Canadian 49er Class Association

49er North America:

 Lots of stuff to talk about here, so as to not load up your inboxes with multiple emails. Please read everything since we’re trying to beef up fleet participation…

 The National Event * July 31 to August 1, Toronto, ON
The 5^th event of the Canadian 49er GP is taking place this coming weekend. We should have 10 or more boats. Those who are border-line, just commit and we can have 12 or 15! All are welcome: novice to Olympic calibre, old or new rigs!

 SEIKO 49ER.CA CHAMPIONSHIPS * AUGUST 21 TO 25, KINGSTON, ON
The 6^th event of the Canadian 49er GP is taking place in 4 weeks at the annual CORK Olympic Classes Regatta. THIS IS THE BIG EVENT OF THE YEAR (** do not miss !! **). We will have 20 to 30 (or more) boats on the line (adding to last year’s tally of 19). This event is sponsored by Seiko and 49er.ca . Prizes include watches, spinnakers, T shirts, champagne, champagne flutes and a brand new trophy. This will be an amazing event with lots of boats. Again, all are welcome and encouraged to attend: novice to Olympic calibre; new or old rigs. For those that haven’t confirmed, PLEASE come! The event will culminate with a Medal Race on the final afternoon, in front of the breakwater at Portsmouth Olympic Harbour, with video coverage.

 Notice of Race can be found here: http://cork.org/events/cork_ocr.html . Early registration ends July 31, so be sure to register this week to save $70.

 Be sure to attend this great event.

 Canadian 49er Class Meeting * 6 PM, August 22, 2010, Kingston, ON
As agreed at the 2009 Canadian Class Meeting, we will have our 2010 class meeting during the Seiko 49er.ca Championships. This is your chance to have a say in how the class is run. Topics to be covered are:

• Regattas
• 2011 Schedule
• Nominations
• Website
• Parts Support
• Other Business

If you have any issues which you would like to talk about, please send them to me before August 15^th. All are welcome (and encouraged) to attend (including USA and MEX). See website for more details.

 The meeting will take place at 6 PM on Sunday, August 22, 2010 at Portsmouth Tavern, adjacent to the regatta site for the Seiko 49er.ca Championships. Attendees are responsible for their own beer purchasing.

 Ontario Champs * September 25 to 26, Kingston, ON
The 7^th (and final) event of the Canadian 49er GP takes place in 2 months during the annual CORK Fall Regatta. This will be the Ontario Championships and also be the culminating event for the Grand Prix for the Cushman Wakefield Lepage half rudder trophy.

 Please make sure this event is on your calendar.

 49er Atlantic Coast Champs * October 9 to 10, New York, NY
The American YC High Performance Dinghy Open has invited us back to their cool event, which takes place during a holiday weekend (CAN – Thanksgiving, USA – Columbus Day). It is definitely good to get a regatta going in NE USA. I think we will try to make this our Atlantic Coast Championship for 2010 and 2011. This will also be a good lead up to the 2011 US Nationals at The Gorge next July (to generate US participation).

 More details to follow, but mark your calendars today!

 49er North America Shop
As most of you probably know, Pitch Pole Skiff Products in Montreal has taken over from Vanguard (aka LaserPerformance) as the official licensed dealer for 49er parts in North America. We have all parts in stock and ready to ship anywhere in USA, MEX or CAN. This includes new boats, masts, sails, etc.

 Even if you are going to buy a new boat for the European season (then ship it back home), contact us and we can give you a quote! We aim to have competitive prices and to properly support the fleet.

 So make sure that whatever part you need for skiff sailing, check out the online shop www.49er.ca . We also carry other parts like foot-straps, trap pucks, tillers, trap harnesses, etc…

 49er NA 2011 Schedule
Here is a preview of the NA Schedule for next year. Try to mark your calendars, plan ahead and make some of these events. We need to get commitments from more people to attend events to grow the class (especially on West Coast and USA):

 Date                             Event                           Location                                  Notes

January 23 – 29             Rolex Miami OCR          Miami, FL, USA                         ISAF World Cup, CAN & USA Nat’l Team

February 17 – 20            North Americans            Valle de Bravo, MEX                   Grade C1, free shipping, free housing

