Canadian Racers Success

by Guy Perrin on 11 Nov 2009 While most of us in Canada are busy raking leaves or, worse yet, hauling out our boats for the upcoming winter, many Canadians are doing us proud on the International racing scene.

It all started in early October at beautiful Rochester Yacht Club, NY, host of the 2009 Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship; five teams proudly sported the CAN mark on their J/22 sails. Jennifer Provan's Sunrise team Martha Henderson, Katie Abbott and Laurin Manning from Toronto, ON tied for third place while Katie Coleman Nicoll (CAN 980), Felicity Clarke (CAN 978) and Mag Hurley (CAN 789), all from Ontario, finished in top 20 positions in a 35 boat fleet.

The Chesapeake Bay provided challenging conditions for the 2009 Melges 24 World Championship held in Annapolis, MD from October 23rd to the 31st. Local hero Chris Larson took first place by making the best of the cold and variable weather, but not without the significant help of three Canadian crew members: tactician Richard Clarke, bow Curtis Florence and crew Mike Wolfs.

Richard Clarke, from Vancouver, BC is an experienced Finn sailor with many top-five World Championship finishes; he has also represented Canada at the Olympics in 1996, 2000 and 2004. Richard's offshore sailing career also saw him set a new record in the 2008 Pacific Cup race, sailing double-handed to Hawaii on Philippe Kahn's Open 50 Pegasus.

Curtis Florence is wrapping up a very successful year; his World Championship in the Melges 24 comes shortly after a Farr 40 World Championship on Barking Mad and a 2008 Farr 30 World Championship on Optimum. A resident of Toronto, ON, Curtis is also a regular on the local J/24 scene. Olympic medallist Mike Wolfs (Star Silver in 2004) rounds up this winning team; Mike calls Port Credit, ON home when he is not participating in sailing regattas.

Two other Canadian entries participated in the Melges 24 World Championship, Uris Saks CAN-723 from Markham, ON and Dave Black's Black Dog, racing in the Corinthian fleet, from Etobicoke, ON. Larson's boat, West Marine Rigging/New England Ropes, was by far the most successful North American entry in the regatta, finishing ahead of six European competitors.

Just around the corner on Chesapeake Bay, Ted Bartlewski and crew on Drivers Wanted, from Port Credit, ON finished second at the J/24 East Coast Championship held over the Hallowe'en week-end. Rossi Milev, also from Port Credit, crewing on USA 58, helped skipper Tony Parker clinch the title.

Only five points separated first and second place, who were both well ahead of the rest of the 34 boat fleet. Wrapping up an outstanding season and following Rossi Milev's footsteps, Ted Bartlewski was also awarded the 2009 George Cousins Memorial Trophy at his home club, the Port Credit Yacht Club; the trophy is awarded to the boat or person bringing the greatest honor to the Club during the season.

On the same week-end, Hey Jude, Live Edge and Sonic Boom travelled from Toronto's Royal Canadian Yacht Club to Long Island Sound for the 2009 J/105 North American Championship in Rye, NY.

Terry Mclaughlin, calling tactics for Jim Rathburn on Hey Jude, helped them finish second in a 29 boat event; Ian Farquharson's Sonic Boom and Michael Mountford's Live Edge ranked a respectable 15th and 16th respectively.

Just last week, the Edison Sailing Center in Ft Myers, FL played host to the 2009 2.4mR World Championship, where
Canadian Olympian Paul Tingley beat Swedens' Hans Asklund in the last race to finish with a bronze medal in the regatta. Paul is from Halifax, NS. Other notable Canadians include Allan Leibel who finished 6th and Bruce Millar who after finishing 4th in the last race, posted a 7th overall in the event.