LOOR News: 2023 Schedule | SHTR and LOSHRS Race 1

Lake Ontario Offshore Racing - Newsletter

May 16, 2023

Chair's Message:

2023 Racing is Almost Upon Us!

Registration for Lake Ontario Offshore Racing Events Remains Open!

Hopefully your 2023 racing preparations are well in-hand and most of you have already “Splashed”. 2023 Racing Season will be soon upon us.

Friday June 2rd is the start of our 2023 season with the Susan Hood Trophy Race (SHTR) presented by driveHG.

Running since 1955 and fondly referred to as the 'Coolest Race on the Lake', the Susan Hood Trophy Race is a 75 nautical mile overnight race that kicks off the racing season. The event is open to fully crewed, short-handed and solo sailors. The Notice of Race is available at YachtScoring and includes rules, course, scoring and other race details.

Racing continues on Sunday, June 4th with the Lake Ontario Short Handed Racing Series (LOSHRS) Race #1 – a 16 nautical mile Course Race.

Use the links on the LOOR website or below to sign yourself up for one or ALL the races.

And please remember, if you are new to offshore racing and have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out to us at info@LOOR.ca or contact your club LOOR Ambassador. We'll help get you to the start line.

Stay safe,

Monica Doedens & Terry Kuehn

Co-Chairs, Lake Ontario Offshore Racing Organizing Authority

Racing Dates for the 2023 Season:

For all those long-long distance racers, the LO600 returns in 2023. The Lake Ontario 600 Challenge occurs every other year and 2023 will mark the FIFTH opportunity for you to circumnavigate the lake twice – giving your fly swatter a really good work out!

Also check out the Calendar on www.loor.ca

Susan Hood Trophy Race presented by driveHG (SHTR)

Registration

Fri. June 2nd into Sat. June 3rd

A 75 NM overnight race on western Lake Ontario from Port Credit Yacht Club (PCYC) and finishing at PCYC. This race is open to single handed, double handed and fully crewed keelboat and multihull sailboats. A component of Ontario Sailing’s Offshore Championship for PHRF

Lake Ontario 300/600 Challenge Race presented by driveHG (LO300/LO600)

Registration

Fri., July 14th with start on Sat. July 15th and onwards

Two Courses:

180 NM
300 NM with the follow-on 600 NM race

On Lake Ontario from PCYC and finishing at PCYC. This race is open to single handed, double handed and fully crewed keelboat and multihull sailboats. A component of Ontario Sailing’s Offshore Championship for PHRF.

Lake Ontario Short Handed Racing Series presented by driveHG (LOSHRS)

Registration

LOSHRS is a series of races for single and double handed keelboat and multihull sailboats on western Lake Ontario.

Race 1 Sunday June 4th, 2023

A course race between PCYC and Toronto Islands via Clarkson.

Race 2 Sat. June 17th, 2023

A coastal race from PCYC.

Race 3 Sun. June 18th, 2023

A coastal Race from PCYC.

Race 4 Sat. Aug. 19th into Sun. Aug. 20th, 2023

A 100 statute mile race starting at PCYC and ending at PCYC. This is a qualifier for Great Lakes Singlehanded Society (GLSS)’s series of solo races on the Great Lakes.

Race 5 Sat. Sep. 16th, 2023

A race from PCYC to DYC.

Race 6 Sun. Sep. 17th, 2023

A race back to PCYC from DYC.

2023 Offshore Racing Dates!

Registration is now open! Click on the links above.

The Early Bird registration rates end:

Susan Hood Trophy Race and LOSHRS full season is Sunday, April 30th
LO300 is Wednesday, May 31st

For all dates and details, go to Lake Ontario Offshore Racing

Safety!

LOOR is phasing in Sail Canada’s Prescription to the Offshore Special Regulations (OSR) for Category 3 Requiring Crew Training in Offshore Personal Survival.

To see what courses are scheduled at the moment, go to the Ontario Sailing Registration Web page, select “Offshore and Coastal Personal Survival Courses”.

If you have any questions, email safety@loor.ca

LOOR provides a random draw for boats in any LOOR OSR Category 3 event that meets the Sail Canada Prescription for training.

