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August 2014
Lake Ontario Offshore Racing
Newsletter
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The 25th running of the Lake Ontario 300 Challenge was another classic race and congratulations from the LOOR Committee to everyone who participated and finished. As promised, we experienced every type of wind possible, from just about every direction, and we even had a little bit of no wind to keep it interesting. It was exciting to be part of this year's race and from all accounts it was just as exciting to watch it live on the Yellowbrick Tracker. This was especially true at Main Duck Island or half way back from Scotch Bonnet (depending on which course you were on) when wind conditions forced every boat into a different direction. Let's hope the 100 mile LOSHRS race in August will get the same exciting conditions. This year we had 21,000 page views, averaging about 7 minutes viewing time each on our race tracking page as well 4,000 were on via mobile devices. (most of them were probably on the course) This is quite a significant increase from last year and combined with the 50% increase in our FaceBook activity, a good indication of the interest in this race.
 Congratulations also go out to each and every one of our winners. Winning this race is not an easy accomplishment and it should be cherished.
Special congratulations to Sperry Cup Winner, Pearl, Brent Hughes fromFBYC. It is worthy to note that Brent Hughes was racing Solo and has become the first Solo racer to win this honour! Congratulations also to Sperry Gold Cup Trophy winner, Hot Water, John McLeod from RCYC. You can see by the results that both yachts had some very close competition for their respective honour!
It is also a great honour to congratulate the eight boats which crossed the LO300 finish line, turned their boats eastward, and continued on to complete the inaugural Lake Ontario 600 Challenge. Happy Puppy from Kingston's CBYC won line honours, finishing on Thursday morning after racing for 4 days, 16 hours and 43 minutes. Skipper Daniel McKindsey and his crew Bill Reid, Luc Vallee, Sue Fraser and Dave Wilby were pleasantly surprised to be greeted by our shoreline crew with a bottle of Prosecco to celebrate their accomplishment. Special thanks to Monica Doedens and Ron Watt for greeting our 600 finishers.
All the LO600 boats were scored together whether they were fully, crewed, double handed or solo. Another congratulations goes to Brent Hughes on Pearl who had the best corrected time over all the LO600 racers!
 We will be celebrating all the trophy winners for both the Susan Hood Trophy Race and the Lake Ontario 300 & 600 Challenge at our annual awards banquet on September 20th at PCYC. We look forward to seeing everyone there.
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Sponsors
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Wrap up!
The Skippers Meeting was a huge success this year! Honourable Mayor Hazel McCallion, accompanied by Local MPP - Mississauga Ward 2 Jim Tory, attended to congratulate us on the 25th running and welcome racers from places as far as Quebec and Lake Erie. She also brought us her blessing for good winds. Thanks to our beloved Mayor we discovered that good winds were bestowed from the Municipal level and the 'other stuff' was thanks to the Provincial and Federal politicians! The highlight of the presentation however, was when Mayor Hazel 'fist bumped' like a gangster!
After the Skippers meeting, the pre-race party began and everyone enjoyed the band and the great rum drinks served by the Mount Gay 'Mixologist' sponsored by Mount gay Rum.
The Sperry Pre-Race Breakfast was also well attended and the number of boats out at the start line had an easy time keeping track of the light wind starts.
Upon returning to port, line honour boats celebrated by popping the cork of a great bottle of Prosseco bubbling wine, compliments of Select Wines
No matter what time they came in, all racers were treated to a special LO300 labelled post race beer brewed by Great Lake Brewery compliments of Che DeCastro from The Yacht Shoppe. Thanks Che! The now traditional post race Chili was devoured again this year as crew arrived at the finish check-in desk to hand in their trackers and documents.
Special thanks to shoreline committee composed of Monica Doedens, Ron Watt, Graham McDougal and Kristina Gilbert. Extra special thanks goes to all the volunteers who helped before, during, and after the race. An event of this calibre is built on the excellence of the volunteers. Tasks ranged from manning the check-in desk and ensuring the documents are all correctly completed plus that the trackers are distributed correctly, to blowing the whistle as racers crossed the finish line even if it was at 3 am. All of these tasks are vital to make the event run smoothly, and they all require dedication and attention to detail. There were too many people that helped to list them all here, but you know who you are, and we will be calling on you again next year. We are always looking for more dedicated people so if you are interested or know of anyone who may be, please contact us.
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2014 LAKE ONTARIO 300 TROPHY WINNERS
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The following is a list of this year's trophy winners for the Lake Ontario 300 Challenge.
Congratulations to everyone and we look forward to seeing you and your crew at this year's LOOR Awards Banquet in September.
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2014 Lake Ontario 300 Team Challenge presented by Pat Sturgeon Yachts
The results have been calculated for this year's Team Challenge and once again we congratulate The Wind Riders, from PCYC for winning the 2nd year in a row. Win Riders is composed of Setanta - Joe Doris, Mister Ed - Ian McAllister and Shorthanded - Mike Pietz.
