After sailing in light air for the past month, we were pleasantly surprised but in disbelief when we arrived at Oka, Quebec for the Canadian Championships and our host (a local sailor and windsurfer) indicated that the wind forecast for the following day would be 15-25 knots. How could this be? We were all expecting 3 days of light air, but this forecast was coming from a reputable local sailor, so it must be correct. Sure enough, the following morning the wind picked up and was bang on forecast...the best wind I had seen all summer.
Coming from the SW off the shore, it proved to be very shifty on the Lake of Two Mountains, somewhat similar to a NW wind in the outer harbour in Toronto. We had 5 races on Friday that really tested the sailors' ability to read the wind oscillations and look for pressure changes. With a lot of familiarity in these conditions, I did well on Friday with a 1, 6, 3, 4, 1, for first place, followed by Danielle Dube and Rob Koci.
Back on shore much of the après-sail chatter was focused on tacking decision-making, i.e. was it best to tack immediately on every shift or eat into the header for 10 seconds then reassess? My thought process in Friday's conditions worked like this: First priority was pressure, second was wind shifts and third priority clean air (weeds weren't a factor on Friday). Ignore minor oscillations, but with any moderate or significant wind shift the gains that could be picked up by immediately tacking and sailing high on the new lifted tack offset the 1-2 boat length hit taken by tacking, or from sailing for 10 seconds into a header. Of course it sucked when the oscillation was a fake and a second tack was required. Having a precise read on the degree of wind shift in these rapidly oscillating conditions is vital to your decision making. My approach to this worked well, but unfortunately there isn't sufficient room here to go into detail here... lol. Approach me after sailing sometime with an appropriate adult beverage in hand and we can talk.
Saturday brought slightly weaker winds from a similar direction, but racing was cut short due to a series of thunderstorms. Only 1 race was completed for the Radial fleet. Saturday night the locals put on a fantastic smoked meat extravaganza.
Sunday was another day of great conditions with wind in the 10-18 knot range, but from a more westerly direction. This allowed for a shift in the race course location, with more stable winds coming directly down the Ottawa River. Danielle and I were tied for first heading into the last day, with Rob close behind in third position, so we all knew the final outcome would likely be tight.
On Sunday my upwind boat speed was good, but I had a lot of difficulty on the downwind, so I knew I needed to gain on the upwind legs in order to offset any losses I would suffer on the runs. The first race on Sunday didn't go well after a terrible start, but I caught several boats by working left upwind to finish in sixth. So my strategy for the last two races was similar. Focus on fleet management by working up the centre of the course but to the left side of those in the fleet I had to beat. Several nice lifts from the left at the top of the course provided exactly what I needed and gave me enough for a third and a first in the last two races.
The last run/reach of the last race was hair-raising as my tiller extension snapped off, and I couldn't reach forward to adjust any lines. The finish wasn't pretty, but it worked and gave me first in the last race and the regatta.
Other observations:
- (1) The last day was owned by a hard-charging Jean-Luc Robitaille, who finished with two firsts and a second, enough to finish in third place overall.
- (2) Several of us Masters sailors stayed in a local cottage near the club. I think we benefited from some good "go-fast" karma in that cottage, as it belongs to the family of Canada's newest astronaut - David Saint-Jacques. Look for him in the skies or on Mars soon.
- (3) Two master sailors in the top 5 of a 70 boat Radial fleet...GO GEEZERS GO!!
Nigel Heath is an avid Laser and Radial sailor from the Water Rats Sailing Club in Toronto. Nigel is also a member of the Ontario Masters Racing Team.
