News Archive for 2015 from the Home Page
CRYA AGM
Dec 29 – Your CRYA Exec Secretary and webmaster has been saddled with a rather uncomfortable pinched nerve. This situation is aggravated by computer use. Accordingly, the assembly of the CRYA virtual AGM has been delayed and will be delayed for some time more.
Spoiler alert: the elected positions of President and Executive Secretary will both be by acclimation, and will retain the incumbent members. The AGM will consist of financial reports, and two significant motions proposed by membership.
Thankfully, the bulk of the radio sailing season for most of Canada is still some months away. And even on the Left Coast where winter sailing is going on, and Alberta where RC iceboating is happening, nothing that can be affected by the AGM happens until March or April. We will endeavour to have the AGM wrapped up well before that time.
Apologies for the delay, please stand by.
Proper Course
Dec 7th – Proper course is one of the most misunderstood concepts in racing sailboats. It is defined by the racing rules of sailing, and applies to various rules at various times of a race. Thankfully, John Ball, our CRYA Technical Director, is here to break it all down for us. Check it out.
Fall 2015 Newsletter
Dec 6th – There’s all kinds of great stuff in the latest newsletter. Thanks to our new newsletter editor Art Prufer. Just click on the newsletter link, top left of this page.
DF65 Ontario Regionals
Nov 18th – The Dragon Force 65 class recently held their Ontario Regional Championships at the Port Credit Yacht Club. Stay tuned for a report in the forthcoming CRYA newsletter, but in the meantime, you can enjoy this excellent video of the event.
Thou Doth Protest
Nov 10th – The protest. Most sailors don’t like them. Many sailors don’t understand them. Here’s everything you need to know about protests, summed up for you by our own John Ball. Enjoy.
Call for Nominations
Oct 24th – The CRYA Executive Board includes the following elected positions:
- President (currently held by Lawrie Neish, expecting to stand for re-election)
- Executive Secretary (currently held by Steve Kibble, expecting to stand for re-election)
- Treasurer (currently Aileen Neish, not standing for re-election)
Our constitution states that this is an election year for the CRYA. Accordingly, this is a call for nominations. Please note the CRYA constitution which states:
Nominations with seconder shall be submitted in writing to the Executive Secretary, by October 30 for inclusion on the ballot to be distributed to members in December or included with the CRYA Newsletter due in December. Nominations must include a letter of consent from the proposed nominee.
Please submit any nominations to the Executive Secretary. We have extended the nomination cutoff date to November 15th.
Can Am Cup
Oct 11 – The 2015 Can Am Regional Series consisted of four marquee events:
- Beaver Fever, Victoria
- Canadian Nationals, Saltspring Island
- US Nationals, Hood River
- Caper Regatta, Annacortes
Congratulations to Gary Boell, winner of the 2015 series. Full results are available here.
New Rankings
Sept 28 – After the AMYA Region 6 (Caper) regatta and the Prairie Regional (September Blender) regatta, here are your new national ranking standings.
Blender Video
Sept 27 – See below for the report on September Blender. Here is a fantastic video prepared by new CMSA member (and new IOM owner) Chris Rapel.
Check out Chris’s Youtube channel for more videos of RC activities.
Blender Report
Sept 26 – The 4th Annual September Blender, now the CRYA Prairie Regional IOM regatta, took place September 18-20 in Calgary. The event was hosted by the Calgary Model Sailing Association in conjunction with Glenmore Sailing Club. CMSA member Chris Hunt, who assisted with scoring, also wrote this report on the event.
AMYA Region 6 – Caper
Sept 25 – Our friends south of the border recently held the annual Caper regatta near Anacortes, WA. This event is the AMYA Region 6 IOM championship. Kelly Martin took top honours with an excellent performance with his Vickers V8. The lone Canadian Entrant was Peter Stevens (Victoria BC) who finished a solid 4th.
Ontario Dragon Force 65 Championship
Sept 15 – The venerable DF65 fleet has been growing like crazy, and we are pleased to announce the Ontario regional championships. This event will take place October 25th at Douglas Kennedy Park in Mississauga, Ontario. You can download the Notice of Race for all info.
