J/24 Canadians

The /24 Canadian National Championship was hosted by Pointe Claire Yacht Club with 21 boats. The opening day of racing presented the possibility that four races could be sailed in the 10-15 knot NE breezes. The tactics were tricky, and Drivers Wanted sailed by Mississauga’s Ted Bartlewski got the first day winner’s trophy. Race 1 was won by local boat Baygull driven by Nicolas Mabboux. John Whynacht’s Nova Scotia clan on Sticky Fingers got Race 2 and Bartlewski’s Drivers Wanted closed the day with two bullets. Tom Barbeu’s Navtech.ca was the bridesmaid in second place. It was a crazy weekend for sailing conditions. While Friday’s forecast was calling for very light wind, the fleet ended up sailing four races in 10-15 knots. On Saturday, the fleet was expecting 7-10 knots fading out to 6 knots during the day. The fun continued: this time it was again in the same tricky north east wind. In the end, two races were sailed in lighter airs. After a few attempts to get in a third race, the RC wisely decided to send the fleet back to the harbor. After two days of light conditions, the forecast was calling for 15-20 knots. This time, the fleet was treated to steady 16 knots with some nice puffs. As usual, the fleet split between the two schools of thought in marginal 16-18 knots TWS conditions: genoa or jib, was the question!? Rapidly, most of the fleet adopted the jib. In race 7, Rossi Milev’s Clear Air team dominated the game, followed by Barbeu and Greg B. (Adrenaline Rush). About half way to the finish, boats in fourth and fifth (Angry Squirrel & Baygull) both went down in broaches because of a nasty shifty gust. Sticky Fingers passed in fifth position to limit their losses. In Race 8, the wind and waves kept building and Milev’s Clear Air again pulled out a bullet, in front of Mabboux, followed by Bartlewski. In Race 9, first overall was still “in play,” so was the entire podium for that matter. After one lap, Baygull was in the lead until the last leg, where Rossi’s Clear Air passed to get the last point they were missing to get the title. What a comeback! For more J/24 Canadian Nationals sailing information, visit http://j24canadians2013.wordpress.com/.