5:01 AM Thu 2 Jul 2009 GMT Recap of regatta: June 5-7, 2009, at the Hudson Yacht Club, Toronto, ON, Canada.
All those sailors who were able to make it to Hudson Yacht Club (HYC) for the 2009 Etchells Canadian Championship were in for a terrific ride.
The regatta kicked off HYC's 100th anniversary celebrations and the sailing gods smiled. There were three days of wind and sunny skies on beautiful Lake of Two Mountains-and a couple of evenings of memorable post-race parties.
Fourteen boats from Lake Champlain, Toronto and the Montreal area vied for the championship.
Day 1 began with the lake as flat as glass, but as the 12:30 starting time approached a 6-8 knot breeze began to fill in and the Race Committee managed to get in three races.
At the end of the day, Hank Lammens, with crew Dirk Kneulman and John Clark, led with three bullets, followed by RCYC's Allan Liebel and crew Kent Paisley and Mike Wren in second place, and HYC's Scott Lawrence, Mike Laventure and Kevin Thompson third.
Day 2 was all about rock and roll, in more ways than one.
In 15-25 knot breezes the fleet sailed four races, shredded a couple of chutes, and saw some spinnaker pole bits and pieces plummet to the bottom of the lake.
Lammens and company padded their lead with two more bullets, Liebel and crew sailed steadily to hold onto second place, and Lake Champlain's Ray Harrington moved up into third place overall
That evening the beat-up competitors were treated to a southern-style smoked barbeque feast, with roast chicken, pulled pork and all the trimmings, and then retired to the HYC bar for the Detroit-Pittsburg playoff game and some live music provided by the Hudson Yacht Club Lonely Heart's Club Band, featuring Paul Laflamme and Scott Lawrence, two local members of the Etchells fleet.
A highlight had to be Kent Paisley's impromptu tambourine and vocal stylings later in the evening.
On Sunday the winds came out of the west at 8-10 knots and the fleet sailed its two final races. All boats were off the water by 1:30 and out of the harbour by 2:45.
At the end of it all, Lammens, Kneulman and Clark prevailed, followed by the Liebel and Harrington teams.
Over the three days the racing was excellent with square lines, fair courses and a tightly bunched group of competitors.
Dick Kneulman commented. 'Another great regatta. It was tricky at times, with the current in play, but there was nice breeze.For me it fun sailing with two long time friends, Hank Lammens on helm and John Clark on Jib.' . Thanks must go out to the RC, headed up by HYC's Ross Tellier, and to all of the sponsors, including Tenaquip, Ontario Yachts, La Diable, Quantum, the International Etchells Canadian Association, Etchells Fleet 3 Montreal and the Hudson Yacht Club.
The next major event on the 2009 schedule is the Etchells North American Championship on September 15-19 at the Royal Canadian Yacht Club in Toronto.
HYC - Etchells Canadian Championships June 5-7 2009
