The OMDA sailing season opened in traditional manner with the Victoria Day Weekend Regatta, graciously hosted by Belwood Lake Sailing Club.
There wasn't much wind in the morning, and it was quite chilly - the previous nights low was below 2°C. It was a good opportunity to jog our memory of how to rig our boats, and for us to reassemble Charger and contents after winter storage.
Given little wind, and quite cold weather, we cancelled racing for the day and hoped for better weather the next day. It did finally warm up in the late afternoon with some prolonged sunny weather around dinner time. Everyone enjoyed the campfire in the evening.
On Sunday we woke up to some promising weather: some nice warm sunshine, along with some wind. We started the day with a hearty pancake breakfast provided by Aleid. Pete and Linda contributed the all essential coffee.
With a good breakfast in our bellies, we rigged our boats and put on our wetsuits. We had a bit of trouble getting Charger off the trailer, as the top of the launch ramp is so shallow when the water level is so high, but we finally managed it. Once launched, things went more easily, and the outboard started without too much trouble after a long cold winter in Steve's garage. John and Paul set out in Charger to set a course, and the sailors launched their boats and headed to the start line.
There were lots of small puffy clouds, producing lots of unpredictable gusts that Lake Belwood is famous for. But it made for some excellent racing. We saw some excellent hiking form: knowing just how cold the water is makes it easy to make yourself hike out just a little harder!
We sailed four races, the last a shortened course. Erik provided some excitement near the end of the last race. In a desperate attempt to pass, he popped his spinnaker while running down to the last mark. A sudden gust hit him, and there was nothing he could do to recover. The noise Erik made as he entered the water was much appreciated by the other competitors, as it gave them some warning about the gust that was just about to hit them, and spared them a similar fate! Fortunately, Erik was back in the boat and under way again fairly quickly, but it put paid to any chance of catching up.
| Place | Sail No. | Crew | Race 1 | Race 2 | Race 3 | Race 4 | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16652 | Heather Pugh | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 8 |
| 2 | 53050 | Stephen Steel | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9 |
| 3 | 43756 | Erik Brendeke | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 10 |
| 4 | 51161 | Marika Beaumont | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 14 |
| 5 | 34048 | Shelley Beatty | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 19 |
Note: Since everyone was sailing single-handed, no penalty was assessed.
Many thanks to Paul Lingen and John McCulloch for volunteering to serve as race committee (and extra kudos for leaving charger so tidy when they were done!). And many more thanks to Belwood Lake Sailing Club for hosting the event and providing Charger with a winter home.
No photos yet. If you have some, send them in!
© 2014 Ontario Mirror Dinghy Association