End of first full summer with Suzie Q

After a couple of months of preparations, our Mirage 24 was launched on May 31 with a new name - Suzie Q. We could not sail right away because the water was too high and the club had installed the harbour gates to keep the water out of the harbour and prevent flooding. We had a great summer sailing in all kinds of winds from light to 20 knots. Suzie Q sailed 18 times (12 with me on board). Dave even went out twice by himself!

I had hoped that we would spend at least one night on the boat but with me participating in 3 regattas and another weekend away, we ran out of opportunities. However, we did sail all the way up river to Pinhey's Point a couple of times. And we did our very first race (Queen's Park) and finished last!! Oh well, better next time!

We enjoyed our last sail on October 5, on a bright sunny day with a light breeze, wearing only t-shirts and light long pants. Haulout happened on Friday, October 11 and by Monday, she was almost ready to be covered. The weather and other activities prevented us from finishing the winter preps which we did on November 3rd.

Next year, we have to organize a renaming ceremony to tell Neptune of the new name!

Being driven to her winter spot.

Ready for winter!

Suzie Q's first race!

On September 15, we did our first long distance race on our boat. In a straight line, the race is approximately 8.4 nautical miles. The wind was south west which means that we could pretty much do it in a straight line. We did two tacks going up in order to avoid a shoal and that was it. My friend Joan, who I've been racing with on Phoenix for the last 15 years, came with us today. She was a great coach for Dave and I for this first time.

We used our #2 which is our middle size sail because the wind forecast was for 12-14 knots. Perhaps we could have used a bigger sail but most of the time we were keeping up with another Mirage 24 which was using a #1 genoa. So not bad for rookies.

The start of the race was a bit scary for Dave as there must have been at least 30 boats of all sizes.

Can you tell?

 

This is the other Mirage we kept up with.

We lost Muskad (the red Mirage) at the mark rounding because we did a very poor job of it! But I think we caught up with her a bit. The final results will tell us how far behind we were.

Suzie Q behind Muskad and all the faster boats on the horizon!

Konas at the National Capital Regatta - August 10-11, 2013

After the masters weekend, it was time to participate in the National Capital Regatta at my club, the Britannia Yacht Club. Fifteen windsurfers came to Ottawa to participate in this annual event, which has been held now for 56  years.

Saturday was pretty windy with winds between 15-20 knots. At that wind speed, I am not strong enough to race so I went out anyway on my Kona and 7.4 Kona sail and had a blast just going fast and practicing jibes. Now I know that I can hang on and sail that 7.4 in that much wind! But racing in that wind is another story because of the downwind legs. The others did 5 races so everybody was pretty tired at night.

Sunday was a more tamed day, just my kind of wind. We did 3 races in the morning and started a 4th one that was abandoned due to the lack of wind. But of course, as soon as it was abandoned, the wind came back and we could have finished it. We all went in for lunch and the Race Committee called it a day. Everyone packed up and attended the awards ceremony before going home.

Left, Phil Moorman, our commodore, Olivia Mew, Nick Cox, Rick Collins & Andrée Gauthier, winners of the weekend.

A slow action picture, I am number 1703.

CMWA Championship in Toronto, August 2 to 5, 2013

For the first time in 25 years of existence, the Canadian Masters Windsurfing Association held its annual regatta at the Toronto Windsurfing Club (TWC). Stephanie Todd was our organizer extraordinaire with the help of a bunch of volunteers. We had 17 Konas racing, 2 youths on Bic Technos, 8 on open raceboards and 4 youth on RS:X and raceboard. A great group of people of all ages!

I convinced my friend Dave Luck, who used to race, to come to Toronto for the weekend and partake in some of the activities. He was beach master on Saturday and joined us for dinner on Saturday.

On Friday evening, we had registration and great munchies at the TWC. Saturday brought us sun and wind but very unstable wind that kept shifting too much to set a course. Our race officer, Anne Sanderson, was very patient and after lunch managed to set a course and sent us on 2 one lap races. I did those 2 races!

Sunday was also sunny with more stable winds. We did 3 races before lunch. We were set up close to the eastern gap and the wind was gusty so I had to hold on with all my might and also watch for slight wind shifts. After lunch, there were 2 races that I opted not to do because my arms and upper body were tired from the morning. I lent out my board to Jean-Robert Wilhelmy, from Makani Fins, for him to try as he had never been on one but had help design the new weed fin for the Kona.

Monday was our long distance race. Nice steady light wind, just for moi!! I had a good start and shortly after, I spotted Andrée and Bob going up along the far shore so I decided to follow them. It paid off because as I was approaching the finish, I could count only 4 Konas ahead of me. But a race is never over until you cross that finish line... and low and behold, Marco and Tom came from behind and finished just in front of me but by not much. After the race, the wind was nice in front of the club so I continued to sail for a while. Then in to pack up and have the awards ceremony.

I came home with a 2nd place in the Grand Master's women Kona class and a 3rd place in the Kona ladies class, behind my usual opponents, Andrée and Stephanie. All in all, a good weekend was had on the water and off the water.

The venue, Toronto Windsurfing Club.

A Porter Airline plane flying to Toronto Island and a bug!

Me racing with the Toronto skyline in the background.

Another of moi with the Toronto skyline. Photo by Artem Sr.

