looks like Tom and I made the cut! We're officially QST athletes. We're stoked to get this season underway under the supervision of our new coach Rosie Chapman. We've been out sailing for the past couple weeks already getting tuned up for the season, and as soon as Tom finishes up his exams we'll be really ramping up the program. Our goals are to move up to the national team next season, and we'll be pushing hard for that!

Our first event is the Ice Breakers in Toronto next month, Stay Tuned!

Mike

Here's a little video the Organizers of the Rolex Miami OCR have put together. There are some great shots!



Our Most glorious moment of the regatta was captured at the 1:50 mark when we rounded the windward mark in third place!

Miami was a great regatta for us; it put us through some tough situational decisions that we'd rarely experience back home. Every time we make a tactical error we learn, and will never make that mistake again! We've got the boat going fast, now we just need to learn how to handle a fleet of aggressive Olympic hopefuls!

Day 1 of OCR started off strong with about 8 to 12 knots of breeze. We set up early to wax the hull and rig up a fresh grey kite. Shortly after launching, we checked in with race committee, adjusted the rig to base +6 and checked out the race course to spot favoured ends. It looked pretty square.

Overall the day was a tough one. There were 3 races, two general recall starts, and a breeze that shifted a bit and eventually tapered off.

Several times we were late pulling the trigger on the start and had to bail out on a port tack to get a clear lane. Eventually we realized that the left side of the course was favoured due to the outgoing tide through the Rickenbacker Bridge and a slight shore lift.

We had some good moments, but have some ground(or water) to make up for day 2. Similar wind conditions are expected tomorrow.

We've had our issues.. but we'll try to keep a steady supply of wallets up! check it out!

We had a great day training saturday with the Ottawa boys Rob Frost and Tom Arbuckle and Local Heros Matt Dubreucq and Trevor Parehk. We ran some drills for a while untill our support boat came out to set us a race course. Course Set: 3.. 2.. 1.. Capsize, capsize, capsize. The heavy air forcasted moved in and we were all swimming; Time to head in. Matt and Rob got away before things got to heavy, Tom and I had to fix our spinnaker first, causing us to miss out on the last lull home. It was now blowing 30, and we couldnt bear away, let alone keep the boat upright going off the breeze when the puffs hit; the 49er just doesent work in this much wind. We waited around for a while, but it just wasn't letting up. When we noticed ambulances, fire trucks and police cars on shore we decided it was time to get in. After declining assistance from the sauvetage boats, we took down the main, and headed for the club. Even under jib alone, Can 1139 was planing and moving around 10 knots.

We hate to see wasted tax dollars on recue boats and firetrucks standing by. When we go sailing this late in the season we always being a radio and typically have a safety boat of our own when its really windy. So please, citizens on the lakeshore, if you see a capsised boat, do NOT call 911. One boat even had a helicopter show up on the scene one windy morning this summer. If only that money could have gone into new sails...

The Racing season is now over, but we won't be done sailing untill the snow is flying, or maybe a little after that..

Stay Tuned.

And I love puns.

Wouldn't you do just about anything to get your hands on one of these?

It was a light weekend in Kingston. We barely got 2 races off Saturday when the wind gave out. Sunday Was a little better with three races before race committee threw in the towel. Tom and I sailed pretty consistently, made no major errors and it payed off with a third place overall. We tied for second with Rob Frost and Tom Arbuckle, but they took the tie breaker having more second places than us.

Two Days to Go.
Tom and I have been sailing full time here in Kinston getting ourselves in shape for the OCR regatta in two days. We came early to train in the K-Town big breeze and breeze we got. Last Wednesday we found our speed limit, only able to bear away half of the time in huge wind, and monster rollers Kingston is known for. We also experienced the strange sensation of the boat translating directly to leeward as the board left the water jumping out of waves upwind. That day we were stoked to just get back in… All in all, we got what we wanted, and should be a lot more solid in breeze now.

Funny weather here in K-town. A lingering Low pressure system has been hanging around causing light breeze. We took the time to fix a few things, improve others, all the while working our light breeze skills.

Looks like the high pressure is returning and so shall the prevailing K town thermal! So if any of you 49er guys are reading this.. Get out here, and come do some sailing! Tom and I are waiting..

Tom and I finished fifth out of the 17 boats that came to race for the Canadian Champion title last weekend at Kingston Yacht Club. We are happy with our results and progression so far. We had some great races. We know what our strong points are and what needs work, and we will WORK.