Finishing
Sept 14 – We’ve started, we’ve rounded the weather mark, we’ve hailed our competitors, we’ve rounded the downwind gate, we’ve rounded tactically and understood our proper course. Now it’s time to finish the race. John Ball has released the last edition of his series of racing rules and tactics, Finishing. Thanks to John for this fantastic series of educational writeups. Although he says he’s completed, our sources have told us that he may be preparing a bonus article before the end of the year. Stay tuned.
Summer Newsletter
Aug 23 – The newsletter has arrived. Click on the icon on the top left of this page. Thanks to Jim Goddard for his many years of hard work putting together the CRYA newsletters.
September Blender Entry List
Aug 10 – As most of you have heard, the September Blender IOM regatta in Calgary is now the Prairie Regional and a points-counting event for national rankings. It seems that this has helped the event to attract some decent talent. Check out this entry list:
Gary Boell
Bill Langjahr
John Ball
Roger Kibble
Steve Kibble
Andrew Baak
Leah Mathewson
Mark Verry
Adam Batchelor
Quinn Baak
Luke Harwood
And this is still with over a month to go. So there’s still time to register.
Change in Date and Venue, AMYA R6 IOM Regional
Aug 4 – Due to venue restrictions at the originally scheduled Boise, ID location, the R6 Regional for IOMs will now be run in conjunction with the existing Caper regatta, hosted by DPMYC near Annacortes, WA, Sept 11 – 13. The updated details are in the CRYA calendar; click on the event on the right of this page.
More from our Rules Expert
July 18 – CRYA Technical Director John Ball has done it again. This time, it’s a review of several topics that are often misunderstood, including discussions about tactical roundings and of proper course. Check it out:Tactical rounding and Proper course at downwind mark
September Blender Registration Open
July 16 – The 4th Annual September Blender regatta is now the Prairie Regional points-counting regatta. The event is hosted by Calgary Model Sailing Association and Glenmore Sailing Club, and takes place September 18-20th. Registration is now open via the Blender Event Page.
Dragon Force 65 US NCR
Jun 29 – The little DF65 has made a big splash in recent times, with over 8,000 being sold worldwide to date. The inaugural US National Championship Regatta takes place in Dallas, TX, October 31 and November 1st. All info, including the NOR and Online Registration, is available at the event website.
In Canada, the DF65 fits into the existing RG65 class which is growing quite quickly. Currently there are about 50 registered boats, with over 40 of those being DFs.
Rule 18 and the Downwind Gate
Jun 23 – Rule 18 of the Racing Rules of Sailing is one of the most discussed and least understood rule. Our resident expert, CRYA Technical Director John Ball has once again broken down how it works with his latest in the Rules and Tactics series: Rule 18 and the Downwind Gate.
See the full series of John’s published articles on the Sailing Rules and Tactics page.
Report on Soling Nationals
Jun 20 – Congratulations go to Paul Switzer of Kingston, Ontario, the 2015 Canadian Soling One Meter Champion. Paul was sailing the same boat he has used in the last 11 Canadian Championships with a new suit of sails made by Bob ‘Boots’ Boutilier. Properly maintained and and as a one design class, Solings can be have a long racing life. The runner up was Bill Croft of Ottawa, Ontario and third was Tim Peat, of Bobcaygeon, Ontario. Complete race results are available on the Kingston Yacht Club website.
The regatta was held at the beautiful Kingston Yacht Club, June 13/14 and thanks must go to Regatta Chairman, John Lowther, and Race Director Ross Cameron and their team of KYC members for hosting a fine event and to the KYC staff who provided lunches and hospitality in the clubhouse and bottled water at the sailing site.
After a rainy Friday, which discouraged sailors from practice sailing, Saturday dawned sunny and warm with the normal Kingston steady southwest breeze and accompanying waves. The fleet of 20 boats soon picked up on the lift along the breakwater shore and the barely noticeable current near the windward mark. Seven (two heat) races were completed on Saturday before racing was suspended for the day.