May 21 – 22                  Toronto Icebreaker         Toronto, ON, CAN                      Canadian 49er GP

June 4 – 5                     Ottawa Skiff GP             Ottawa, ON, CAN                      Canadian 49er GP

June 25 – 26                  RCYC Skiff Regatta        Toronto, ON, CAN                      Canadian 49er GP

July 23 – 24                   49er Unlimited Regatta   Kingston, ON, CAN                    Canadian 49er GP

July 28 – 31                   US Nationals                 The Gorge, OR, USA                  Awesome venue! USA GP? ISAF Grade 2/3

August 20 – 24              49er Canadians (CORK) Kingston, ON, CAN                    Canadian 49er GP, ISAF Grade 2

September 24 – 25         Ontario Champs             Kingston, ON, CAN                    Canadian 49er GP

October 8 – 9                Atlantic Coast Champs   New York, NY, USA                   USA Grand Prix? ISAF Grade 3

December 9 – 21           ISAF Worlds                  Perth, WA, AUS                        Grade W, Entry quota = 100      

See you all soon, I hope! And thanks to Seiko for supporting the local class!

Check out this sweet 49er video from France:

 The 29er Canadien championship was held at Kingston Yacht Club July 24-25th. This was also the long-awaited return of the Unlimited Regatta for the 49er class!
8 boats made it for this fantastic venue where you only have to sail 5 minutes out of the harbour to be on the race course. The regatta was run on a short course to keep the fleet together. 
Jeff Boyd was on the race comitte and he ran 6 races on the first day with winds between 12 and 18 knots.
It was classic Kingston waves and….pitch poles!  I Sailing with John Curtis, who was trying the boat for the first time, we had probably one of the hardest crash when we jumped a wave on a downwind and crashed into the next one.  We both hit the forstay pretty hard but got the boat back up and finished the race.
In these hard conditions a lot of the boats could not complete the races. Dave Morri had to go in for some repairs but made it back out for the rest of the day.
After day one it was Gordon Cook & Paul Evert in first, us in second and the Ottawa boys in 3rd very close to us.

Day 2 was very shifty with ligher wind from the north. We had some huge shifts and velocity changes that made for hard tactical calls.  Gordo had another great day, Dave Morri made a great come back but it wasn’t enought to take 3rd. We finally won one race and secured a 2nd over all.

See you all next weekend!

Results: http://kingstonyachtclub.com/racing/results/2010/index.cfm?result=regatta/49er%20Unlimited.htm

PS – THE SEIKO 49ER.CA CHAMPIONSHIPS TAKE PLACE AUGUST 21 – 25, 2010 IN KINGSTON

49er Canada and NE USA Fleet:

In 2 weeks, we will be having our fifth event of the season: the inaugural National Event.

 This year the The National Event will be held at the National Yacht Club on July 31 & August 1, 2010 in Toronto’s Humber Bay. This is your official reminder to get the boat tuned up and come sailing!

 Toronto is a world class city with lots to do and see.

 You can find the Notice of Race & Registration here: http://www.thenyc.com/racing_regattas_dinghy.php?sub=9&subSub=2 .

 We expect to have 12+ boats, so it should be a good event. That’s not even counting any of the US guys, either! We want you US East Coast guys to come up and race with us. This should be a great event with a minimum of 10 49er’s, if not close to 15! It doesn’t matter if you have an old rig, come and race! You’ll still learn tonnes (rig setup and boat-handling).

 Finally, here’s who we’re expecting for The National Event:

CAN 123 – Dubreucq / Parekh
CAN 1135 – Cook / Ehvert
CAN 946 – Mori / Barnes
CAN 819 – Soosalu / Blumer
CAN 501 – Lakota / Lumber
CAN 603 – Brodeur / TBD
CAN 807 – Kmiec / Little
CAN 821 – Cook / Blake
CAN 239 – Berry / Kartner
CAN 943 – Crossley / Crossley
CAN 608 – Brazier / Waldie
CAN 1096 – Chouinard / Chouinard
USA 090 – Pete Kitt / TBD
USA 1097 – Burd / Pesch
USA 402 – Rivlin / Rensselaer 

This event is part of our Canadian East Coast GP Circuit and counts for GP points towards the half rudder trophy from Cushman Wakefield & Lepage.

