Au revoir until next year....

Some pics have arrived from Rick Needham (CAN68). I'm also going to post pics on the Contender Facebook page, so join up!

(The Thorburg brothers get an award for being the best looking siblings at the 2008 Worlds)

Final results!

Official results are on the CORK webpage HERE.

And video from the awards are HERE.

he last day of the Worlds started out looking like we would have the same conditions as the Canadians. The wind was up and the bay was whipped with whitecaps. By the time competitors hit the racecourse, the rollers were big (boats would disappear beneath the six foot swell), but the wind was diminishing steadily, so by the third and last race it was marginal trapezing. Marco, Marcus and Chris Sutherland each scored a bullet, and with nine races, two drops were allowed. Demonstrating he is both an ace in light and heavy air, congratulations go to Marcus Hamilton who won the 2008 Velocitek Contender World Champions (and who announced he's taking a break from racing the Contender for a little while). Marcus acknowledged it was not an easy regatta to win, with Marco Versari and Soren breathing down his neck. Apparently the cure for stress relief is finding a lot of jagerbombs post-racing.

Marcus' fellow Aussie, Chris Sutherland, was the recipient of the Master's trophy, Cristoph Engel won the Youth, and yours truly barely squeaked by Vanessa to win the Women's trophy (which I've already slightly damaged but will repair in short order). I would like to extend a huge thank you from the North American Contender fleet to all of the competitors who came to Kingston and made this such a great event. Travelling here was not an easy feat, so we really appreciated the time and expense you incurred to take part. A special thanks to Schappi and Vanessa who stepped up to get the containers from Europe and the UK packed up. I don't think anyone hasn't learned a lot from watching the competition and talking to the international sailors post-racing. I would also like to say thanks to all the local boys and girls who really pulled this all together behind the scenes. While I was sitting on my butt sending out emails, keepers were being made, boats were being imported and towed to Kingston, events were being coordinated, and the competitors were being helped in every way possible. Also, none of this would have happened without the great help we got from CORK. Thanks to their experience with world class regattas, we didn't have to worry about any of the racing logistics, there were no issues with the courses that were set, there were lots of crash boats out keeping an eye on everyone, and they've certainly inspired more of us to volunteer to run these kinds of events.

Neil Smith, who in a moment of weakness agreed to be the 2009 ICA Chairman, has been doing an outstanding job of taking video of the Worlds and sending it out so everyone can follow the regatta. If anyone else has any photos to share, send them to me and I'll post them on the blog.

Thanks again and safe travels home!

Day 4 of the Worlds

Champion 505 sailor, Ethan Bixby, scored another bullet in very light wind, even though the day started out looking very promising. By the time the RC killed it, everyone had to rock, pump, and air row back to the harbour. And some sailors sucked up their pride and accepted tows, yours truly included. Right now it looks windy outside, so here's hoping we can get three races in.

Video of Day 4 can be found HERE.

POS  SAIL     SKIPPER                     RACE RACE RACE RACE RACE RACE   TOTAL   NET
                                           1    2    3    4    5    6    POINTS  POINTS
                                         Tue. Tue. Wed. Thu. Thu. Fri.           AFTER
                                         1235 1415 1412 1300 1445 1200           1 DROP

