Laser Canadians

I am in Vancouver this weekend for the Laser Canadian Championships. Results can be found here.

Click on read more for daily reports.
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Thursday, July 2
Today I went for a short sail to make sure all my equipment was in order. Racing starts tomorrow. Five races are scheduled per day, with three days of racing.
Weather: Sunny, 25 degrees, west, 15 kts

Friday, July 3
Today was the first day of racing. Racing started out in a medium westerly, with barely hiking conditions. In the first race I had a poor start and was back of the leaders. I was fouled at the first windward mark and got hung up on the weather mark. I got fouled again at the second weather mark and was unable to catch up and finished 11th. In the second race I had a good start and sailed a solid race to finished 2nd. In the third race I again had a tough start and found myself back of the pack. There was not many passing lanes with the left side of the course so favoured and I was not able to come back more than to 11th. Racing continues tomorrow. In the last race the wind went light and shifty. I did not have a great start, but a group of boats near the committee boat were going quite slowly off the start so I found myself in good shape and rounded the windward in 5th. I passed a couple of boats and lost a couple throughout the race to finish 5th.
Weather: Sunny, 25 degrees, W-NW, 5-10 kts

Saturday, July 4
Today we were racing close to shore and hitting the left side upwind became crucial in order to get out of the current. If you did not have a good start and were forced to tack out you were bleeding distance. In the first race I had a good start and sailed a good second beat to finish 2nd. In the second race I lost my lane off the start but was able to come back a bit and finished 6th. In the third race I had an okay start, but came back from the left hand side too early and found myself well behind of the leaders and finished a disappointing 9th. In the next race I had a good start and good pace, rolling 3 boats holding my lane the whole way out on starboard. I called the layline correctly, passing some boats who overstood. I sailed quickly throughout the race and finished 2nd. In the last race I again lost my lane off the start, but some of the faster boats also did not have great starts. Again I called the layline correctly and gained on the boats ahead, rounding the weather mark 2nd. I sailed a quick run and rounded the bottom 1st, and extended on the second beat. I lost one boat on the final run to finish 2nd. I am currently in 3rd overall. Racing continues tomorrow, with a second drop coming into effect.
Weather: sunny, 26 degrees, W-NW, 8-16 kts

Sunday, July 5

Today was the last day of racing. Racing started out in a medium northwesterly with lots of chop. In the first race I didn't have a great start, but found a lane quickly. I tacked a little too late on to port at the top of the course, and did not have clean air, costing me a lot of distance to the leaders. I found myself trying to catch up, but was only able to get back to 12th. In the second race I again lost my lane off the start and found myself trying to catch up. The leaders were too far sprung and I could only get back to??. In the third race I started further down the line to try to get out to the left side of the course first, but lost out on a slow right hand winder, and was again behind at the first windward. I made gains on the second beat but only got back to 9th. In the last race I had a good start, but again did not have a great lane back on port at the top of the course and rounded the weather mark in 8th. Before we could get to the leeward mark the wind spun 180 and the race committee shortened the course.I was able to pass a couple of boats to finish 6th. I finished 5th overal in the 51 boat fleet. I was disappointed to have lost two spots on the last day, but I simply did not sail well enough. Now I am back in Kingston for a couple of days of down time before I go to St. Margaret's Bay for a training camp.
Weather: Partly cloudy, 22 degrees, NW, 8kts

2009 Laser North Americans

The 2009 Laser North American Championships are being held at Buffalo Canoe Club June 25-28. Results can be found here. Click on read more for daily reports.

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Thursday, June 25
Today was the first day of racing. We had a late first start and did not hit the water until 12:30. The wind was out of the northwest but with thunderstorms approaching the fleet was sent in. After delaying onshore until 4 the fleet was sent back out in a southerly breeze. The race committee tried to start races, but the wind did not cooperate and racing was abandoned for the day. The first start tomorrow has been pushed up from 11:00 to 9:30.
Weather: Stormy, 25 degrees

Friday, June 26
Today started out in a light southwesterly breeze. The wind came and went with some increases in velocity, and some big pulls to the right. In the first race I had a good start but was a bit back from the leading pack. I sailed an okay race and finished 9th. In the second race I had a good start but was on the wrong side of the course when the gradient came back in. When a big thundercloud rolled through the wind shifted drastically and I was able to take advantage and came back to 4th. In the third race I had a weak start but was able to get clear to the left side of the course and was able to make some gains on the first beat. I stayed even and finished 7th. In the last race of the day the wind was up nicely. I had a good start at the boat and after letting one boat tack I had a clear lane. I lost a bit to the boats around on the first beat but gained it back on positioning coming into the windward mark and rounded around 4. I was slow on the first run and lost 4 boats. I was quick on the next run and caught up to the boats ahead, but it was not enough to pass and I finished 8th. After 4 races I am in 11th. Racing continues tomorrow with the fleet split into gold and silver.
Weather: Partly cloudy, 25 degrees, 5-12 knots

