Canadian Sonar Team - Sailor of the Month

by Sail Canada on 11 Jan 2015 Canadian Sonar Team - Sailor of the Month - A flurry of sailing activity took place in Aussie land last month beginning with World Cup action in Melbourne. Olympic hopeful Isabella Bertold bounced back nicely at the Sailing World Cup Melbourne following an injury-plagued season.

Bertold’s fifth place finish and generous climb in the World Cup Radial rankings to 12th has renewed her confidence in achieving a full recovery and accomplishing her end goals. 'My knee is nearly 100% again and I am able to sail the boat pain free. I felt pretty good towards the end of Sail Melbourne, and I’m looking forward to more racing in 2015.' In Santander, Bertold qualified the country for Rio 2016 in the Radial with individual selection still on the horizon. 'I still have a goal of winning a World Championship, and to win Canada’s first Olympic medal in women’s sailing.' Miami World Cup will be Isabella’s next health checkup with the added opportunity to qualify for Toronto 2015.

On the same side of the world, it was the night before Christmas with 117 skippers across Aussie land bracing for a wild and wicked start to the 628 nautical mile race, the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race. Winds between 20 to 30 knots greeted sailors on the first night of racing, with several boats falling victim to mother natures wrath.

The brand new super maxi boat Comanche was skippered by Ken Read and crewed by 21 international sailors including Canadian Olympian Richard Clarke. The boat was designed to push the boundaries of technology and certainly lived up to all the hype breaking speed records off the start. Wild Oats XI, the most successful yacht in the event’s 70-year history, hung onto her coattails throughout, taking advantage of the conditions in the Bass Strait to ultimately capture line honors. Offshore celebrity sailor Eric Holden navigated ‘Primitive Cool’, crossing the line in 32nd.

The 2014 America’s Disabled Open Regatta hosted Sonar and 2.4mR Paralympic classes at St. Petersburg Yacht Club. The Canadian Sonar trio Paul Tingley, Logan Campbell and Scott Lutes absolutely dominated their British opponents with five wins in six races securing the overall America’s title. Hot off their silver medal performance at the IFDS Worlds, Skipper and Paralympic Gold medallist Paul Tingley is pleased with the teams’ trajectory but does not dismiss the hard work that still lies ahead of 2016. 'Our focus for the next two months will be in-boat communication, downspeed boat handling and upwind boat speed in conditions above 12 kts.' While the team is busy training in Florida, we celebrate each step of continued success by team Tingley, Lutes and Campbell with the distinguished honor of Sailor of the Month for December along with the honor of Team of the Year for 2014!