 1  AUS2323       * HAMILTON, MARCUS       15    1    1    7    4    2    30.00   15.00  AUS    Melbourne,BRYC
 2  DEN44         * ANDREASEN, SOREN        2    2  OCS    2    5    7    53.00   18.00  DEN    Hellerup,HS
 3  ITA99           VERSARI, MARCO         12    6    7    1    2    3    31.00   19.00  ITA    Milano,CNB
 4  GER531          HARPPRECHT, JOACHIM     7    5    5    3    3   10    33.00   23.00  GER    Molfsee,TSS
 5  USA2396         BIXBY, ETHAN            9   14    3   10    1    1    38.00   24.00  USA FL St Petersburg,
 6  GER53           BRANDT, OLIVER          5    3  OCS    5    6    6    60.00   25.00  GER    Hamburt,HSC
 7  GER488          BILLERBECK, MAX         4    8    2    8   15    4    41.00   26.00  GER    ,WSVK
 8  AUS2443         SUTHERLAND, CHRIS       3    7   10   14    7    5    46.00   32.00  AUS WA Swanbourne,RFBYC
 9  GER551          HOMEIER, CHRISTOPH      1    9    4   18   21    9    62.00   41.00  GER    Kiel,TSVS
10  NED212          THORBORG, BART         11    4   13    9    8   19    64.00   45.00  NED    leiden,WB
11  2398            SMITH, NEIL            13   13   12    4   13   14    69.00   55.00  CAN ON North York,OHCC
12  NED232          THORBORG, MARK          6   10    8   19   17   18    78.00   59.00  NED    haarlem,KMJC
13  473             WHITE, RODGER          21   23    9    6   22    8    89.00   66.00  GBR    ,KGSC
14  CAN2397         SMITS, MICHAEL         20   20   16   11   11   12    90.00   70.00  CAN ON Toronto,OHCC
15  GER540          ENGEL, CHRISTOPH       14   11   11   16   18   20    90.00   70.00  GER    ,KYC
16  CAN2399         MARTIN, ROGER           8   18   18   21   16   11    92.00   71.00  CAN ON Toronto,OHCC
17  2372            ANOSOV, ARTHUR         10   12   20   17   12   23    94.00   71.00  USA FL Ruskin,
18  GER425          ROESLER, JOACHIM       16   16   19   13    9   22    95.00   73.00  GER CT New Canaan,
19  NED218          THORBORG, RIK          19   15   14   23   10   15    96.00   73.00  NED NH Bergen,WSVH
20  GBR1771         MOLLAT, ALAN           23   19   15   15   14   13    99.00   76.00  GBR    Deal,SBSWC
21  NED233          HAANSTRA, JAN          17   17   24   12   19   16   105.00   81.00  NED    ferwoude,GWS
22  CAN2428         MARTIN, PETER          30   27    6   24   24   17   128.00   98.00  CAN ON Toronto,OHCC
23  CAN84           MAGNAN, JOEL           18   25   21   20   23   24   131.00  106.00  CAN ON Etobicoke,OHCC
24  CAN1599         WHITTINGTON, FRANK    DNF.  22   27   22   20   21   147.00  112.00  CAN ON Toronto,OHCBC
25  USA2117         WOOLLEY, GIL           22   26   17   27   27   30   149.00  119.00  USA CA Palo Alto,SCYC
26  967             CHIDDY, JOSHUA         24   24   23   28   26   27   152.00  124.00  CAN ON Hamilton,OHCC
27  CAN68           NEEDHAM, RICHARD       25   29   22   26   31   28   161.00  130.00  CAN ON Toronto,OHCC
28  81              BIEBER, BERNIE         28   21   26   29   29   29   162.00  133.00  CAN ON Hamilton,OACC
29  CAN80           MAH, STEPHANIE        DNF.  31   25   30   25   26   172.00  137.00  CAN ON Richmond Hill,OHCC
30  USA192          CAMERON, BRAD          26   28   30   25   30   31   170.00  139.00  USA CA Tracy,SSS
31  GBR621          WEEDON-JONES, VANESSA  29   30   28   31   28   25   171.00  140.00  GBR    Eaton Bray,OSC
32  USA200          MASHI, MIKE            27   32   29   34   34   33   189.00  155.00  USA TX Seguin,SAYC
33  CAN726          JANIDLO, TOM           31   33  DNF.  32   32  DNF.  198.00  163.00  CAN ON Ottawa,
34  CAN61           WOOD, STEVEN          DNC  DNC  DNC   33   33   32   203.00  168.00  CAN ON Toronto,OHCC

Day 3 results

The wind continued to be light and shifty, so racing on day 3 was held right outside Portsmouth. It's already up this morning, so here's hoping it stays up! An interview with Marco Versari can be found HERE.

