Perth’s rain brings Wind to fuel 49er Silver Race

by Shauna McGee Kinney on 23 Nov 2010 49er teammates, Skipper Billy Gooderham and Crew Ian Hogan (CAN 1185) have been sailing together for the last three years. They were thrilled with the long-awaited wind that came with a rainstorm during their race in the 2010 Perth International Regatta.

Billy Gooderham has Olympic sailing in his blood. His grandfather – Bill Gooderham represented Canada on the Star in the 1948 Olympics and the 6m keelboat in the 1958 Olympics. His dad – Bryan Gooderham is the 1991 12 metre World Cup holder.

Billy is a sailor and a sportsman. He was very well recognized in Canadian youth ice hockey, even progressing as a goalie to a fully-sponsored, semi-professional level until repeated injuries caused him to leave the sport. He turned all of his attention to sailing when he could no longer play ice hockey.

Ian Hogan has a degree in Mechanical Engineering, but has postponed starting an engineering career. Both Ian and Billy are full-time sailors, so they both pick-up odd jobs when they are home for a few weeks here and there. They’ll be heading back to Toronto and then down to Miami in December to pick up a new boat. They will train in Miami and then race the Rolex Miami OCR at the end of January.

Ian and Billy explained that the 49er class is well organized and well marketed. They were delighted to see sponsors like Seiko give out spinnakers as a major regatta prizes at the European championships. And, the 49er class dues are only 10 EUR annually, keeping the administrative costs low and allowing the teams to spend money on their campaign.

The team took about two years to raise the funds for their London 2012 campaign. They didn’t spend much time racing in the small eastern Canadian national circuit, but instead made the big jump to world level competition. Billy speculated that there might be a couple 49er teams at the national level that could race at the international level, but most of those guys have 'real jobs' and only sail regional and local regattas because they like racing.

The team decided the best time to start their international campaign was the time right after the Olympics. The Olympic sailors want to take two to three months off to rest or need the time to work and pay off credit cards or debt. While the Olympians are resting, there is an opportunity for other sailors to get the international experience and get that higher quality sailing experience.

The Canadian Yachting Association provides Billy and Ian with some coaching and a modest stipend that covers about 25% of their campaign costs. They keep their team 'afloat' with sponsorships and help from friends and family. The guys also do most of their own logistics and travel coordination. Billy quipped, 'I was surprised that customs was demanding a job-title when I filled out the form to ship our boat to the regatta, so I’ve got a new team title. I am the shipping coordinator.'

Look for the team of Gooderham and Hogan to make dramatic developments in their sailing over the next year on the way to the Perth 2011 qualifier.

Billy Gooderham and Ian Hogan – Canadian Sailing Campaign for London 2012
http://twostringsailing.com/