(Toronto, ONT, Canada)- The first Lake Ontario J/FEST regatta will be
held July 21st to 23rd at Ashbridges Bay YC, just west of downtown
Toronto, sailing on the beautiful, but way, way too full Lake Ontario!
That has been the big story of the year for sailors on the lake. As of
July 11, almost all of the ABYC docks were above water. The water level
is likely to go down by another couple of inches by the regatta weekend
and the club was hard at work getting ready to accommodate all competing
boats. Most classes will be rafting and a small number of slips will be
available for larger boats.Geoff Moore of North Sails will conduct on-water and on-shore workshops on Friday afternoon and evening. Practice starts on the water and sessions on rules and protest hearings are also planned.
JAUNTY J, a J/88 family speedster, will be on display on Friday July 21 from about 11am to 7pm. Check out the electric motor, available as standard from J/Boats, enjoy a demo sail, and see what makes this 29 footer such a fun speedster for the whole family!
The inaugural Lake Ontario J/FEST Regatta is off to a great start with forty boats registered and strong fleets of J/105s, J/27s, and J/80s. Plus, J/33, J/35, J/109, and J/120 crews will be racing in the PHRF division.
With seventeen boats, the J/105 fleet on the lake has turned out in force with most of the top teams from the Toronto region looking forward to a fun weekend of racing and the gracious hospitality of ABYC! Amongst the top boats are two past J/105 North American Champions; Jim Rathbun’s HEY JUDE and Terry McLaughlin & Rod Wilmer’s MANDATE! Giving them a good run-for-the-money will be Mike Mountford’s LIVE EDGE, Mike Champman’s SENTIENT, Ian Farquharson’s SONIC BOOM, and Allan Megarry’s STARCROSS.
The J/27s have enjoyed a bit of resurgence on the western end of the lake, seven boats have registered to compete for class honors. Familiar faces in the top teams include Andrew Riem’s CURVED AIR (a past J/27 NA Champion), Robert Kelly’s LINE DRIVE, Andre Beese’s MESSING ABOUT and Christian Greenfield’s MISS TRIXIE.
Similarly, the six J/80s will enjoy some nice racing, led by their class cheerleader Lawrence Alexander on the mighty JIGGERS! Chasing them will be Dave Doyle’s INNOCENT BYSTANDER, Owen Schneider’s ENIGMA, and Trudy Murphy’s FEISTY!
In the PHRF class will be a mix of teams from J/24s up to the J/120s. Those teams include Bob Eckersley’s winning J/109 BLUE STREAK, Murray Gainer’s champion J/109 LIVELY, the two J/120s that are fast offshore (Matt Emerson’s RED LEAF and Graham Toms’ THE CAT CAME BACK), Sean Matthews’ famous J/33 WEE BEASTIE, and four smoking-hot classic masthead J/35s (Paul Cavanaugh’s TOP GUN, Geoff Roulet’s JEANNIE, Chris Cumming’s BATTLEWAGON, & Paul-Angus Bark’s CRIME SCENE). For more J/Fest Great Lakes sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.
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