 So you better all be there (with new or old rigs)!

 PS – THE SEIKO 49ER.CA CHAMPIONSHIPS TAKE PLACE AUGUST 21 – 25, 2010 IN KINGSTON

49er NA:

Does anybody anticipate needing parts in the near future in NA?

 We have a VERY large shipment being dispatched from overseas TODAY (Thursday, July 22) and if you think you might need anything, let me know.

Those who have already told me what they want, disregard this email.

 Thanks.

PS – THE SEIKO 49ER.CA CHAMPIONSHIPS TAKE PLACE AUGUST 21 – 25, 2010 IN KINGSTON 

Odyssey Time Inc. has agreed to sponsor the 2010 49er Canadian Championship and the concurrent 2010 29erXX North American Championship. This partnership with the local North American fleet builds on a running three year relationship between Seiko and the International 49er and 29erXX Classes. Since 2007, Seiko has been the official watch partner of the International 49er Class. In 2008 Seiko joined forces with the new and growing 29erXX class for women.

The 2010 Seiko 49er.ca Championship & Seiko 29erXX North Americans will be held from August 21 – 25 during Kingston, Ontario’s annual Canadian Olympic Training Regatta (CORK). This event will be preceded by the North American Championships for the similar 29er class. This will be Seiko’s 2^nd year running in Kingston, after having sponsored the 2009 49er North Americans.

The renewal of this partnership builds symmetry between Seiko’s efforts in Europe and in North America. “This event will help align two strong, bold entities,” said Trevor Parekh, President of the Canadian 49er Class Association. “We are pleased to continue our relationship with Seiko locally to help build both brands in North America in 2010,” said Parekh.

Jen Morgan Glass, 29erXX International Class President, added that, “Seiko has been a huge supporter of the 29erXX since the beginning and our class has seen much success as a result. Seiko and the “9er” brand share similar qualities: the need for precision and performance. This makes us a great match.”

The International 49er Class is the Men’s High Performance Dinghy for the 2012 Olympics in London. It has been an Olympic class since its selection in 1997. The class has nearly 1200 boats sailing on 6 continents. This year the class adopted a modern, full carbon mast to increase its performance. It is by far the most spectacular of all Olympic class sailboats and provides some of the most exciting racing. There are over 100 49er boats across North America.

The 29erXX is the Elite version of the 29er, with a high-powered rig for the existing 29er hull.  The 29erXX features a square-head main, larger jib, masthead kite and twin-trapeze which add power and excitement to the standard 29er hull.  All of these upgrades fit nicely on to the existing 29er platform, so upgrading is simplicity itself. The 29erXX narrowly missed Olympic selection for 2012. Regardless, the class continues to grow worldwide as sailors enjoy the technical, tactical, physical and fast nature of the boat. For more information please visit: www.29erXX.com .

Odyssey Time Inc. is a Canadian company that distributes brands of watches and clock for the Canadian Market. Currently we are the authorized distributor for the following brands: Seiko watches and clocks, Pulsar watches, Lorus watches, and Rotary watches. The company was established in January 1998. Our office and our service center are located in Toronto, Ontario. With our current sales force we are able to sell our products lines right across Canada.

49er Canada and NE USA Fleet:

In less than 2 weeks, we will be having our fourth event of the season: the famous and renowned 49er Unlimited Regatta. This used to be a very successful regatta but was abandoned a few years ago. We are re-invigorating this event and bringing it back!

 This year the 49er Unlimited Regatta will be held at the Kingston Yacht Club on July 24 & 25, 2010 on Kingston’s lovely water-front. This is your official reminder to get the boat tuned up and come sailing!

 Kingston, the fresh water sailing capital of the world, is a beautiful city with lots to do and see (and eat). The water is warm and the wind is always good in July. It is also very close to the border at Syracuse – so there’s no excuse for you US guys! In short, Kingston is amazing.

 You can find the Notice of Race here: http://kingstonyachtclub.com/racing/pdf/29erNOR-2010.pdf .

 Housing may be available (see NOR). There are also plenty of great lodging options (Rez, student housing, camping, B&B, hotel) – see the CORK website (http://www.cork.org).

