Sail Canada names Sailors of the Month for July
by Sail Canada on 9 Aug 2014
Members of the Henri Lloyd team celebrate winning the overall race on the podium after the Round the World Race Finish in London. Clipper Ventures
The Canadian sailing season is in full throttle this month with several national championships held across the country including the 49er and 49erFX championships at St. Margaret's Bay, NS. CST coach Mark Asquith swapped his coachboat for the skiff, sailing with Jon Ladha (RNYC) and showing the young how it's done with the championship title. Dave Mori and Justin Barnes (RCYC) placed second overall while Erin Rafuse and Danielle Boyd (RNSYS/KYC) dominated their fleet comfortably capturing the 49erFX title.
On the other side of the country, Isabella Bertold (RVYC) won the Laser Radial Canadian Championships at RVYC and Evert McLaughlin (RCYC) snagged the Snipe Canadian title for the second consecutive year at RHYC.
The young Finn guns took on the Finn Junior World Championships in Hoorne Netherlands with Martin Robitaille (CVL/RCYC) placing sixth and rookie Kyle Martin placing and impressive eighth out of 32 boats.
Canadian Olympians Richard Clarke, Mike Wolfs and teammate Curtis Florence won the oldest annual freshwater distance race in the world, the 106th Chicago Race to Mackinac sailing on a Swan 42 named 'To The Moon'.
The grand finale of the Clipper Round the World Race took place in London with the title already in hand. Canadian Skipper Eric Holden and the Henri Lloyd crew endured 11 long months at sea battling hurricanes, tornadoes, sea sickness, and sleep depravity in the world’s longest ocean race. Team Henri Lloyd, including five Canadian crew members, successfully sailed the 70 ft yacht into St. Katharines' dock on July 12th as champions of the 2013-14 Clipper Round the World Race.
Amateur sailors with diverse backgrounds, ranging in age from 25-75 were led around the world by first-ever Canadian skipper, Eric Holden (Vancouver, BC). 'Whenever I thought the team couldn't be pushed any harder, they dug deeper through some of the worst sailing conditions I have ever seen on the planet.' Crewmember Nick Golding credits Eric's leadership saying, 'Eric taught me so much about ocean racing and the art of weather forecasting. He always knew where to put the boat to be in the right place. All we had to do as crew was keep the boat moving as fast as possible which we seemed to do quite well.'
Eric sailed with five Canadian crew onboard Henri Lloyd including Fiona Garforth-Bles (Nurse, Bragg Creek AB), James Dick (Heavy Duty Mechanic, Victoria BC), Michael Jauncey (Construction inspector, Toronto ON), Morgan Watson (Grad student, Calgary AB), and Phil Driver (Finance Exec, currently living in UK). Eric paid tribute to his dedicated crew saying, 'The whole team had a hand on the wheels as we drove across the line, as we all put in a huge effort in getting us here.'
Sail Canada applauds the tremendous accomplishment of all the Canadians onboard Henri Lloyd, honouring Eric, Fiona, James, Michael, Morgan and Phil with the Sail Canada Sailor of the Month for July!
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