SCIRA Canada

If anyone thinks they might be interested/able to attend the Western Hemisphere and Orient Championships in Brazil please let me know ASAP. I’ve heard from one crew so far who may be attending.  Canada has 5 spots allocated, and these will be reallocated unless registrations come in before 20 April.

The Canadian Snipe Championship/Ontario Open Regatta will be held on Guelph Lake July 1- 3, 2016. Find the NOR and Registration form here. Make sure you take advantage of the Early-bird rate and register before May 31.

Thanks to all of those who paid your SCIRA dues at the GCBC sign up night. For those that didn’t. You can use the new online form. This isn’t a secure payment form so it’s wont accept payment, but you can either use your online banking to send an email transfer or send a cheque.

… and I will be handing out decals at the GCBC club cleanup day for those that have paid.

After eight years as Canadian  National Secretary, Harri Palm has stepped down and handed of the reins to Julian Inglis of Guelph Snipe Fleet 877.

As well as being a very accomplished Snipe sailor who just happened to come second at the Canadian Pan Am trials, Julian and his wife Fiona run the sailing school at Guelph Lake. Canadian Snipe sailing will be in good hands.

2016 SCIRA Can dues form

Raul Rios showed he is a definite gold medal favourite at the Pan Ams as he dominated the Snipe North Americans held at RHYC this weekend. Argentinian Luis Soubie showed his recent injury has not affected his speed as he came second with American Peter Commette third. Racing was tight in the five light air races held. Some of the mark roundings were epic with tens of boats arriving at the same time but sportsmanship prevailed as the jury had nothing to do but enjoy the perfect weather.

2015 NA Final Results

Link to photos

These two sailors are proving to be a class act. With nothing worse than than a second, Evert McLaughlin and Alex Damley-Strnad cruised to victory at the 2015 Snipe Canadian Championship held at Mississauga Sailing Club this past weekend.

Saturday was spent hanging in the parking lot waiting for breeze that never came. Sunday proved to be rainy but raceable and the PRO Bruce Buckingham managed to get four races in to save the regatta.

Second place went to JJ and Tracy Hall who were the only team to beat the winners in one race.

The rest of the scores were very close with ties at third and fourth as well as at fifth and sixth.

Sailing an almost perfect regatta, Evert McLaughlin and Alex Damley-Strnad showed that they are the class of the field at the recent Pan Am Games trials at TS&CC. These guys are easily our best bet for a Snipe medal and they deserve our congratulations and support.         

A typical Canadian smorgasbord of conditions greeted the twelve Snipe sailors on Guelph Lake who traveled from as far as New York City and Hudson, Quebec to vie for the most coveted trophy in all of sport last May 30-31 weekend.

While there is the Canada Cup, Stanley Cup and Grey Cup, none compare to ferocity with which competitors vie for the Palm D’Or Snipe Trophy. Each spring a brave group of sailors converge on Guelph Lake (AKA “the Seventh Great Lake”) and see what kind of unpredictable and challenging conditions she can offer. This year was no exception.

Saturday morning was met with warm wet winds from the SW gusting to 18knots. By the third race they had died to 4-6knots. Crews were sweating in all their foulies. Gear changes for both boat and crew were in order across the board.  A short postponement was held as thunderstorms passed over. Two more races were held before the deluge came in. The steaks were cooked in the rain. Everyone had a blast.

Sunday was 9C, windy and rainy. Broken equipment and capsizes were the order of the day. Tough stuff but four races were held before everyone headed to shore for pizza.

Harri Palm and Molly Kurvink won the event with finishes no worse than second. Chris Hains and Barb Mann were a consistent second. Colin May and George Hughes won the last race and that was enough to give them second. With a recent second place at the Pan Am trials, Julian Inglis, with Dane Kirkpatrick, was looking good but suffered some gear failure and had to settle for fourth.

With three of the teams being juniors, this regatta was also the first in awhile Canadian Junior Championship. Leo Arseneault and Gordon Milley sailed convincingly to that title. Leo also had the highlight of the regatta with a cheeky but brilliant port tack start in the sixth race.

Guelph Lake at its finest

the race committee was first class

Champagne sailing Canadian style

typical action at the leeward mark

The latest version of the NOR for the 2015 Snipe North Americans is below:

Snipe NAs NOR v6:May7:2015

Please not that, as the Homewood Suites has sold out of rooms for the regatta weekend, the accommodations information has been changed. Direct your accommodation inquiries to   http://www.tourismhamilton.com/where-to-stay

The Snipe Canadians/Ontario Open set for June 13-14 at Mississauga Sailing Club is now open for online registration here.

The NOR is here.Canadians NOR 2015-Ver 1-1