 We expect to have 15+ boats, so it should be a good event. That’s not even counting any of the US guys, either! That’s why you’re copied in (Froto &  Rome; Mick Armstrong; Peter Brighton; Carl & Pete; Vlasta; Dave Dickerson; Brian DeBrincat; Jason & Clay; Jeff Steele). We want you US East Coast guys to come up and race with us. This should be a great event with a minimum of 10 49er’s, if not close to 20! It doesn’t matter if you have an old rig, come and race! You’ll still learn tonnes (rig setup and boat-handling).

 Additionally, on the afternoon of Friday July 23, there may be a clinic for those that are interested (see NOR).

 The 49er fleet will launch from Kingston YC. This will be confirmed to you next week.

 Finally, here’s who we’re expecting for Unlimited:

CAN 123 – Dubreucq / JC
CAN 1135 – Cook / Ehvert
CAN 1075 – Frost / Arbuckle
CAN 946 – Mori / Barnes|
CAN 819 – Soosalu / Blumer
CAN 603 – Brodeur / TBD
CAN 821 – Cook / Blake
CAN 608 – Brazier / Waldie 

 This event is part of our Canadian East Coast GP Circuit and counts for GP points towards the half rudder trophy from Cushman Wakefield & Lepage.

 So you better all be there (with new or old rigs)!

 PS – THE SEIKO 49ER.CA CHAMPIONSHIPS TAKE PLACE AUGUST 21 – 25, 2010 IN KINGSTON

As temperatures soar back home in NA, a number of American and Canadian teams are in Poland for the 2010 Seiko 49er Europeans. Racing began Monday (July 5th) and continues until the 10th.

Racing Complete
After a few days racing in varibale conditions, the racing in Gdynia is finished. The Brits grabbed spots 1, 3, 6 and 12. Top NA crew was Gord Cook & Hunter Lowden (CAN) in 23rd overall, with Storck & Moore (USA) finishing 24th after crew Trevor Moore came down with Bronchitis and couldn’t sail the last two days of the event.

Hunter Lowden commented, “It seems as though we have our work cut out for us. After a few good races and more than a few disasters, thrills and spills we finished near the bottom of gold fleet. We weren’t really contenders for the top 10 except in a few races when we had the boat dialed in. Most of our points resulted from simple but big mistakes, and we will be looking to be more of a threat in future events.”

Meanwhile, Erick Storck was pragmatic about their progress thus far: “Boat preparation, on-water training, physical conditioning, tune-up events, sports psychology; all are important keys to success in this Olympic Sailing game.  Health of the crew, however, can trump all.  Trevor has been fighting an illness since the first day of the event.  After fighting through the first four days of racing, he had nothing left in his tank.  The bronchitis (as diagnosed by his Polish doctor) finally took its toll and kept us from getting on the water.  We missed three light air races, giving us some time to reflect on the past month we’ve spent in Europe. We have made some huge strides in our time here.  We’ve won races, posted consistent scores in most, and avoided big mistakes, for the most part.  Eighteen months into this campaign, we have narrowed down our to-do list immensely.  We are scheduling our next year of training right now, and while we have plenty to do, our goal of qualifying for and medaling in the 2012 Olympics is a definitively surmountable task. The 49er fleet is advancing at a tremendous rate.  The level continues to rise, and we must rise along with it and then some to get to where we want to be.”

Complete NA results:
Gord Cook & Hunter Lowden (CAN 049) – 23rd
Erik Storck & Trevor Moore (USA 1105) – 24th
Peet Must & Carl Horrocks (USA 817) – 37th
Billy Gooderham & Ian Hogan (CAN 1185) – 38th
Jonny Goldsberry & Charlie Smythe (USA 1054) – 46th
Jon Ladha & “Danger” Dan Inkpen (CAN 097) – 53rd
Oliver Tooler & Hans Henken (USA 883) – 66th

Next Grade 1 event is Skandia Sail for Gold in Weymouth, GBR from August 10 – 15.

Day 3 – End of Qualifying
Congrats to two of our NA teams! Erik Storck / Trevor Moore (USA) and Gord Cook / Hunter Lowden (CAN) qualified for Gold Fleet in 19th and 23rd places, respectively.

The other big story is Billy & Ian making a charge and moving up another handful of spots as the breeze suited their style a little better again on Day 3.