Speaking of work...

As of Monday, Tommy and I will be punching out for good and hitting the road back to Kingston to try and keep a promise we made to a great man.

A little under a year ago, Tom and I showed up to CORK with an old boat, old sails, old EVERYTHING. After a solid first day, the old girl began to break down. First it was the sails, then the pole, and then the wings. Anything that could break, did. We quickly dropped to near last. Then we met Eain Thompson. Eain watched us haul our wet gear back and forth while he was living aboard his Carver 42 "Aurora" and finally asked what we were up to. He listened to our tales of daily gear failures and handed us his card, and encouraged us to email him. This changed everything for us. Eain offered to get our gear up to par and that's exactly what he did. We are now racing on a current design rig with hull number 1139; a much newer, stiffer, and faster hull. We now have the confidence in our gear to push the boat to its limits without her breaking beneath our feet, and we owe it all to Mr. Thompson.

Eain asked us to place an "Eain's Buoys" logo on our sails. We did. Eain also asked us to win CORK this year and Eains Buoy's are going to give the fleet a run for their money. So this Monday, we are dropping everything and heading to the venue three weeks early. We want to have Kingston’s big breeze and waves mastered. We want our boat dialed in perfect, and we want to win it for Eain.

For those of you that do not know. Eain Thompson lost his battle to cancer this past May. His attitude during the year we knew him was remarkable. He had a strong willed, no bullshit attitude that Tom and I respect greatly.

This CORK is for Eain.

The Ian Bruce cup went to Trevor Parehk and Matt Dubreucq. We were neck and neck all weekend but in the end we were down two points. We're very happy with the results non the less!

Canadian championships in less than two weeks!

What a great event! Sailing alongside the X forties really does make the 49er look like a little toy!

We'll be one of three Canadian teams representing the 49er class at Boston event in two weeks! More on the event here:

http:////www.extremesailingseries.com/news/view/extreme-40s-49ers-skydivers-boston-here-we-come

Finally, after much anticipation, all our exams are finished.

Time to switch gears, pull the boat out of the shed, and replace the bookshelf with more relevant material (such as higher performance sailing).

Unfortunately the weekend weather wasn't quite the start we had in mind. The boat went together well, but the 35 knot wind coming out of the west prevented us from going for a ride. There aren't any support boats in the water yet, so we need to be extra careful.

We also had a meeting with the Montreal 49er fleet discussing training and racing schedules, which will likely start this week.

That should unlock the last of the ice in BYC harbor. Sailing starts next week!
Gotta wrap up school in the mean time..

Stay tuned!

Here she is in the final stages. laid up, pressed!

For my design Project this year I decided to Build an "all natural" surf board, check it out! She's made from recycled boxes, flax fibers, and soy bean derived epoxy.

So far the core is done, and I Flaxed the rails. Tomorrow I'll be flaxing the whole thing and vacuum bagging the layup, stay tuned!

Here's whats done so far:

The 49er class has recently paired up with the extreme sailing series! This could mean a lot more attention for our class. For those of you that don't know, the ESS is an exciting series in which 40 foot catamarans are raced..

(yachtingworld.com)

Tom and I will be one of five boats selected for racing at the north American debut event this July in Boston, Ma. The Regatta will include both the extreme 40's and 49ers. The event will also be showcasing "theatre" style racing in which the short courses will have port and starboard boundaries in order for spectator boats to get close. This type of cramped racing is sure to bring on some thrills and spills, we're stoked.

For more info on the partnership...

Welcome to our web site! Feel free to take a look around. We will post all 49er related (or just cool) news here to keep you all in the loop! Tom and I are looking forwards to an exciting season full of regattas! Here's whats on the menu so far..

May 21–22: Toronto Icebreaker.

June 4–5: Ottawa Skiff Grand Prix.

June 25–26: RCYC Skiff Regatta, Toronto.

June 30-4: Extreme Sailing Series, Boston.

July 22–24: 49er Canadian Championships, Kingston.

August 12-14: Pacific Coast Champs, Santa Cruz.

August 20–24: CORK OCR, Kingston.

September 3–4: Montreal Skiff Open.

September 17–18: Fall CORK, Kingston.

October 8-9: Heinekin HPDO, Rye, NY.


In addition We'll be attending all three 49er training camps here in Montreal:

* May 14 – 15
* June 18 – 19
* July 16 – 17

That's all for now, check back soon.. We'll be hitting the water as soon as the ice gives way!