POS  SAIL     SKIPPER                     RACE RACE RACE RACE RACE   TOTAL   NET
                                           1    2    3    4    5    POINTS  POINTS
                                         Tue. Tue. Wed. Thu. Thu.           AFTER
                                         1235 1415 1412 1300 1445           1 DROP

 1  DEN44         * ANDREASEN, SOREN        2    2  OCS    2    5    46.00   11.00  DEN    Hellerup,HS
 2  AUS2323       * HAMILTON, MARCUS       15    1    1    7    4    28.00   13.00  AUS    Melbourne,BRYC
 3  ITA99           VERSARI, MARCO         12    6    7    1    2    28.00   16.00  ITA    Milano,CNB
 4  GER531          HARPPRECHT, JOACHIM     7    5    5    3    3    23.00   16.00  GER    Molfsee,TSS
 5  GER53           BRANDT, OLIVER          5    3  OCS    5    6    54.00   19.00  GER    Hamburt,HSC
 6  GER488          BILLERBECK, MAX         4    8    2    8   15    37.00   22.00  GER    ,WSVK
 7  USA2396         BIXBY, ETHAN            9   14    3   10    1    37.00   23.00  USA FL St Petersburg,
 8  AUS2443         SUTHERLAND, CHRIS       3    7   10   14    7    41.00   27.00  AUS WA Swanbourne,RFBYC
 9  GER551          HOMEIER, CHRISTOPH      1    9    4   18   21    53.00   32.00  GER    Kiel,TSVS
10  NED212          THORBORG, BART         11    4   13    9    8    45.00   32.00  NED    leiden,WB
11  NED232          THORBORG, MARK          6   10    8   19   17    60.00   41.00  NED    haarlem,KMJC
12  2398            SMITH, NEIL            13   13   12    4   13    55.00   42.00  CAN ON North York,OHCC
13  2372            ANOSOV, ARTHUR         10   12   20   17   12    71.00   51.00  USA FL Ruskin,
14  GER540          ENGEL, CHRISTOPH       14   11   11   16   18    70.00   52.00  GER    ,KYC
15  GER425          ROESLER, JOACHIM       16   16   19   13    9    73.00   54.00  GER CT New Canaan,
16  473             WHITE, RODGER          21   23    9    6   22    81.00   58.00  GBR    ,KGSC
17  NED218          THORBORG, RIK          19   15   14   23   10    81.00   58.00  NED NH Bergen,WSVH
18  CAN2397         SMITS, MICHAEL         20   20   16   11   11    78.00   58.00  CAN ON Toronto,OHCC
19  CAN2399         MARTIN, ROGER           8   18   18   21   16    81.00   60.00  CAN ON Toronto,OHCC
20  GBR1771         MOLLAT, ALAN           23   19   15   15   14    86.00   63.00  GBR    Deal,SBSWC
21  NED233          HAANSTRA, JAN          17   17   24   12   19    89.00   65.00  NED    ferwoude,GWS
22  CAN2428         MARTIN, PETER          30   27    6   24   24   111.00   81.00  CAN ON Toronto,OHCC
23  CAN84           MAGNAN, JOEL           18   25   21   20   23   107.00   82.00  CAN ON Etobicoke,OHCC
24  CAN1599         WHITTINGTON, FRANK    DNF.  22   27   22   20   126.00   91.00  CAN ON Toronto,OHCBC
25  USA2117         WOOLLEY, GIL           22   26   17   27   27   119.00   92.00  USA CA Palo Alto,SCYC
26  967             CHIDDY, JOSHUA         24   24   23   28   26   125.00   97.00  CAN ON Hamilton,OHCC
27  CAN68           NEEDHAM, RICHARD       25   29   22   26   31   133.00  102.00  CAN ON Toronto,OHCC
28  81              BIEBER, BERNIE         28   21   26   29   29   133.00  104.00  CAN ON Hamilton,OACC
29  USA192          CAMERON, BRAD          26   28   30   25   30   139.00  109.00  USA CA Tracy,SSS
30  CAN80           MAH, STEPHANIE        DNF.  31   25   30   25   146.00  111.00  CAN ON Richmond Hill,OHCC
31  GBR621          WEEDON-JONES, VANESSA  29   30   28   31   28   146.00  115.00  GBR    Eaton Bray,OSC
32  USA200          MASHI, MIKE            27   32   29   34   34   156.00  122.00  USA TX Seguin,SAYC
33  CAN726          JANIDLO, TOM           31   33  DNF.  32   32   163.00  128.00  CAN ON Ottawa,
34  CAN61           WOOD, STEVEN          DNF. DNF. DNF.  33   33   171.00  136.00  CAN ON Toronto,OHCC

