September 20-21, 2008 – SLSC had two 420s sail in the Fall CORK Regatta in Kingston, Ontario and our sailors learned first hand why Kingston has such a reputation for strong winds and tough competition. The small fleet of four 420s made up for its small size in skill and depth.
Our teams of Evan Burtt/Ellen Lourie and Amy DesBrisay/Kate Thomas acquitted themselves well on day 1 in winds gusting over 30 km/hr. Each had a second place finish to go along with thirds and fourths and all boats but the hometown crew from Kingston ended up in the drink at least once (Amy/Kate starting with a capsize right off the first start). Evan and Ellen enjoyed better success and were up by 1 point over Amy and Kate after Saturday’s racing.
On day 2, the winds remained strong but were offshore, so the waves were not nearly as high. Evan and Ellen sailed competitively and stayed close to the leaders, but ended up with thirds accross the board. Amy was felled by a flu bug and as a result was not able to sail, to her great disappointment…but Kate almost made up for the disappointment of a day in the crashboat by getting to sail on Murray McCullough’s 49er…steering and out on the trap.
Yes, Murray was there, sailing to a second place finish in the 49er class and helping out our team with rigging tips and general banter.
We will try to get pictures up shortly. For results, see this link: http://www.cork.org/results_2008.html
Congratulations to the 420 sailors from Kingston, Ellie Clark and Rachel Boyd, who took top honours with consistent sailing throughout – a well deserved victory.
This regatta ends a season of great racing for the SLSC race team, with lots of learning, lots of improvement and lots of fun. We have become a force to be reckoned with in the 420 class and, as more sailors are starting to migrate over to 420s from the 29er class (420 has now been named the world youth double handed boat), the fleets should become greater, the competition stiffer and the fun never ending! START CROSS TRAINING FOR NEXT YEAR!