by Paul Laflamme
Marvin Beckmann from the USA won the hotly contested Etchells North Americans held from September 16th to the 19th of September. 35 entries from the USA (Texas, Fla, Mich, Mass to name a few), Canada (Mtl, Tor, Halifax) and Australia visited the club for the past four days and were thrilled to call RCYC home over the past few days.
The RCYC has a long association with the Etchells fleet. Dirk Kneulman is the current boat builder in North America, and it was great to see Past Commodore Gordon Norton who owned the very first Etchells in Canada come to the opening ceremonies. In fact it seemed every member who stood up to speak to the fleet at the various functions had a story to tell about their Etchells sailing. The current Commodore George Meadows regaled us with his stories of the Etchells.
5 races were held over 3 days. Day one saw light winds and bumpy seas from the East which called for patience and concentration powering these boats through the chop. Day 2 saw Big breeze from the North. 18-25 knots were recorded from the RC boat. Unfortunately, day 3 saw little to no wind and after waiting patiently for close to three hours racing was abandoned by the Race committee.
The RCYC has a long association with the Etchells fleet. Dirk Kneulman is the current boat builder in North America, and it was great to see Past Commodore Gordon Norton who owned the very first Etchells in Canada come to the opening ceremonies. In fact it seemed every member who stood up to speak to the fleet at the various functions had a story to tell about their Etchells sailing. The current Commodore George Meadows regaled us with his stories of the Etchells.
5 races were held over 3 days. Day one saw light winds and bumpy seas from the East which called for patience and concentration powering these boats through the chop. Day 2 saw Big breeze from the North. 18-25 knots were recorded from the RC boat. Unfortunately, day 3 saw little to no wind and after waiting patiently for close to three hours racing was abandoned by the Race committee.
HYC was represented by 2 boats, Slim with Alan Gray as skipper and crew Jean Racatte and Matt Skafel who finished 20th and Still Lostboys with skipper Paul Laflamme and crew members Debbie Hodgson and Mark Perry, who finished 31st. Also representing the region was PCYC's Keith Mathews and crew who finished 22nd. The competition was very strong with former Olympians, America's Cup, past North American and World Champion sailors filling the ranks.
The RCYC put on a great show for us, on and off the water everything was well organized and timely. The food and hospitality was second only to that offered by HYC. If you ever have a chance to go to RCYC and sail the area you are in for a treat. The RCYC facilities are fabulous and the views of the Toronto skyline are nothing short of spectacular. The sailing is pretty awesome as well. If you have never gone to an outside regatta you should try it. You will meet great people, learn a lot, have fun and it will also remind you of what a special yacht club we have hear at HYC.
The RCYC put on a great show for us, on and off the water everything was well organized and timely. The food and hospitality was second only to that offered by HYC. If you ever have a chance to go to RCYC and sail the area you are in for a treat. The RCYC facilities are fabulous and the views of the Toronto skyline are nothing short of spectacular. The sailing is pretty awesome as well. If you have never gone to an outside regatta you should try it. You will meet great people, learn a lot, have fun and it will also remind you of what a special yacht club we have hear at HYC.