Sunday morning the southwest flow was gone and a light east wind was gradually filling in as the skippers meeting was conducted. After a delay to allow the wind to build, one race was completed in calm conditions before the lunch break. The hope was that during lunch the normal Kingston thermal would build with the sun heating the land and bringing the cold air in from Lake Ontario with its southwest flow, the normal weather pattern for Kingston. This did not happen, the wind disappeared completely, and the regatta was ended early afternoon with 8 races completed. Kingston Yacht Club Commodore Rosemary Wilson made the prize presentations and confirmed the club’s support for its radio controlled fleets.
Thank you to all competitors, especially those who travelled long distances, eight from Nova Scotia, two from Massachusetts, one from Michigan, one from Quebec and the remainder from various locations across Ontario. This mix of skills and experience made the sailing interesting and challenging. Many of the sailors have competed in this regatta before in other locations so friendships and rivalries were renewed for next year.
Woodie Update
June 19 – Martin Herbert has provided an update to his Wooden IOM build page where he documents the competitive debut of both his and his brothers beautiful wooden IOMs.
View From Above
June 12 – Thanks to Saltspring Island CRYA member Ole Andersen for this video of the IOM Canadian Nationals, including some terrific drone footage.
Canadian IOM Ranking
June 11 – See the IOM More Information page to download the latest National Ranking list.
Report on IOM Nationals
June 10 – Thanks to John Ball, CRYA Class Secretary, for this report on the recent IOM Canadian Nationals at Saltspring Island.
Congratulations go to Graham Herbert, the 2015 Canadian IOM Champion. Graham was sailing his beautiful home built wooden IOM – and when I say home built – he not only designed and built the boat, but also made the foils, the ballast, the sails and all the rigging and fittings – only the electronics were purchased. Runner up was Gary Boell of California, sailing his Cheinz, and third was (almost local) Bellingham, Washington sailor Kelly Martin, sailing a V8. There were three Canadians and three US sailors in the top six positions.
The regatta was held at the traditional West Coast location – the front dock of the Saltspring Island Sailing Club, and thanks must go to the SISC and to WCMYA for hosting the event and to the members who assisted with logistics, such as running the mark boat, and setting and pulling the weed nets (this is salt water tidal). Thanks also to the ladies who provided the lunches and cleanup, especially Aileen Neish and grand-daughter in law Tara, Anya, and Rosemary Herbert for the food (lunches, salads, fruit bowl, buttered bread, etc.) and to Roger Kibble for his (whisky marinated) poached salmon. Calling the lines was CRYA President Lawrie Neish. Barry Fox and Leah Mathewson did the recording, results and heat management and provided the portable sound system for announcements and start timer. Behind the scenes, Martin Herbert provided the weed nets. A special ‘Thank You’ must go to Vic Childs of Anacortes, WA, who came in by boat and allowed us to use his ‘head’ to avoid the long hike up the hill to the club house washrooms. Lawrie would like to thank the campers for leaving their camping area so clean and tidy and the house crew for the clean up. Perhaps the biggest after the party job was clearing the nets from the docks – Martin, Ole and club member, Greg Slakov did a great job in doing this and getting them up to the dock head ready to move.
The normal wind conditions for Saltspring at this time of year is a south easterly that is reinforced by a thermal as the day heats up – but not this year. The wind was from the north west, and in spite of sunny warm conditions, the thermal was fitful and much of the regatta was sailing in light, shifty winds, with alternate races frequently starting in opposite directions – and some heats saw 180 degree wind shifts, accompanied by dead spots in the convergence zone. Then the wind moved into the north, blowing onto the dock and the challenge was to set a useable starting line and weather leg. Only on Saturday afternoon and early Sunday morning did we have the great Saltspring winds which pushed the fleet to the top of No.1 rigs – but never got to No. 2 rig conditions. Twenty (two heat) races were completed, allowing three drops, with most racing using a short course of once around, plus an extra beat to finish. Given the awkward angle of the starting line and the ‘out there’ weather mark, there were frequent collisions and hails of Protest, but all were settled by penalty turns and no work for a Protest Committee. Thirty boats started the regatta, after a couple of ‘medical’ withdrawals and the unfortunate flooding in Texas, and several boats dropped out late in the regatta with equipment problems. Some heats were so close, the Race Committee had a hard time calling the results fast enough, while the light and changeable conditions and the odd kelp caused other heats to be quite spread out. We had four skippers who were at the recent IOM Worlds, and several more ‘new’ boats participating that were purchased after the worlds – the standard of our racing and the quality of the fleet has risen significantly over the last few years.
