Fred and Bob's Excellent Sailing Adventure

Fred Finlayson and Bob Webb are sailing across the ocean from Hampton Virginia to Tortola, British Virgin Islands.

We are sailing in a Rally called The Salty Dawg Rally and here is the website for it:

www.saltydawgrally.org

The boat we are crewing on is a Jeanneau 54DS called Sapphire with Bill & Linda Knowles who are the organizers of the Salty Dawg. There are more than 50 boats participating.

The expected departure from Hampton is next Tuesday Nov 6 (weather window permitting).

Also, we will be using a SPOT personal locator which sends a signal showing our location and you can track it on the internet by going to this site:

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0SARzyS9kK7Pzk9cTlG0louiqyR9BQejY

 Save the above URL in your hotlinks and you can check it from time to time.

When you go to the web page – change the map to “hybrid” and zoom out to get a better view.

Houseboat Fun!

Northern Yacht Club Racing

The 2012 Northern Yacht Club race series was once again very competitive. We had over 20 boats participate in the series and a friendly rivalry has developed between the Ontario and Manitoba based race crews. After the six race series, Ontario and Manitoba tied with 3 wins each.

Leaving from our club base at Northern Harbour Marina, the races start just before noon and usually finish around three in the afternoon. All races are pursuit style and take the competitors 15-20 miles down the lake to a remote anchorage where most of the fleet anchors for the evening after an afternoon of hard racing. The races are run to include both flying sails and non-flying sails and it’s a great family activity for the day. Racing also makes the Saturday afternoon appetizer hour feel a little more “earned”.

While the races are run to include both flying sails and non-flying sails, the Club Championship is available to the flying sail boats only. This year, the Club Championship was won by Grand Cru (8.5 points), by the slightest of margins over the second boat, Goliath (8.75 points).
Race results as follows:
Summer Solstice:

1) Grand Cru (Manitoba - Wendy and Blair Magnus)

2) Kite (Ontario - Dave Nelson)

3) Goliath (Ontario – Steve Wells)


Traverse the Traverse:

1) Grand Cru (Manitoba - Wendy and Blair Magnus)

2) Raven (Manitoba – Ian Kelly)

3) Black Knight (Manitoba – Stewart Anderson)


Warroad:

1) AI (Ontario – Jeff Bath)

2) Kite (Ontario - Dave Nelson)

3) Borderline (Manitoba – Paul Gomori)


Commodore’s Cup:

1) Kite (Ontario - Dave Nelson)

2) Grand Cru (Manitoba - Wendy and Blair Magnus)

3) Goliath (Ontario – Steve Wells)


Witch Bay Pursuit:

1) Raven (Manitoba – Ian Kelly)

2) Goliath (Ontario – Steve Wells)

3) Borderline (Manitoba – Paul Gomori)


Sgt. Dick Booth Safety Race

1) Goliath (Ontario – Steve Wells)

2) Raven (Manitoba – Ian Kelly)

3) Black Knight (Manitoba – Stewart Anderson)

We look forward to seeing some new boats next year – Everyone is welcome!

The greatest freshwater sailing race on Earth resumes August 3, 2013

Lowisa 48 gets underway on incomparable Lake of the Woods August 3-10, 2013. This will mark forty-eight years of hard racing (and pleasure cruising), easy socializing, lake exploration, shooting stars, old friends, water fights, barbecues, and great sportsmanship.
We, the Debicki family, grew up on Lake of the Woods. Lowisa is engraved on the family calendar, and we've benefited from the years of great planning that have made this our favorite sailing event of the season, year in year out. We are very excited to take the helm for Lowisa 48. We are presently settling on a route plan. Safe sailing, opportune racing, and discovery guide us.

Lowisa is such a diverse and colourful event that it means different things to different participants. But there is one thing we all share: a love of sailing on what just might be the most beautiful lake in the world.

We are building a great team who bring with them their vast knowledge of racing and cruising on the lake. Rob Eby who has now overseen a series of extraordinarily successful Lowisa race committees. David Nelson who has a superb knowledge of the lake and course design. And Wendy Magnus who carries with her the energy that she instilled in this past summer's fantastic regatta. As usual, we are looking forward to the tremendous support of Northern Harbour and the Hall family, as well as the town of Kenora and a host of a incredible sponsors that in recent years have ensured that this remains an affordable family friendly event. There are a number of others, the solid crew of people who have worked so hard over the years to make Lowisa what it is. We will be reaching out to you over the next few months for your guidance.

One of the things that has made this race so strong and live up to the hyperbole is the stalwart commitment from many of the greatest sailors of our inland region (one which spans two countries and several provinces). We will spend much effort encouraging new participants. And we will honour these great sailors who come year after year by chairing a regatta that builds on the tradition.

For the love of sailing, join us.