Page 4 - March/April 2019 Kwasind

Chris Mitchele
Commodore commodore@rcyc.ca
As I write, another major winter storm has hit Toronto! It is during long winter months that we become eager to return to the summer breezes on the water. At RCYC we offer many options to keep Members busy while we wait for warm summer days to return, and while we manage tough winter conditions there are many sailing activities underway.
RCYC’s Race Team, made up of Olympic class and high-performance youth sailors, have had a terrific year. This is most impressive when you consider this: in the 1968 Mexico Olympics, 48 countries competed in sailing. At the 2019 World Cup of Sailing – Miami, 62 countries competed. Compared to almost 50 years ago, sailing is now a global sport with powerhouses such as China, Japan, Croatia, Turkey, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Bahrain and Israel now competing. To be competitive, our Race Team sailors must train and race with the best sailors from around the globe, often far away from us, and their Club. Nonetheless they proudly represent Canada and the RCYC while they compete and train. So, even if you don’t see them around the Club, know they are racing against, training and representing the RCYC with the world’s best. The following highlights some of our Race Team sailors’ recent accomplishments:
Tom Ramshaw qualified Canada for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics games in the Finn class with a very strong fifth place at last summer’s World Sailing Championships in Aarhus, Denmark. To reinforce his place among the world’s best, Tom placed fourth at the recent World Cup of Sailing – Miami – with a fourth place, and placed second in the medal race. This puts Tom at the pinnacle of the Finn class and shows his potential for a podium finish at Tokyo.
Robert Davis finished third in the U.S. Laser Nationals earning a spot to represent Canada at the Lima Pan Am Games. Spots are still open in the Laser fleet for the 2020 Olympics and Robert is working hard to earn Canada a spot.
Mariah Millen, along with Alexandra Tenhove of KYC, qualified to represent Canada at the Lima Pan Am Games with their finish at the World Cup of Sailing – Miami.
Tate Howell, one of our youngest Race Team sailors, represented Canada at the World Sailing - Youth Worlds held last summer in Corpus Christi Texas with a terrific debut finishing 12th in the girls I420 class, beating powerhouses such as New Zealand, Argentina and The Czech Republic. This result is particularly notable as Tate is still eligible for two more Youth Worlds. Tate won the Sail Canada I420 Youth Championships held at RCYC last summer, achieving two first place finishes on the last day of racing.
Will Bonin, another of our younger Race Team sailors, represented Canada at last year’s World Sailing - Youth Worlds. Will had a solid first Youth Worlds with a twentieth place in the Boys 29er class and is now campaigning a 49er.
Noah Collinson is on the Canadian Sailing Development Squad. He had a strong start at the U.S. Laser Nationals in January until he injured his knee and had to withdraw. We look forward to Noah returning to the race course soon.
While our Race Team is traveling the world with their programs, back at home RCYC’s Sailing agenda continues to grow. We welcomed two new Club Members who joined for the chance to participate in the exciting VX One fleet. The Ideal 18 Fleet will kick the season off with refurbished keels, highly welcomed by our Adult and Women’s Sailing Programs. The Club owned fleets will also be well used as new programs such as “No Boat No Problem” are expanded. Please see the website for details on these programs.
This year’s Club racing schedule will also include qualifying for the Club entry in the 2019 NYYC Invitational Cup, a new format for the Royals Regatta, as well as continued planning for the Canada’s Cup Festival of Sailing.
Race Management Team
In addition to the on-water competitive offerings, an RCYC Race Management Team is being trained and developed. To date several top-level race officials from around the lake have been secured to lead our teams this summer. These race officers have earned Regional, National and International status and have
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MARCH/APRIL 2019 • KWASIND
COMMODORE MESSAGE