Thank you to all the competitors, especially those who travelled, three from CA, ten from WA, two from Calgary, AB, and two from Vancouver, and to all the local sailors – you make the regatta by coming to race with us.
Newsletter Action
June 9 – The latest and freshest edition of the CRYA Newsletter is now hot off the presses (do PDF documents get hot?) and available by clicking on the Newsletter icon, top left of this page.
IOM Canadian Nationals Results
June 8 – It was a busy, hot and exciting Nationals, with 20 races over three days. Most sailors left the event sunburned, tired and happy. Congratulations for Graham Herbert, the 2015 Canadian Champion. There’s a bunch of photos and video over at the BC Region IOM Facebook Page.
One Day Moo Regatta
June 1 – Introducing a one-day casual IOM regatta at Lake Cowichan, BC. This will take place Saturday August 22nd. Racing will take place 10:00 AM until 4:00 PM, with a pause for lunch. Entry fee is $10, payable on site. If you plan to attend, please email the CRYA secretary (secretary at crya dot ca) so we can plan accordingly. You can arrive in the morning, sail and then go home, or you can camp and stay for the weekend (some people who are camping may also sail for fun on Friday and Sunday). It is recommended that you book your campsite as soon as possible: book here.
IOM Canadian Nationals Entry List
May 29 – The Canadian Nationals are just around the corner. The Nationals rotate between the different regions in Canada that have active IOM fleets and have the required manpower, resources and venue. This year, the BC Region is hosting at Saltspring Island Sailing Club, June 4th – 7th . Entries have been accepted from as far away as Texas and California. It’s shaping up to be a fantastic event.
IOM Worlds Wrap-up
May 27 – From all reports, it was an exciting World Championship in Foster City, California. Brad Gibson (GBR 42) finished in top spot, with Peter Stollery and Zvonko Jelacic rounding out the podium. Ian Vickers recovered from a tough start and moved up the leaderboard to 4th place. Canada’s own Peter Stevens finished a respectable 66th place at his first Worlds event.
Our PNW friend, Bob Wells, prepared an excellent summary article.
Adventure and Excitement in Foster City
May 12 – There’s been plenty of action for the first half of the IOM World Championships in Foster City, California. Names like Gibson, Stollery, Jelacic and Walsh are trading back-and-forth the top podium positions, while others like Vickers have been steadily moving up the charts. Canada’s own Peter Stevens has had a respectable regatta, surviving carnage conditions on day 3.
Catch all the news, scores, updates and video from the IOM Worlds website or the IOM Worlds Facebook page.
IOM Worlds Newsfeed
Apr 29 – The IOM World Championship in Foster City, California, is just a week away. Our own Peter Stevens and Julian Laflin will be representing Canada. You can stay up-to-date following their progress by subscribing to the event email news. Click here.
Wait, what??
Apr 23 – We’re not sure who came up with this idea, and we’re especially not sure if it will pass an IOM measurement inspection (Lawrie – any comments?). But we are sure that it looks pretty cool!
Get ’em Young
Apr 22 – The sailors in Calgary are enjoying an early start to their RC sailing season, thanks to the fact that Winter seems to be trapped in Eastern Canada. And as a follow up to our Annual Report, specifically the comments about the age demographics of our membership, we bring you this photo of one 8 year old Calgary sailor who was sailing with the group on Tuesday. In fact, the average age of the entire group (5 sailors) was under 40. That might be a world record.
Hail, Caesar
Apr 21 – If the Roman Emperor raced sailboats, he would have enjoyed this part of the rules the most. Now you can read all about hailing in the 3rd installment of our rules series from our resident expert John Ball. Click here to download.
See all published rules documents here.
