Another Challenging Susan Hood Trophy Race

by Guy Perrin on 8 Jun 2010 The Susan Hood Trophy Race, a rite of Spring for over 50 years for sailors and racers at the western end of Lake Ontario saw an increase in participation again for 2010. The race, named after the daughter of PCYC member Doug Hood, who offered the trophy for the race in the mid-fifties, is usually a cold and daunting overnight event. This past week-end, 75 yachts had the opportunity to race in warmer weather but the event held true to its challenging weather reputation with torrential rains and thunderstorms.

As predicted by Toronto meteorologist Ron Bianchi during a weather briefing before the start, these thunderstorms created havoc with the wind and many racers found themselves in small wind holes after the storms cells had gone through; going from consistent 6 or 7 knots to barely moving at 1 knot in the middle of the night is a real test of patience; particularly when you find your yacht is no longer pointing in the direction of the next race mark as the winds have changed. The race is a large triangle of 73 nautical mile (approximately 135 km) that takes the yachts from Port Credit (Mississauga) to Burlington at the western end of Lake Ontario, over to the mouth of the Niagara River and back across the lake to Port Credit.

Line honors as the first yacht to complete the race went to Gaucho, a Farr 44, they were back at PCYC shortly after 7:00am on Saturday morning; the race was started on Friday night at 8:00pm. Yachts participated in various handicap fleets in either spinnaker or white sail division; there was also, for the first time in 2010, a double-handed fleet for the more experienced racers looking for added challenges. Full results are available on the event website http://susanhood.pcyc.net

Many of the Susan Hood Trophy Race participants used this first offshore race on Lake Ontario as a boat shake-down and crew preparation for the upcoming Lake Ontario 300, a 300 nautical mile, multi-day circumnavigation of the lake.