While training is not mandatory for LOOR OSR Category 3 events in 2023, any boat that meets or exceeds the requirements in a LOOR OSR Category 3 will be entered into a random draw for a $100 CAD credit card.

The Sail Canada Prescription is:

Sail Canada prescribes that, starting in 2023, at least 30% but not fewer than two crewmembers, including the Person in Charge, shall have undertaken a one-day Sail Canada accredited (or equivalent) offshore survival course within the five years before the start of the race.

LOOR has amended out “starting in 2023.”

The entry requirements are:

The eligible LOOR events are LO300/LO600, Susan Hood Trophy Race (SHTR), and LOSHRS Race 4.
The boat must start the event.
The boat will be entered for each LOOR OSR Category 3 event for which it meets the Sail Canada Prescription
Crew members including the Person-in-Charge must enter the date of applicable course and certificate number issued for successful completion. This is done when entering details on the crew in The Crew’s Corner on YachtScoring for applicable event.

The draw will be done at the LOOR Organizing Committee Meeting in September.

Please submit any inquiries on this to info@loor.ca.

Virtual Racing Returns for the Third Year Running

Sailonline is again partnering with LOOR to offer you two virtual versions from our annual Lake Ontario race series. Sailonline is a not-for-profit organisation run by volunteers.

Sailonline will be racing its Beneteau First 36.7 in both races:

(1) Susan Hood Trophy Race (June 2, 2023): An overnight fully-crewed 75nm circuit around the west end of Lake Ontario. Run annually every year since 1955 (except 2020, of course) the race is affectionately referred to as ’the coolest race on the lake” and offers a brisk opening to the race season in Ontario.

(2) Lake Ontario 300 Challenge (July 15, 2023): A 300nm figure-eight circumnavigation of Lake Ontario. Since 1990, the LO300 has been a main event for offshore racing on the Great Lakes. As probably the longest freshwater race in the world, the course reaches the Niagara River, the gateway to the St. Lawrence Seaway at Main Duck Island in the Thousand Islands.

Both virtual versions of these real races will open several days before race start to allow practice on-course - the techniques for sailing on Sailonline are the same for all races, so all LOOR members, friends and family are invited to start racing for free on Sailonline as soon as each race opens!

LOOR Combined Trophy Awards Banquet - Save The Date - Saturday, November 18, 2023 at PCYC!

LOOR is holding a combined banquet to present the trophies for the LO300/LO600, Susan Hood Trophy Race (SHTR), and LOSHRS at PCYC on Saturday, November 18, 2023. More details to follow.

Flags for the LO300/LO600 will be presented by Mimico Cruising Club (MCC) the evening of Friday, July 21, 2023. More details to follow.

Flags for LOSHRS, and any not presented for LO300/LO600 and Susan Hood Trophy Race will be available at the social function before the LOOR Combined Awards Banquet, More details to come.

Crew Bank - Need Crew or interested in Crewing?

If you are a sailor and interested in participating in one of the Lake Ontario Offshore Races, or a skipper who needs crew, use the Crew/Boats Boards on the Yacht Scoring Registration and Official Document page.

Go to the Crew Bank page on the LOOR site.

LOOR provides a random draw for boats in the LO300/LO600 or Susan Hood Trophy Race (SHTR) that use a crew from the LO300/LO600 or SHTR Crew Bank.

Any boat that starts in the LO300/LO600 or the Susan Hood Trophy Race (SHTR) that obtains one or more crew members for the event from the crew bank for that event will be entered into a random draw for a prize.

The boat can have an entry for each crew member obtained from the crew banks.

If a boat obtains two crew for an event, then the boat is entered twice.

If the individual has registered in the crew banks for both events and a boat uses that individual for both the LO300/LO600 and the Susan Hood Trophy Race, the boat will be entered twice.

The entry requirements are:

The individual must have registered with the event’s crew bank.
The individual must appear on the crew list for the event for the boat submitting the entry for that event.
The boat must have started the event, i.e., LO300/LO600 or SHTR
By the end of the day, July 31St, the Person-in-Charge (PiC) of the boat in the event needs to email info@loor.ca.with the following.
The name of the individual who crewed that was obtained from the event’s crew bank.
The name of the boat
The Event.