September Blender Prairie Regional
Apr 20 – The 4th annual September Blender regatta for IOMs is hosted by the Calgary Model Sailing Association September 18th – 20th. For 2015 this event has been sanctioned by the CRYA as a points-counting regional. You can download the 2015 Blender NOR.
IOM Nationals Registration
Apr 15 – Registration is now open. You can register online right on this website. Payment can be made online by PayPal or credit card, just follow the instructions on the registration page. Early registration is open until May 4th, after that the price goes up.
CRYA Annual Report
Apr 13 – The CRYA Executive have compiled the results of the virtual AGM. They are assembled into an online Annual Report for the 2014 year. You may view this here.
Great RC Ocean Race
Apr 12 – You may have heard about this race. It’s a distance RC sailing race around Protection Island near Nanaimo, BC, with the start/finish line off the Dinghy Dock pub. It’s run by the Nanaimo RC Laser club, but it’s open to any radio controlled boat. Sailors control their boat from a chase boat with a driver, making this a sailing/driving team effort. If you don’t have a chase boat and driver, they can probably find one for you. It’s a super fun event. You can download the NOR here. Contact info is contained in the NOR, and more info is at the Nanaimo RC Laser website.
IOM Nationals NOR
Apr 10 – The 2015 IOM Nationals NOR has been published. We are working on an online entry process. If you wish, you can use the entry form attached to the NOR and submit by mail or email. For more details, click on the event on the right side of this page.
Beaver Report
Apr 7 – We have no less than THREE reports on the recent Beaver Fever BC Region IOM ranking regatta. Plus photos, video, and results of course. Check it out.
Victoria Canadian Nationals
Apr 6 – The 2015 Canadian National Championships for the Victoria class will be held in Woodstock Ontario, September 4th – 6th, and hosted by the Woodstock Model Sailing Club. This event has been added to the CRYA calendar and event list (on the right side of this page). You can download the NOR/Entry Form document from there.
New IOM Ranking
Apr 3 – Click on the IOM Ranking Page to see the latest ranking of Canadian IOM sailors after the BC Regional Beaver Fever regatta.
In That Case…
Apr 2 – The IRSA has published a Case Book for RC racing. It contains cases of special interest to RC racing, especially where Appendix E modifies the RRS. Click here to download.
That’s a Kicker
Mar 31 – The IOMICA has issued a bulletin from the Technical Committee, responding to a Request for Interpretation about a fitting mounted to the boom that incorporates several adjustments. Coles Notes: it’s not legal.
See the ruling here.
Coming Soon…
Mar 29 – We have a plethora of new content coming this week. This includes reports on the Beaver Fever BC Region Ranking Regatta, new rules clarifications from the IRSA, and an updated Canadian IOM Ranking. Plus we’ll be publishing the results of the CRYA AGM which took place in a virtual environment over the past weeks. Watch this space over the coming days.
Newsletter, Revised
Mar 23 – The Winter newsletter, first published last week, has been updated to include some missing content. The link on the left now points to the latest version. Be sure to stay up-to-date on your CRYA news.
Latest News
Mar 19 – Your CRYA newsletter for Winter 2015 is hot off the presses. Click on the picture, top left of this page. To see old newsletters, visit the Newsletter Archive page, under the Information tab, main menu.
Rule 18 and the Windward Mark
Mar 12 – One of the most challenging rules in sailboat racing is Rule 18. It is also one of the most debated, both on the racecourse and at the bar. In Part 2 of his home study course, CRYA Technical Director John Ball takes an in-depth look at the tactics, strategies and rules while approaching and rounding the weather mark. It’s an excellent and informative read.
You can download Part 1 of the series, Starts, here.
Canadian IOM Ranking Events
Mar 5th – The list of ranking events for 2015 has been determined. It’s available for download via the Canadian IOM Ranking page, a sub page of the IOM Class page. Check the menu on your left to find this part of the CRYA website.
IOM 2015 Class Rules published
Feb 28th. – The new IOM Class rules have now been published and take effect March 1st, 2015. To see the details and download the Class Rules and forms, Click on the Classes tab on the left, and then click on the IOM Class, and select Latest Information.
