Saturday - 20 - Donald Summerville Memorial LORC Race
  Saturday - 27 - Doubletime/Black Pearl Challenge Race

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Mike Macdonald

 

Please join Ron's Friends and Family

Sunday, August 24, 2014, 2:00 - 5:00pm

Ashbridge's Bay Yacht Club

 Photo - Joyce Guest

 

- Mike Goldfarb, Coach - ABYC Opti Race Team

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Thank you to those who have supported the Opti Race Team fundraising efforts by purchasing t-shirts, hats and homemade cookies.  We have been working very hard to raise funds for a new coach boat.  We have raised some money, but have a lot more work to do.

 

Last week, after participating in the Opti Race Team full day program, team members Bridget Latka and Nathan Latka spent hours baking and decorating cookies with ABYC Burgees, sailboats, race flags and more.  These delicious cookies are on sale at the Bar for $12 (package of three). 100% of the funds goes towards the ABYC Junior Sailing School.   

 

A shipment of hats and t-shirts are due on Wednesday for those of you who have not yet had a chance to purchase a garment for such a great cause.  Please contact myself or the office if you would like to order.

 

The best way you can help is by donating through SailCanada.  Tax receipts will be issued for donations over $25 and this money goes directly to the Coach Boat Fund.  Please contact the office to do so.

If you are able to support the Junior Sailing School, we are looking for support in many ways including sponsors, donations and volunteers, please let me know if you can help!  We are also trying to have a silent auction and need some items.  Please let me know if you can help, thank you in advance for all of your support and thank you to those that have already supported us!

 

Mike G. Goldfarb

Coach

ABYC Opti Race Team 416-709-9054 

 

mikeg@ajsportsworld.com

 

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Well it's over and despite the weather, it looks like everyone had a good time.   

 

The number of volunteers between race management and regatta management is around the 100 mark and I need to thank all of you.  There are far too many to name by name but they know who they are and I want everyone to know I appreciate your contributions.  This event doesn't work without this tremendous effort.

 

Many thanks

 

Roger Van Vlack

Regatta Chair

 

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There were many sights & sounds to be enjoyed during LYRA week, and to us the most pleasing sights were the 8 Meter boats.  While these boats look majestic under sail, they also look just as good in harbour as seen below:

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Last week, we asked when Junior memberships were first offered at ABYC. In the LeeShore from May 2010, Club Historian Al Stapleton reproduced a message from Commodore John Gibson dated 8 December 1938 in which Gibson announced a new category of Junior members. "The Junior members will be under the supervision of responsible chaps, capable of instructing in the art of sailing.  All precautions will be taken to prevent accidents of any kind.  The fee will be nominal and the Junior member will be able to join the Senior Club without payment of the initial fee."

 

It's not clear how many (if any) juniors were actually able to participate in this program.  However, the Sailing School, with boats and instructors, was not started until the late 1950s.  Dianne Bott wrote us about the experience of her husband, Life Member Rick Bott: "When Rick was first introduced to the club in 1955 there was no junior membership but he joined the club in 1958 as a junior member and that was the first group of junior members at the club.  They were charged $5 per year and Mrs. Granton took this handful of juniors, established the junior membership and sailing school.  In approximately 1961, a junior sailing club was formed at ABYC with Ed Wilson building Blue Jays for them to be used in the training, but up till that time they were using 8' prams that were used to row out to your boat on a swing mooring.  In approximately 1962 the first paid instructor was Don Walton, who was a graduate of that first group of juniors instructed by Mrs. Granton.  At the time ABYC was very much an old boys club, and women and children were not encouraged to go to the club.  It started changing in the late '50s but even then they discouraged women & children."

 

Do you have a question about ABYC's history?  Ask From the Archives at

 

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Many people spent a lot of time over the last two years planning LYRA - no one more so than Roger Van Vlack, Regatta Chair, and Dave Steenbergen, Principal Race Officer.  Unfortunately, the wind gods decided to boycott, so it was a good thing the entertainment and food was good so no one complained.  It was also a good thing that only one race was required for a regatta, as that is all a couple of the fleets managed to get in.

