ABYC Speakers' Bureau

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Monday August 20, 7:00pm @ ABYC Clubhouse

Introduced by Craig Sangster of CS Investment Counsel Corporation

The ABYC Junior Race Team just finished off what was probably our busiest week of the season.  In the past thirty-seven days the team has attended eight regattas, in six different cities, three provinces/states and two countries.

At the start of the week, Junior Race Team member Ian Doell went independently to USODA Opti New England Championship and Tea Trials in Newport, Rhode Island.  Racing in a fleet of 321 Optis, Ian placed 255.  The fleet was so big, races were done in fleets of 81 boats.  Ian got a chance to race in the ocean against very different competition.  His best race was a 30 of 82.  Overall, an excellent time was had by Ian and his Dad in Newport.

Photo - Sue Gilbert Evans

Kate Evans and Coach Linor Berezin headed off to Port Credit Yacht Club for the It's Not Easy Being Green regatta, for beginner Opti Racers.  Kate and Linor had an amazing time.  The first day was a clinic with practice races.  Kate discovered how much she learned this summer and was sailing at the top of the fleet.  On Friday, the weather forecast called for storms and extreme winds, but the weather held in the morning.  Kate had an excellent day with three races, coming in 2nd. in one of them.  Kate placed 3rd. overall and was 2nd.place female at the regatta. 

The remainder of the team headed off to Kingston for Opti CORK with coaches Sarah Douglas and Mike Goldfarb.  Our trip started on a sad note when sailor Martin Staadecker fell when playing at the club.  He injured his arm and wasn't able to come to the regatta.  He was definitely missed.  The team arrived in Kingston a day early so that they could head out on the water and train in Kingston.  We got a chance to train with an out of country team, with sailors from the Cayman Islands and Jamaica.  On Friday, the team of Shawn Gershman, Quinten Beelik, Ian Doell and Jack Peabody met for a Friday afternoon of three races.  The first day was an excellent showing for the Junior Race Team with Shawn finishing the day in 8th. On Saturday we got three more races in.  Shawn, Ian, Quinten and Jack all showed skills that they have learned all summer long.  Everyone on the team had moments where they were sailing the best that they have been all summer.  On Sunday, Quinten had to leave a day early as he was headed off to camp.  The remaining three had a chance to rig up in the rain and head out in what turned out to be a very windy day.  In the first race, Jack Peabody showed endless determination.  His boat filled with water multiple times and was being thrown off course.  But, Jack turned down the safety boats offers of assistance, bailed his boat and fought through it, ensuring that he crossed the finish line and completed the race.  In the second race of the day, the winds were up to 20 knots, gusting to 23.  Ian Doell had to work his hardest hiking the entire race and doing everything that he could to keep the boat up.  His hard work paid off as he got a 21 out of 70 in the regattas final race.  Ian crossed the line exhausted but very proud of his hard work.  Overall the team had a great time in Kingston.  Shawn finished 14th, Ian 36th, Quinten 59th and Jack 65th.

Having finished our thrilling four weeks of constant regattas the Junior Race Team has returned to our home at ABYC and will be training for the final two weeks of the summer season.  However, the first fall regatta is just around the corner. 

How is your Olympic hangover?  For many Canadian sailing fans, last week's routine included watching the medal races live online with their morning coffee. 

For the athletes, the trip to Weymouth was the culmination of many years of commitment, racing, qualifying and ... finally... the honour of representing their countries. 

Nigel Cochrane grew up sailing at ABYC and represented Canada in the 470 class in both the 1988 and 1992 Olympics.  During the 2012 Olympics, Nigel served as part of the Canadian team as coach of our country's Men's 470 team.  He understands the experience of representing one's country at the Olympic level.

It was an honour and thrill but a tremendous amount of burden as well.  The Olympic Games are a special event and really one of a kind sailing competition.  The opportunity to win a medal is just so difficult to make happen.  You have to be the best in your country at just the right time and this is never easy.  I had fierce competition to win the right to represent our country and it as a real battle that tested me to the max. and once you get over that hurdle you have to prepare yourself  to be the best in the world in an event where the stakes are so much higher than any other moment in your life.  It is like buying a million dollar lottery ticket with only 27 other ticket holders and now you are in a battle to increase your odds of winning.  Every event up until that day does not really matter because everyone feels they will get their chance to win at the Olympics but the Olympics is the end.  It is the last event of the quadrennial and it is the only one that really matters.  All the events in the 4 year period prior to the Games are just preparation for the Games.  It is the ultimate challenge in sailboat racing and a responsibility that is impossible to take lightly.  The stress on these young sailors is just such a huge weight and they all carry the burden differently and in their own way.

It is such a joy and a pleasure to try and help these kids not only have peak performance but to also enjoy their Olympic experience and not have it crushed and destroyed by the intensity.

Nigel has been a professional sailing coach for almost 15 years.  He began working with Canadian 470 sailors Mike Leigh and Luke Ramsay earlier this year.    The young team finished 25^th in the regatta http://www.mikeandluke.com/  or http://www.facebook.com/mikeleighandlukeramsay   (great photos on FB)

I was coaching the #1 ranked women's 470 team in the World and did everything I could to help them prepare and win their Olympic selection at the US trials.  Unfortunately we came up short and tied the other American team and lost the tie breaker.  I had noticed Mike and Luke while I was coaching the US women's team and was very impressed with how quickly they were progressing.  They did not have much funding but I managed to help them raise some money so that I could work with them and assist them in their Olympic selection.  They did not have any pressure from any other Canadian teams but they had to make a very high international standard at the World Championships in Barcelona in May in order to win one of the only 7 remaining quota spots allocated to the men's 470. 

We trained very hard together and the team made huge improvements.  It was a fabulous journey that ended up with a spot at the Olympic Games and the opportunity to represent Canada here in London.

Olympic Sailing Venue - Weymouth

August 18 - LOSHRS 100 Mile Race

August 18 - Royals Weekend

August 18 - 22 - CORK ORC (29er) 

August 25 - EYC Level & Open Regatta

August 28 - Sept. 1 - Youth Nationals (Lasers & 29ers) 

September 08 - QCYC Open Regatta

September 8 - Cornish Hen - RHYC (Lasers & 29ers) 

September 15 - LOSHRS PCYC to Dalhousie

September 16 - LOSHRS Dalhousie to PCYC

September 22 - Fall CORK (Lasers & 29ers) 

September 22 - Donald Summerville Memorial Race - ABYC

September 30 - Boswell Trophy Race