Canadian Albacore Association- 2010 MidWinters and Upcoming Season

by Ken Yamazaki on 7 Apr 2010 The 2010 Albacore MidWinters were held on March 19-21 at the Sarasota Sailing Squadron in Sarasota, Florida. A total of 19 boats made the 14-24 hour drive south, 11 boats from Ontario and 8 from the north eastern United States. This was the largest of the 5 fleets that attended the regatta. Amongst the competitors were 4 father/daughter or father/son teams as well as several current and past World, US, Canadian, Ontario, and East Coast Champions.

As always, the Sarasota Sailing Squadron was a wonderful host and over half of the competitors camped at the club. It has been unusually cold in Florida this year, but temperatures reached 20-22°C on most days.

Four windward-leeward races were run on Friday March 19th and another 4 on Saturday March 20th. Unfortunately, the third day of racing had to be cancelled due to the risk of thunderstorms. Despite this, several boats ventured out to practice in the high winds on Sunday. Barney Harris and Lee Mullins from the Pontomac River Sailing Association won the regatta with 6 bullets and 8 points. Matthew Hobbs and Rory Martin from the Nepean Sailing Club placed second with 21 points and George Carter and Almir Tavares from the Mooredale Sailing Club were close behind with 22 points in their newly refurbished 7982.

Back home the season is just getting started and 2010 promises another packed schedule with big fleets. Starting in late May and running though to mid-October there is a regatta, Harbour Master, or training event scheduled for all except perhaps one weekend. The weekly club series in Toronto will start on May 7th and is once again expected to average in excess of 40 boats with 55 to 60 boats at its peak.

Some highlights will be the Ontario Championships on June 26-27 at the Nepean Sailing Club in Nepean Ontario, the East Coast Championships on August 20-22 at the Shelburne Yacht Club, in Shelburne Nova Scotia, the US Championships on August 28-29 at the Monmouth Boat Club in Red Bank NJ, the Canadian Championships on September 17-19 at the Buffalo Canoe Club in Ridgeway, Ontario, and the North American Championships on October 9-11 at the Rehoboth Bay Sailing Association in Rehoboth Beach DE. Additional details may be found at www.albacore.ca.

See you on the water,

Ken Yamazaki
Second Vice Commodore, Canadian Albacore Association
www.albacore.ca