at 10 we got off 4 really solid races in building breeze. By the last race it was up around 30kts according to the race committees wind ex. In the end Joanna won the Radial fleet dropping a 3rd all the rest were bullets and Kyle won the Laser dropping an OCS and winning the rest. The RVYC Optis also brought home a lot of hardware.

by Kyle Martin

2010 BC Summer Games

From July 22-25 the Royal Van racers traveled to Langley, BC for the 2010 BC Summer Games. Our racers checked into the accreditation centre Thursday afternoon to begin a few days of buses, ceremonies, speeches,group accommodations, and tight schedules. Each day the sailors were bussed from their accommodations to breakfast, then to the sailing venue, back to the meal hall, then back to the accommodations.

Racing began Friday morning with light conditions. Winds were constant around 6knots for most of the morning. Shifty conditions kept the sailors alert s they traded positions all the way up the first beat. As the day progressed the wind increased and eventually topped around 12knots. In the Optimist fleet Lloyd Lyall dominated the races. Lloyd was consistently almost a minute ahead of the entire fleet and won 2/4 races that day. Following close behind were Eric Lyall and Jake Cullen who battled hard for 2nd and 3rd place positions. After 4 races the Optimist fleet was sent ashore for showers before loading back onto the buses.

In the Laser fleet Kyle Martin dominated the fleet. Five very short races were completed on the first day. Eric Servais followed behind and consistently finished 2nd place.

Day two of the event brought more of the same conditions. Light winds building to roughly 10-12kts during the day. Lloyd Lyall continued his great sailing in the Optimist fleet, as did Kyle Martin who won 3/4 races that day.

In the end Royal Van sailors took podium positions in every fleet we entered. Our sailors had a great time over the weekend and are keen to compete in the games again. the BC Games society put on a great show.

A huge thanks to Royal Van Yacht Club for their continued support.

Chris Cowan
Opti Coach

Radial Worlds 2010

The Radial Worlds were held in Largs Scotland this year. It is a small town 40 minutes drive from Glasgow.

Isabella Bertold was representing Royal Van in the championships, and had worked extremely hard on the water and in the gym to prepare herself for the seasons main event.

She flew to Scotland three days before me and got her boat charter and trained with the rest of the Canadian team in strong breeze.

I arrived after the Waves Regatta and we went forward with our plan to have a best ever result at a worlds.

We had chartered a coach boat from Ben Remoker's "Port Tack Charter" company. We fully stocked it with spare parts and daily food and water supplies.

The weather appeared to be consistently breezy and rainy and it seemed that we were in for a tough pysical event. Of course wind before an event can be deceptive , as we went out in fairly light wind the first day.

Isabella had some decent starts, (for North American events) but still struggled to get to the weather mark in good shape. She was hovering around the middle of the fleet after the first day.

The second day was a hair lighter again and after a long debrief the night before Isabella cracked a sweet start and led going up the first beat.
She fought hard all the way thru the race and finished 4th. A real milestone in her career. She had good confidence started the 2nd race of the day and was 15th to the top mark but unfortunatly fell thru the race working the wrong side and ended in the 30's.

The final day of qualifiers started late and only one race was sailed , it was light and tough throughout and Isabella ended in the teens.

She had shown that she was ready for racing in the front of the fleet. Unfortunatly the Gold fleet series that she had qualified only materialized into one race that was fluky with a major wind shift during the race. She got a 30 and moved into 47 (5 points from a senior Canadian team card).

There was alot of waiting around and no racing for 2 days, very frustrating to say the least. Isabella stayed upbeat and was a real pro all the way through.

This was the toughest event she has competed in and I think that with her excellent work ethic and determination she will break into the top ranks of her discipline.

The next worlds is in Perth Australia in December 2011.

Thanks Royal Van for the support

Al

Sail-West Championships, July 15-18

The Royal Van Optimist Team headed to Lake Wabamun Sailing Club for the annual Sail-West Regatta. Sail-West consisted of kids and parents camping, a two day training camp with CYA guest coach Rob Douglas, followed by a two day regatta over the weekend. Sailing was on Thursday as glassy conditions prevailed for the day. Our kids enjoyed some very light wind 29er Sailing and swimming that day. Friday began with approximately 5 knots of wind. The opti fleet was split up into groups. Royal Van coach Chris Cowan ran some drills for a group of roughly 15 sailors until the wind completely died. The kids went ashore for lunch and waited until later in the day for the start of the event’s practice race. Tara Yuen was the big story in the practice race. She led the fleet for most of the race until eventually Jake Cullen snuck in front of her.
Saturday’s Racing conditions brought shifty winds of approximately 20 knots. Three long races were completed before heading ashore for lunch. Again, Tara Yuen was on fire in the first race before she missed a wind shift. Tara made up missing the shift and ended up finishing 2nd in the race. After lunch the sailors headed back out to the course for 3 more races. Lloyd Lyall dominated the racing all day as he finished the day with six 1st place finishes. Following close behind were Jake Cullen, Ellie Shaw, and Tara Yuen.
Sunday’s conditions were glassy water with no wind. Racing was abandoned for the day at 11:30am. Lloyd Lyall won the regatta convincingly with a total of 5 points. This was a great success for Royal Van sailors who took the top 8 positions, and Kyle Gerrard took 10th place.