Racing continues through Saturday with the final series, followed by a medal race.

Day 2
The big story today was the better breeze. Tuesday saw 10 to 20 knots on the race course with big puffs and big shifts. Apparently there were plenty of capsized boats on the course! Jonathan Ladha (CAN) compared it to the Worlds in Bahamas:  “(Racing) was close to shore, windy, and real shifty. It was so frustrating because we were launched sometimes, but as you can imagine, it’s easier to drop back when in front of the pros, but it hurts!”

The two big stories for the NA contingent are: Billy & Ian, moving up 30 full spots in the day’s 4 races, moving them from deep in bronze fleet to a comfortable silver fleet position; and Erik & Trevor moving up 14 spots to 15th overall after 7 races, including a bullet in the day’s final race. Erik commented, “The difference between a 10th and a 1st today was miniscule.  We can tell from experience!  The wind was at such an angle that the right side would generally have more wind as it was away from the shore, but the left side would have some phenomenal pressure and favorable shifts that were less reliable.  It was important to get off the starting line clean and be able to play the wind where you were.  That said, one boat could be in 18 knots and pointing almost directly to the mark while another only 10 boat-lengths away might be in only 8 knots and have no way of getting to the more favorable breeze.  It certainly made for exciting racing!”

Racing continues Wednesday with2 final qualifying races.

Updated Results
Photos

Day 1
Conditions are light with crowded race tracks, as the 82 boats sail on two courses.

Jon Ladha of Newfoundland had this to say: “Today it was pretty light and shifty, but decent, challenging conditions. Our top speed was good . Our boat to boat decisions were good, but our big picture calls should have been a bit better. Tomorrow we’ll have a bit more breeze as a system moves in from the north west. We have two days of qualification left, then they split us into 3 fleets. We’re charging forwards, and tomorrow we’ll move up.”

Meanwhile, Erik Storck (USA) had this to say about the racing: “We had a fair first day at the Europeans. With the onshore wind at about 3-8 knots, free space was at a premium in the large fleet. We are happy that our third start was very good and that we improved in our scores throughout the day.  It is a long event.  As they say, you cannot win the event on the first day, but you can lose it!  We have not lost it.  We are very much in the game where we want to be, and we cannot wait for the next two days’ of qualifying series racing to get under way.”

Some NA teams are doing quite well: Gord & Hunter are sitting in 19th with a 4th in the first race. Carl & Peet are doing quite well in 23rd, and in Gold Fleet contention. Erik & Trevor are hot on their heels at 29th. Additionally, the newbie team of Oliver Toole and Hans Henken on USA 883 had a 4th place finish in the day’s 2nd flight!

Regatta Website
Results
Photos

Hello 49er North America,

The Heineken High Performance Dinghy Open, hosted by American Yacht Club in Rye, NY is scheduled this year for Oct. 9-10.  The event includes 505s, Vipers, A Cats, Moths, etc.  Last year there were over 100 boats entered.  Coming from the area, I can say that chances of having wind at that time are relatively good.  Also, Heineken is the main sponsor. 

They would like to know if there is interest in having a 49er fleet at the event.  I regret to say that we cannot do it because of a national team conflict.  If anyone is interested, please let me know.  This would be a great way to get some good racing in with an RC already put together.

Finally, my contact at AYC is keen to get this into everyone’s schedule going forward for 2011, etc.  We could make it an annual Atlantic Coast Championship.  Please email me with your thoughts (or post a comment below) and I will be happy to coordinate with them.

Best,

Erik Storck
East Coast USA 49er Rep

 What made the RCYC Skiff Regatta such a different event, was that everyone helped each-other out, even during racing. The leaders of the pack, Matt Dubreucq and Trevor Parekh held debriefs that taught many basic lessons and really increased our understanding of the boat. During racing they would even give advise in hopes of trying to catch them!

Results: http://www.rcyc.ca/getattachment/Doc-Types/Regattas/Regatta-Logistics/SkiffJune27-(1).pdf.aspx

Group Debrief: http://www.pitchpoleenterprises.com/49er-class/?p=383 

Canadian GP Standings after 3 regattas: http://www.pitchpoleenterprises.com/49er-class/?page_id=319