COW Regatta
Feb 26th – The AMYA COW Regatta takes place April 24th – 26th in Renton, Washington. This regatta is just a few weeks before the Worlds in Foster City, so should be quite well attended by big-name sailors. Here’s your chance to rub shoulders with some of them. More info, NOR, entry form etc are all available here.
CRYA AGM
Feb 25th – the CRYA virtual AGM email has been circulated. From the link provided in the email, you wil be able to view the President’s report, Class Secretaries reports, financial reports and vote on two important motions. Please check your inbox for the email. If you are a current member and didn’t receive it, please contact the CRYA Exec Secretary. And it’s not too late to renew your membership and vote. Members who join or renew by March 4th will be able to participate.
Coming Soon – CRYA AGM
Feb 22nd – The CRYA virtual AGM will be circulated by email to all active 2014 and 2015 members in the next few days. To be included, be sure that you have renewed your CRYA membership.
Beaver Fever Registration Open
Feb 9th – Registration for the Beaver Fever regatta is now open. The regatta takes place March 28th/29th with check-in and measuring on March 27th. Because registration is via the AMYA website, you can just leave STATE and ZIP fields blank (only the red asterix fields are required). Also, the registration fee is $35 but you will be billed $30 US funds.
Registration: click Notice of race: click Entry list: click More info: clickWood Floats
Feb 7th – Martin Herbert has sea-trialed his beautiful new wooden IOM. Check out the photos on his build-page.
Seattle IOM Newsletter Jan 2015 Edition available
Feb 5th – The January 2015 edition of Bob Wells excellent Seattle IOM Newsletter is available for download
2015 Soling Nationals
Feb 3rd – The Canadian National Soling Championships will take place June 13-14 in Kingston, Ontario. This event is hosted by the KYC Radio Controlled Fleet and the Kingston Yacht Club. Click for NOR and Entry Forms documents.
How to build a Foam Plug – by Brad Gibson
Feb 1st – This is a great instructional video on how to build a foam plug to use as a male mold to build a hull. Use the PAUSE frequently to read the Comments pages. Brad is one of the top sailors, boat designers and sail makers in the world. This technique works for any size boat from Footy and RG 65 to IOM, M and 10R.
Cool in the Pool
Jan 28th – How much fun does this look like? This is from our friends at RCYC in Toronto, who have an exploding fleet of Dragon Force 65s. We can’t wait for the DF Indoor National Championships.
Skip ahead to 13:30 to see the start of the first heat.
Notice of AGM
Jan 23rd – The CRYA AGM will be held in a virtual format. An email will be distributed to all 2014 and 2015 members with appropriate reports and financial information. Plus, there will be an online survey which will allow members to vote on CRYA issues. Be sure your membership is current (2014 or 2015) to ensure you are on the distribution list. Further, if you have any new business issues, please submit to your CRYA secretary by February 7th.
2015 IOM Worlds Update
Jan 17th – Our own Julian Laffin is featured on one of Bob Wells interviews, just added to the IOM Worlds web site,
More Woody
Jan 16th – Martin Herbert has sent an update on his wooden IOM build. The hull is complete and looks gorgeous. This is a sneak preview image. The full image is here.
Mini 12 Regatta NOR
Jan 12th – It’s been a few years since there was an organized Mini 12 regatta in Canada. The Ottawa Area Model Yacht Club has announced theirs for June 27th (updated) June 28th of this year. The renewed interest in this classic RC sailing boat is terrific to see. Download the NOR here.
Start Me Up
Jan 11th – John Ball, your CRYA Technical Director and IOM Class Secretary is also a veritable expert on sailing rules and tactics. John is preparing a series of rules and tactics documents which we will be publishing over the course of 2015. As the first edition of this series we are pleased to bring you Starts.
Newsletter is Here
Jan 10th – The latest edition of your CRYA newsletter has just been published. Just click the newsletter image on the top left of this page.
Happy New Year from CRYA
Jan 1st – On behalf of the entire CRYA executive, we wish all radio sailors a fantastic 2015.