Thanks for everybody's support as we travel to these events.
Chris Cowan

BC Junior Championships- Merritt, BC

From July 8-11 the Royal Van Optimist team travelled to Nicola Lake for the BC Junior Sailing Championships. The trip consisted of a two day training camp followed by two days of racing. No sailing took place Thursday as there was no wind and very hot temperatures. Friday’s training brought strong winds. Our sailors teamed up with West Van Yacht Club for 3 hours of starting practice and some fun racing.
The regatta began Saturday morning. The sailors hit the water in hopes of getting a race off. Unfortunately the wind died in the middle of the Laser start sequence and racing was postponed on-shore. Around 4:30pm that day, the wind increased to around 8 knots and three races were conducted before dinner. Alex Fritz, Jake Cullen, and Tara Yuen were consistently leading the pack that night.
Sunday racing brought winds gusting to about 25 knots. Four races were completed that morning. Alex Fritz dominated the Opti fleet, winning 3 of the 4 races that day. Following close behind were Ellie Shaw and Jake Cullen who were battling hard for 2nd and 3rd place. The racing concluded and our sailors headed back to shore for lunch and trailer loading. The regatta was a great way for our sailors to prepare for Sail-West in Edmonton and our kids had a great time spending the weekend together.

Thanks for Royal Van's continued Support.
Chris Cowan

WAVES 2010

Waves was a popular event again this year. Cory Wright did an excellent job of putting together a well oiled regatta. There was good turnout in all the Race Team classes including the Laser, Radial, 0pti and 420

In the 420 class our team continues to impress under the supervision of Mark Patcky.
Kia Meiklejohn and Emma Toone tied for 1st and were just nipped @ the tie breaker, Joren Jackson and Leif Peterson were hot on their heels in 3rd overall.

In the Laser class we had 11 sailors, Ricardo Montemayer sailed a very consistent event in trying conditions (light air with plenty of current) to win comfortably. Kevin Greirson was 2nd , Royal Van sailors owned the top 5 positions. 7 of the top 10.

In the Radial class Joanna Moore continued to impress with a solid win of 15 points, Cameron Ho was 2nd with 30 points, 6 of the top 10 were from Royal Van.

Opti's had a successful weekend,our best result was Eric Lyall 1st in the blue fleet. We had a solid group of 8 kids attend the regatta, many of our top sailors were at the Opti NA's in Kingston during this time.

Results are @ http://www.royalvan.com/racing_results.asp?TID=3&RID=143&SID=282&DID=3

Well done team!

Al

Laser European Championships 2010

We travelled to the Laser Europeans a few days after the finish of the Delta Lloyd Regatta.
This event was held at the Olypic Sailing site of 1980 (the one that was boycotted), in Tallin Estonia.

It is a beautiful city with a fully restored "old town" dating back to the 13th century.
The venue and facilities were top notch , as well as the regatta organization.

150 Lasers and 90 Radials came north for the event! This was as high caliber fleet as you will see, only a worlds would be a hair tougher.

Luke Ramsay towed our coach boat from Holland to Tallin on a route that took him thru Copenhagen and Stockholm. He took an over night ferry from there directly to Tallin.

All the teams from over 50 counties arrived a few days prior to the event and we prepared for measurement. A few days training were sqeezed in , then the regatta began.

Luke Ramsay and Ricardo Montemayer were in the Laser class for Royal Van and Isabella Bertold in the Radial.

It was a six day event with generally wind on the moderate side, there was a breezy day the third day in. Results for the group were encouraging with highlights on certian days. Luke placed 5th in one of the heats and made the gold fleet (top third), ricardo had a few decent races but still ended up in the bronze fleet ,(with excellent international experience gained), Isabella hung in really well in the international field and made the gold fleet, keeping good scores coming in that fleet.

The Regatta Website is excellent with Photos and video from the event, Results are there too- http://www.laser2010tallinn.eu/web/

Delta Lloyd Regatta 2010

The regatta formerly known as the SPA regatta was held over the week of May 26th to the 30th.

Royal Van had a solid group of 9 sailors spread over 6 Olympic Classes.
Mike Leigh, Luke Ramsay, Ricardo Montemayer in the Laser
Isabella Bertold and Jen Spalding in the Radial
Nicola Girke and Zak Plasvic in the RSX
John Romanko in the Finn
Hunter Lowden in the 49er

The event had a good variety of conditions with breeze most days a only a few canceled or delayed races and was an excellent tune up for the major summer events coming in Europe for the team.

Results were up and down for most. Highlights for the team- Nicola"s 12th and Isabella's 13th overall. (Isabella won the final race of the event).

This event, along with the other world cup events, is always a bit of a spectacle , with the major sailing countries, like Britain, France, Spain, Australia bringing their full support for their National team. A great environment for our sailors to hone their skills and well worth the trip.

Results are found @ http://www.deltalloydregatta.org/


Al