Regatta report by Ali Meller
The 2022 505 Canadian Championship was held at the Nepean Sailing Club as part of the club’s annual FANFARE multi-class event, September 10th and 11th. Several one design classes: Club 420s, Albacores, Fireballs and 505s, had separate starts, with the RC signalling which colour windward mark would be used by each class, but classes using the same start line, leeward mark, and finish line. 505 class competitors were mostly from the Ottawa area and nearby Quebec, Kingston, and Toronto, with one competitor from Maryland.
The breeze both Saturday and Sunday was light and shifty, though there were moments on Sunday were 505 crews were trapezing high on the twire. Apart from several course changes done by moving the windward marks to accommodate wind shifts, the RC had to move the entire race course each day due to 180 degree shifts. The pressure was so light at times that you couldn’t fill the spinnaker and it was hard to keep the boats moving. There were puffs, holes with no wind pressure, big shifts, and more, causing dramatic place changes around the race course; it was remarkably easy to go from 1st place to the back of the fleet by sailing into less pressure. At least one race finish featured much of the 505 fleet crossing the finish line overlapped. The Race Committee staff recording the finish order had to review phone video to determine the finishing order, and appear to have awarded equal finishes – a tie – for two 505s in one of those races.
Robert Bartlewski and 13-year-old daughter Sabina Bartlewski from the Outer Harbour Centreboard Club in Toronto managed to avoid finding light wind pressure spots late in a race, and counted all 1sts and 2nds (throwing out a 3rd place) on their way to winning the 2022 International 505 Canadian Championship. Robert also won the 505 Canadian Championship last year in Kingston with a different crew.
Jeff “Boyder” Boyd and Martin “Marty” tenHove from Kingston Yacht Club were 2nd, two points back, after throwing out their worst race score.
Evania Lovshin/Ali Meller (Britannia YC/Nepean SC and Annapolis Maryland respectively) were 3rd, Marie Gendron/David Browne from Nepean Sailing Club were 4th, Marg Hurley/Andrew Gesing (Nepean SC/Kingston YC ) were 5th.
Full results are at: https://nsc.ca/nsc_racing/fanfare/results/fanfare_2022_results.htm
505 competitors ranged in age from young teens to those in their 70s who have been racing 505s for 45-50 years.
On water photos courtesy of Shawn Batten