ABYC boats fared very well.  Sam Robbins and the Double Time crew won the Jib and Main Division I, with Dan Gregory and Hazel Wood and the gang, second in Satori.  Third was David Cloutier in Minerve.  Shaun Carey's Whiplash was third in the Smaller Jib and Main Division.

Paul McDonald and the Vertigone gang were dominant in the PHRF Flying Sails division, winning all four of their races.  Cliff Walkington was first overall in the R Class aboard Gypsy, and Kent Paisley's Proudest Monkey placed first winning the Etchells Canadians with crew Mike Hren.

Calum Semple and his Sona crew placed first in the 10R division and third overall in IRC 3, while Bart Smit's Nautical Symphony placed first in the J80 fleet.  Winston Beckett and the crew of Fortitude were second in IRC 4.

When all of the results, including the Freeman, were stewed in the pot, the overall winners were:
LYRA IRC Champion - Jim McGuinness, our buddy from Highland Yacht Club, and Youngstown Yacht Club placed first in the Team Challenge, just ahead of ABYC's team.

Full Results are available at: http://abyc.on.ca/lyra2014/results/

Meanwhile, young Shawn Gershman took his Laser Radial off to the Great Lakes Laser Championships near Cleveland, Ohio and placed FIRST OVERALL in the very competitive 28 boat fleet.  Congratulations to Shawn!

Coming up is the Opti championships at CORK, and I am guessing ABYC's Opti race team will have a large presence.   Be sure to support the team if you haven't already by picking up your Opti Racing Cookies at the bar.  They are delicious, and were decorated by Opti sailor Nathan and his sister, Bridget and they are all for a good cause.

That's all for this week.

 

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ABYC took part in the YODE training event last week, at RCYC.  We sailed over to RCYC on Monday with strong winds that made it a difficult journey.  The entire Opti Race Team took part in this event, which consisted of two days of training followed by two days of racing.  The clinic was coached by several excellent sailors, along with the ABYC and RCYC Opti coaches.  The athletes worked extensively on their starts and improving specific skills, then applying them to practice races.  Our team had a great time training with their competitors and learning a lot of new skills.

 

Thursday and Friday brought a regatta with very light winds.  Our team worked very hard which reaped some dividends.  Emily van Rossem stayed consistent in the regatta, showing great improvement, and on Friday she ended her final race with a 1st place, securing her a 1st place overall in Green Fleet.  Emily's brother Oliver won a Sportsmanship Award.  The entire team was able to get in some excellent preparation for CORK, this week in Kingston, which several of our team members will be attending.  Keep an eye out next week for an update on how the team does in Kingston.  To see some photos from YODE and more check out our Facebook page www.Facebook.com/ABYCJuniorRaceTeam.  Also stop by the clubhouse and purchase some ABYC cookies, made and decorated by Bridget and Nathan Latka, Opti Race Team members.   

 

Photos Sue Evans/Mike Goldfarb

- Finley McEwen and Alison Wardman 

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Former ABYC Senior Race Team members, Linor Berezin and Katherine McEwen, competed at the 2014 29er World Championships at CORK from July 26th to Aug. 2nd.  There were 101 competitors from 14 countries competing at the 29er worlds.  The 29er Worlds is an open regatta with mixed and same-sex crews competing together.  After 3 days of qualifying races, Katherine and Linor were placed in the Silver fleet, i.e. the middle of the 3 fleets that the competitors were divided into.  After 3 more days of competition and 10 more races they placed 62nd out of 101 overall. They were the 11th of 34 Canadian boats, 5th of 11 all female boats and 1st Canadian all female boat.  The regatta saw all kinds of wind conditions but was dominated by 16-25 knot days with intermittent rain.  

 

We look forward to having them back at the ABYC Sailing School, where they have been coaching in the Opti Learn-to-sail program, this summer.

 

Former Opti and Senior Race Team member, Shawn Gershman, has also had some recent success.  He came in first in the Laser Radial fleet at the Laser Great Lakes Championship, Vermilion Boat Club in Ohio, from July 19-20th.