A $500.00 donation will be made to the Junior Learn to Sail program at PCYC in the teams name.
1st Place Wind Riders - PCYC - Setanta, Shorthanded, Mister Ed
2nd Place The Royals - RCYC - Hot Water, Katbird, Cerulean
3rd Place Xtreme Team - PCYC - IMXtreme, Relentless, Afterburn
4th Place East Enders - WYC - Black Magic, Sumac, Pearl(FBYC)
5th Place Cathedrals - CBYC - Ariadna, Transmission, Prime Time 2
6th Place We the North - BHYC - Rogues, The Kraken, Ruffian
7th Place AB J Boats - ABYC - Lively, Crime Scene, The Cat Came Back
8th Place The Zoomers - EYC - Zoom, Worthy Pearl, Les
9th Place French Connection - PCYC - Arriba, Vague Location, Paladin,
10th Place ABYC AB's - ABYC - Hammertime 2, Sora, Merlin M2
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Division Winners
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All division winners have been posted on our home page and our Yachtscoring page.
There are a few repeats from last year, which is a great accomplishment. It takes great skill to win a race in two very different conditions - one heavy wind and one light wind.
We also have some first time flag winners, which also deserve huge congratulations from everyone.
This year's Post Race Flag Ceremony was well attended and flags were handed out for both the Susan Hood and the LO300. Complimentary Yacht Dogs, Chili and beer rounded out the evening and a great time was had by all.
For those who have not yet received their flags, they will be available at the Skipper's meeting of the LOSHRS 100 miler, the evening of Friday August 15. If you can't be there, we will try to give it to someone who can deliver it to your club so you can pick it up there. Finally, any that are still left, will be available at the banquet on September 20. |
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Solo Challenge Update
Well, the 2014 Lake Ontario 300 Solo Challenge is now in the books, and what a race it was!!! Lake Ontario threw just about everything it had at us except for lightning (which is a welcome relief), and we stood up well to the Challenge. Some of us saw very close to 40 knots at the backside of Main Duck Island, and the ensuing waves that greeted us when we came around the west end were.....interesting!
We are proud to announce that 11 of the 13 sailors finished the Challenge, and the other two sailors (John Ball - GLSS, and Ken Tramposch - 1st timer) made it safely to harbour without further incident.
Further, we are very honoured to announce that Lake Ontario now has 2 new members in the GLSS - Martin "Mac" MacKenzie (Worthy Pearl - EYC), and Jim French (Vague Location - PCYC). Mac and Jim will receive their GLSS Burgee and Medallion at the Chicago GLSS Meeting in January 2015 (details to follow).
Finally, with his incredible 1st time performance in the Lake Ontario 300 Solo Challenge and a 3rd Place Finish, we are pleased to announce that Mac MacKenzie and Worthy Pearl will be receiving the 2014 Presidents Challenge Cup for this years' race at the LO300 Awards Night in September. This is the GLSS Award given to the best placing 1st time finisher in a GLSS event.
Brent Hughes
Pearl.
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LOSHRS Update
Change of Division Splits for DH-FS2
We are half way through the LOSHRS season andas a result of observing some imbalances in the DH-FS2 division, we will be making some corrective changes to the splits prior to the upcoming 100 miler. The updated splits will act to normalize the size of the DH-FS2 division making it more consistent with the relative sizes of the other divisions. All skippers will be notified of the specific changes through a communication from Yacht Scoring and the revised divisions will be posted on Yacht Scoring prior to August 13, 2014. If you have not received any notice by this point please contact [email protected].
The Infamous '100 Miler' Race is less than 2 weeks away!!
Friday August 15th @ 7:30pm - Competitors Meeting (mandatory for Skippers).
- Chief Race Management Officer, Graham Dougall will review SI's and respond to questions
- Guest speaker Brian Chapman (UK Sailmakers) will provide a full weather briefing and discuss strategies for maximizing your VMG around the course
- Drawing for prizes
- Stay afterward to enjoy the TGIF at Port Credit YC with a live band and dinner specials
Saturday August 16th - First Gun @ 9:55am
The 100 Miler is one of the great shorthanded races of the season with August winds, a daytime scenic route along the north shore of western Lake Ontario together with an overnight leg crossing from the south shore at Niagara back to Port Credit.
To race in the 100 Miler, you don't have to be part of the whole LOSHRS series, you can race in this single event as long as your boat meets the same safety requirements as the LO300 or the Susan Hood Trophy Race. If you haven't yet registered, this can be done through Yacht Scoring. Come join us and add the Infamous 100 Miler to your list of amazing experiences this summer.
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The Lake Ontario Offshore Racing Group is responsible for the planning of the Lake Ontario 300 Challenge, the Susan Hood Trophy Race and the Lake Ontario Short Handed Racing Series under the organizing authority of the Port Credit Yacht Club.
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