An update from the Toronto Fleet:
The lemonade stand for the VX One fleet has been very busy from the beginning of June and will continue to be until October. Early in June, VX One teams committed to each other to be “quaran-teams” in order to be able to sail and be respectful of the pandemic phase restrictions applied from the province. Every weekend, in lieu of a race committee, marks were dragged out (thank you Violet Stafford) and good old rabbit starts allowed for many short course races. Sometimes 4 boats were out and other days had 8-10 boats participated and we always ended the day with a debrief of boat set-up, tips and tricks, demonstrating that the camaraderie of this fleet can’t be beat.
Participation has been active in the VX One fleet even with the restrictions of the pandemic. On Thursday nights since mid-week racing began we’ve averaged about 10 boats on the starting line. With the quick work of the RC we’ve managed to get two races in on two separate Thursdays. The quality of the racing is hard to beat, with good competition all the way through the fleet, and a helpful and encouraging atmosphere.
There have been some new comers to the fleet this season. Jason Kahng and Rod Wilmer bought hull 144 – Welcome Jason and Rod! Jason has been seen getting familiar with the boat with his family this summer. Andrew Yates has chartered hull 259 and has been sailing with his family (Clea and Maxwell). The Yate’s are accomplished I14 sailors and we are glad to have them in our fleet.
In the season of Covid we’ve had several family racing teams. In addition to the Yates’ we’ve also regularly seen the Bennett family and the Leigh family. The VX One can be a great family boat too!
Like every fleet, we were excited for the return of the weekly races bringing back some normalcy to our lives. Thank you to the sailing office for being ready to hit GO when the approval was provided.
Big news in the fleet this season is the addition of the second ramp to the VX One dry sail area. This is a welcome and much needed facility improvement. On race day there are a lot of boats launching, and some dock time is required before you can sail, so having the second ramp back (after the ramps were damaged by winter ice two seasons ago) is a great development.
Fast forward to the weekend of August 22/23 which was our scheduled Canadians Regatta renamed “Not the Canadians” Regatta. The fleet of 13 boats keen for 2 days of racing on the lake (a relief from the weedy inner harbour) held 8 races in total. Day 1 was light air with challenging conditions and Day 2 more breeze which ensured that everyone was tired after their first 2-day event of the season! Thank you to the sailing office for pulling off this event for the VX One and I14’s fleets.
Congratulation to the winners:
1. Trevor Parekh & David Mori
2. Matt Kenney & Andrew Kenny
3. Jamie Keating & Aiden Young
Many more regattas and days on the water are planned, so if you’d like to learn more about this fun, fast competitive boat please join us any Thursday where someone is always at the dock and be able to provide more insight on how you can get involved.
Report from Christine Short