Date: July 9-10, 2022
Location: Kingston Yacht Club
Coach: Ali Meller
Training fee per team: $170 CDN TO BE CONFIRM
The training weekend is offer to 10 teams. Priority is given to Canadian teams but US teams are welcome to attend if places are available. Please confirm your intention to participate as soon as possible to Marie Gendron gendron505@yahoo.com.
Saturday dinner: not include in the training weekend fee. Tables have been reserved at KYC, the regular dinner menu will be offer.
A few words from Ali:
If I were you, I would blame Peter Wood.
He invited me to guest-drive Prairie Chicken, Parker 5o5 4645, for a Britannia Yacht Club evening race in 1974 or ’75. Steve “Igor” Potts, the usual crew, wanted to preserve the 505 from the recklessness of a cocky just-out-of-junior-sailing kid who had been racing an Albacore with his Dad for a few years; I was trying to win the race.
Igor succeeded, he and Prairie Chicken were fine; I did not quite succeed, we finished a close second to David Courthampton/Phil Tillman though we led for the first two legs.
A year or two later Igor Potts had a summer job away from Ottawa and Peter recruited me to crew for him. The result was mediocre results due to my being a terrible 505 crew; as an example, Marg Hurley/Howie Turner beat us in every regatta but one that season.
None-the-less I was “hooked” and when I realized I needed a boat of my own, I decided it would be a 505 rather than an Albacore, ordered a bare hull “kit 505” from Ballenger Boats in late 1977, and picked it up in early 1978. After much building and rebuilding, the result was a mediocre heavy 505, but the boat could occasionally win an evening race in breeze, primarily because of crew Roger Sutcliffe’s height and crewing skills. I bought the first plastic Waterat, ICGN Satisfaction, in 1983. It was a MUCH better 505, and won a few more club races and regattas (thanks to Fast Farnand for his crewing!). I then had the good fortune to crew for Ethan Bixby in my 505, at the 1985 Florida Midwinters. I learned more in three days from Ethan, than I had learned in the previous six years of 505 racing.
Many years, many 505s, many regattas, and many practice sessions later, I have won or placed well in some events, with two top ten results at 505 Worlds, (out of many attempts!) finished 2nd or 3rd in the 505 NAs a couple of times, won the 505 East Coast Championship multiple times, won the Florida Midwinters a few times, and more recently won (as a crew) the 505 Canadian Championship though this was mostly due to Robert Bartlewski, not me. I am not a tactical or strategic genius (though I have won my share of Laser frostbite races) but have always thought that in 505 racing one has to have speed and height comparable to the front of the fleet, and reliable fast boat handling to be in the game. Without the speed/height, or with slow maneuvers, you won’t be able to play a tactical game with the leaders. So I have always focused on speed first.
