Sunday, July 12, 2015

Lake Ontario 300 Race Preview

J/109 sailing Lake Ontario (Mississauga, Ontario, Canada)- Starting July 11th, Saturday, the Lake Ontario 300 Challenge is the premier offshore race on Lake Ontario, and it provides a challenging circumnavigation of the lake. A group of double handed racers originally developed the Lake Ontario 300 Challenge as the ultimate double-handed challenge in 1990 and it still remains the longest annual fresh water race.  The Main Duck Island course is 300nm and starts at PCYC. It includes mark roundings at Gibraltar, the Main Duck Islands, Ford Shoal, Niagara R2 and finishes back at PCYC.

Sailing this year’s Main Duck Island Course in IRC 2 Class is Leszek Siek’s J/35 JAEGER from Port Credit YC.  In the PHRF 1, class is Murray Gainer’s J/109 LIVELY and Graham Toms’ J/120 THE CAT CAME BACK.  Two J/105s are sailing in PHRF 3 class, Geoff Clarke’s CASUAL ELEGANCE and Tom Accardo’s SOTTOVENTO.  They are joined by Bonnie Rieb’s J/33 DAYBREAK from Toronto.

This year, LO300 racers will proudly share their waters with the sailing events of the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games that will be taking place in the Toronto Inner Harbour and just south of the Toronto Islands in July.

As a result, LO300 organizers are adjusting the initial part of both courses for 2015, removing Gibraltar as a mark and adding a mark offshore, southeast of the start, to be left to port – and a fresh new angle to think about as you plan your race strategy.  For more Lake Ontario 300 Race sailing information