When the cat is away...

... the mouse play! While I was away a the Kona World championship, Dave was able to go sailing twice. On June 30th, he took his daughter Alison and her boyfriend Nick for a ride.

Then on July 1st, Canada Day, he took his friend Bob and his wife Pat. And it was really windy!

At least she is smiling, poor her she got quite the ride!

And Bob does not seem bothered!

You'll have to rotate your head to see the best picture of Dave ever!

Kona One World Championship in Trois-Rivières, Québec - June 28 to July 3, 2013

The world is coming to Trois-Rivières! With 66 participants registered this will be the biggest regatta I ever attended. Not sure what I'll do with all these people fighting for a space on the start line!!

The weather in Ottawa has not been the greatest this spring so I have not been on the water a lot to practice. In fact, I have SUP twice and windsurfed in light winds only ONCE. Needless to say that I am not expecting big results at the regatta!

Visit this page during the regatta as I will try to report every day!

Friday, June 28
Today is a day to register, get the charter gear for those who rented some and practice. It is cold, rainy and windy. I have my own equipment but I do not rig because I don't intend to sail in those conditions. In fact, not too many people went out. Perhaps more would have gone if the charter boards had arrived earlier but they arrived in the evening. At 11:30 we had a meeting led by two of the three judges who explained the no pumping rule. After that, I had lunch and hung around. We were supposed to parade downtown with our country flags but given the weather, we paraded around the event site and had a cocktail and finger foods there. We were also treated to a traditional québécois folk dances and the Kona song!!

Here's moi in my classy rain attire!

When the boards arrived, everybody pitched in to unload the truck and unpack the new equipment!

Saturday, June 29
Today started with a skippers' meeting around 10 am. Then on the water to try to have one race before lunch. Unfortunately, the little wind we had did not stay so we came back to shore for lunch. It was around 3 pm I think when we went back out. We managed to do one race and try to start three more but they were called off with general recalls. Back on shore around 6 pm to pack up and get ready for going out for dinner!

Sunday, June 30
Well, today we tried twice to race but were not successful. We went out before and after lunch when there was a breeze but as soon as we did, it died slowly. Dinner was provided at the site of the event tonight. Did not stay late after dinner as the bugs were eating us alive!

Monday, July 1st - Happy Canada Day
We were called to race at 9:30 and did 2 races before lunch. Today is also the long distance day. However, since we need 4 races to make it legal, the organizers decide to run one more race after lunch, before the long distance. I managed to finish all 3 races and not last!! I decided not to do the long distance race because it was really long - 20 km in a straight line and it did not count for the overall results. 

Tuesday, July 2
Today was windy! A bit too windy for me and the start line was very, very far. You get tired just getting there! So I decided to stay on shore, all day. The others did 2 races before lunch and 2 after lunch, with one being shortened at the end. I don't regret my decision as some others came back to shore saying the wind was too strong for them or they were tired. I believe the average wind was around 12 knots. So I have to practice a bit more for those kinds of conditions. 

Taken from shore, probably half the fleet is shown here.

Wednesday, July 3
We wait for wind again! We went out late morning when it looked like the wind picked up and would stay but as soon as we hit the water, it started to die. We made it to the start line in barely any wind and wait. They fed us Subway sandwiches on the water to save time in case the wind decided to come back. Unfortunately it did not and after a few hours, we all went back to shore. Time to pack, buy new gear, have the awards ceremony and say goodbye. I had a buyer for my equipment at home so I bought myself a new board and rig from the charter lot. I was lucky to get my hands on a board that had never been used. 

All the participants!

And all the women participants, 18 in total! Never seen so many at a windsurfing regatta. 




I am glad I attended this regatta even if I did not do all the races as it was a great event, well organized and well attended. Thank you Dominique and team of volunteers and sponsors.

Getting the Boat Ready - Spring 2013

Our Mirage 24 had a good winter. Not too much mildew inside and the tarp held up ok but it was much too big. We have now cut it in two for next fall. Dave has been busy doing some work to get her ready. He powerwashed her a couple of times, before and after sanding the bottom. The keel had a good ding on it (not made by us!) so he grinded it and then applied some type of epoxy to fill it in, then sanded. Next came painting the bottom, keel and rudder with VC17. We also bought a new motor mount that we hope will be easier to handle. The old one was hard even for Dave who is a big guy. That may be the last time he changes that part as he had to crawl into the small locker quite a few times!!

The boat came with some instruments but as it turns out, we don't think they work. The knotmeter is original, so from 1979. I may have found someone who has the same one that works and willing to sell it as he replaced it with something else (still waiting for a reply after I said that we were interested!). There is also a Humminbird dept sounder but we think it is missing the transducer. So it's a good thing I know the lake and the river after all the years sailing on it!!

Here are some before and after pictures!

New motor mount, old motor!

And she was renamed - Suzie Q!

Dave also did some wood work for the inside. Good thing he's handy!! He built a frame with a screen for the forward hatch and some kind of box with a sliding door where we can put a cooler. In that hole used to be the original cooler that had no door anymore.

This is the screen in the open position.

Cooler compartment with door.

Finally Suzie Q was launched on May 31 and mast was raised about a week later. She is ready to go and we hope to have our first sail during the weekend of June 22-23.