D3 is in full swing, with this year's District Champs just decide at the Royal Canadian Yacht Club Open Regatta. In the Radial, the winner was Tyler Merrick and in the full rigs, Rob Davis. Tyler was well chased, however by Brenda Bowskill and, but for an OCS he could not throw out, Nigel Heath, last year's winner of the RCYC Open. This year again, RCYC winners will be receiving a plane ticket to he British Open as their prize.
The first major regatta of the year was the Ice Breaker at the Toronto Sailing & Canoe Club. For the first time in a few years, the weather was warm(er) and the competition un-iced. Unfortunately, what was scheduled as a two-day regatta become one, the Sunday being wiped out by fog when the wind was blowing, and calm when the fog lifted. The winners? Daniel Barry in the Radial and Chris Cook in the fulls.
Further afield, our D3ers on the National Team spent some time in Europe in the build up to the on-us-before-you-know-it 2012 Olympics in England. David Wright looked strong during the first half of the Europeans, but then swapped positions on the leader board with Lee Parkhill. Ever the fierce competitor and unhappy with his results there, Wright decided to head out to Keil Week to correct some of the mistakes he made in Tallinn.
So far the race to represent Canada in England in '12 is boiling down to three main contenders; Michael Leigh from Vancouver, and Lee Parkhill and David Wright from D3. There is another possibility in a comeback to the full rig fleet by Chris Cook, who represented Canada very well in the Finn in Beijing. That puts three D3 racers in top contention for the D3 fleet's most hallowed place; Canada's representative at the Olympics. As of June, Lee Parkhill is ranked 22 in the world, with David in 31st spot. Michael Leigh is still ranked top Canadian.
By the time of your reading, you will know who is our new Ontario Masters Champ (Nigel Heath defending) and what happened at the Great Lakes Masters in Sarnia, one of D3's best venues. You may even be preparing to put the winter cover back on your '64 Mustang. In other words, you will, as you read this, actually know more about what has transpired recently than this report can tell you. Fortunately, this reporter has a crystal ball that gives him a glimpse across the chasm of time stretching between you to help him be more timely and relevant in this message. So here is your up-to-the-moment, never read before, hot off the press, D3 Report As Of The Second You Pulled Your Copy Out Of The Mailbox:
- The Ontario Masters Championships were held in the Muskoka region of cottage country, Ontario. At least three times during the regatta, a top masters sailor from the big city watched as a local guy sailing a 250lb laser with a brush painted hull and flying an Elvstrom sail banged a corner and beat him to the line by 30 boat lengths.
- On the Saturday night of the Great Lakes Masters in Sarnia, one of the competitor's partners, who has previously agreed that it was a good idea to camp on the grounds to save money, stomped out of the tent they shared at 3:00am and shouted, "This is nuts. You snore like a bear, there's a stick in my back, and I'm 65 year's old, for God's sake! I'm getting a room at the Holiday Inn." She then turned the wrong way and promptly fell into the harbour.
- The Good Friends Regatta was held in Toronto's Outer Harbour. Thirty-one boats showed up to the starting line from both the Water Rats and J Town Sailing Club, but the race committee was MIA. Steve Goode (a misnomer if there ever was one) an Albacore sailor of no renown from the host J Town, volunteered to fill in. In the spirit of the Regatta's name, he hoisted the AP flag with one hand and a middle finger with the other, pulled out the bullhorn and demanded to know, "What the heck a Water Rat was anyhow." He pleaded no contest to the D&D (drunk and disorderly) and was sentenced to 30 hours of community service reading Wind in the Willows to hungry, angry squirrels while chained to the Water Rats clubhouse covered in peanut butter.
- Just before you opened your copy of the Laser Sailor, a D3 sailor, eager to see his name mentioned in the District Report because of his excellent result in his club regatta scanned this report, read it to this last line, shook his head, and said, "Where does Rob get this s**t?"
Rob Koci races in both the Laser Full-Rig and Laser Radial fleets around District 3. Currently, Rob is the District 3 secretary and maintains a frequently updated race diary on D3Laser.com. Rob's home port is St. James Town Sailing Club in Toronto, Ontario.
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