Saturday, June 27
Racing started out today in a light northerly wind with bands of pressure. In the first race I had a poor start and found myself on the wrong side of the course at the top and rounded the windward near the back. I was able to stay focused and passed boats throughout the race to finish in 19th. The wind swung around to the SW before the race committee could start the next race. Again I had a poor start but was able to get a clear lane and made some smart moves up the first beat to round the windward in 2nd, but I hit the mark and fell back to near 10th and stayed even to finish 10th. In the third race I got out okay but made a few mistake and finished 14th. In the last race I played a good first beat and rounded the first windward in the top 10 and had a good first run to round the bottom in 5th. I played the wrong side up the second beat and lost 10 boats when the pressure came in on the left. I managed to pass a couple of boats and finished 14th. Tomorrow is the last day of racing.
Weather: Sunny, 26 degrees, 5-14 knots

Sunday, June 28
Today started out with a light southwesterly wind, but before we could get a start in the wind swung to the south and picked up. In the first race I lost my feel of the line and had a terrible start and rounded the first mark in the 40s. I was unable to make up much ground and finished 26th. In the next race I had a great start near the boat and held my lane nicely. I lost out a bit when the left side came in at the top and rounded around 10. I was quick on the first run, passing a couple of boats and making gains. I had a good second beat extending on the boats behind. On the final run we ran into the silver radial fleet and I was stuck going slow and lost two boats to finish 10th. I finished 12th overall in the event.
Weather: Cloudy, 20 degrees, 6-12 knots

Laser ACCs

This weekend I competed in the Laser Atlantic Coast Championships held at Severn Sailing Association in Annapolis, Maryland. I finished 5th in the 83 boat fleet.
Results can be found here

Laser Midwinter's East

I am in Clearwater for the ISAF Grade 1 Laser Midwinter's East Regatta. The regatta doesn't start until Thursday so I am training with other Canadian sailors for the first part of the week. Results can be found here.
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February 19, 2009
Today we had strong wind from the north, and big waves combining with yesterday's swell. In the first race I had a good start about 2/3 down the line on a pin favoured start, and had a clear lane on port on the first shift. I missed out on a shift to hitch back to the left and was back from the leading group. I brushed the windward mark as well and had to do a 360. I sailed a good second beat and passed another boat on the final beat to finish 13. In the second race I had a great start in the middle of the line and held my lane nicely out to the left side and played the shifts well to round the windward in 3rd. I lost one boat and distance on the first run, but sailed quickly again on the second beat and rounded 3rd. I extended on the last run and stayed ahead on the final beat to finish 3rd. In the last race I was a bit late on the trigger at the start, but was still able to get a good lane. I tacked out on the first shift, but came back a bit early and the boats I was with on the right came back ahead of me. I sailed quickly again on the second beat and moved up to 6th. I passed one boat on the final reach and finished 5th. I am now in 8th overall.
Weather: Sunny, 16 degrees, 15-20 knots, N

February 19, 2009
Today was the first day of racing. When I first got out the wind was south-south west at about 15 knots. We raced the first race in this wind, but it came down slightly throughout the race. I had a good clear start and held my lane well out to the left side. I missed out on a couple of shifts and rounded the first windward in 10th. I went to the wrong gate mark and my vang key popped out at the bottom so I lost a chunk of distance, but was able to make it back on the second half of the beat. I lost one boat on the final run, but passed it back on the reach and got another on the final beat to finish 10. For the second race the wind had come down to about 8-10 knots and gone to around 300*. When we finally got going after several generals I had a poor start, but found a lane out to the left and sailed quickly. I made a good move at the top undertacking a group of boats that had overstood. I had a tough time getting going downwind and lost 4 boats. I sailed quickly on the second beat, passing 6 boats, but lost 3 again on the run. I almost passed a boat on the final beat but I needed a bit more and finished 12. After two races I am in 10th overall.
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 18 degrees, 8-15 knots, SW-NW

February 18, 2009
Today I went out for a shorter session, with about an hour of sailing out on the gulf. Only Evan Lewis, Lee Parkhill and I decided to go out. We did a short upwind followed by some boat handling work. The regatta starts tomorrow with the first race at 11.
Weather: Sunny, 24 degrees, 16-20 knots, S

February 17, 2009
Today we had wind from further east, starting around 14 knots, and decreasing slightly throughout the day. We had a good group, joining up with some international sailors as well as CST. We ran a couple of drills focusing on the top of the beat, some starting practice, and finished the day off with some racing. I'll have a shorter session tomorrow before the regatta starts Thursday.
Weather: Sunny, 20 degrees, 8-14 knots, E

February 16, 2009
Today was the first day out on the water after the Miami OCR. We had good wind from the north with big waves today. We ran some boat handling drills and did some open speed work. I had good pace both upwind and downwind. The forecast for tomorrow is for less wind so I should be able to work on my starting which I saw was a big weakness in Miami.
Weather: Sunny, 22 degrees, 15 knots, N