Day 2 Video

Interviews with Marcus and Cristoph HERE.

Results after day 1

Day 1 of the Worlds was not as windy as the Canadians. A cold front pushed through the evening before, so Monday was cold and clear and blowing from the North at around 8 knots (with gusts). The wind was shifty, puffy, and a bit tricky, leading to some inconsistent results. Unfortunately, a few competitors sailed a bit too close to snake island (and some rocky shoals).

POS  SAIL     SKIPPER                     RACE RACE   TOTAL   NET
                                         1    2    POINTS  POINTS
                                       Tue. Tue.            NO
                                       1235 1415           DROPS

1  DEN44         * ANDREASEN, SOREN        2    2     4.00    4.00  DEN    Hellerup,HS
2  GER53           BRANDT, OLIVER          5    3     8.00    8.00  GER    Hamburt,HSC
3  GER551          HOMEIER, CHRISTOPH      1    9    10.00   10.00  GER    Kiel,TSVS
4  AUS2443         SUTHERLAND, CHRIS       3    7    10.00   10.00  AUS WA Swanbourne,RFBYC
5  GER488          BILLERBECK, MAX         4    8    12.00   12.00  GER    ,WSVK
6  GER531          HARPPRECHT, JOACHIM     7    5    12.00   12.00  GER    Molfsee,TSS
7  NED212          THORBORG, BART         11    4    15.00   15.00  NED    leiden,WB
8  AUS2323       * HAMILTON, MARCUS       15    1    16.00   16.00  AUS    Melbourne,BRYC
9  NED232          THORBORG, MARK          6   10    16.00   16.00  NED    haarlem,KMJC
10  ITA99           VERSARI, MARCO         12    6    18.00   18.00  ITA    Milano,CNB
11  2372            ANOSOV, ARTHUR         10   12    22.00   22.00  USA FL Ruskin,
12  USA2396         BIXBY, ETHAN            9   14    23.00   23.00  USA FL St Petersburg,
13  GER540          ENGEL, CHRISTOPH       14   11    25.00   25.00  GER    ,KYC
14  CAN2399         MARTIN, ROGER           8   18    26.00   26.00  CAN ON Toronto,OHCC
15  2398            SMITH, NEIL            13   13    26.00   26.00  CAN ON North York,OHCC
16  GER425          ROESLER, JOACHIM       16   16    32.00   32.00  GER CT New Canaan,
17  NED218          THORBORG, RIK          19   15    34.00   34.00  NED NH Bergen,WSVH
18  NED233          HAANSTRA, JAN          17   17    34.00   34.00  NED    ferwoude,GWS
19  CAN2397         SMITS, MICHAEL         20   20    40.00   40.00  CAN ON Toronto,OHCC
20  GBR1771         MOLLAT, ALAN           23   19    42.00   42.00  GBR    Deal,SBSWC
21  CAN84           MAGNAN, JOEL           18   25    43.00   43.00  CAN ON Etobicoke,OHCC
22  473             WHITE, RODGER          21   23    44.00   44.00  GBR    ,KGSC
23  USA2117         WOOLLEY, GIL           22   26    48.00   48.00  USA CA Palo Alto,SCYC
24  967             CHIDDY, JOSHUA         24   24    48.00   48.00  CAN ON Hamilton,OHCC
25  81              BIEBER, BERNIE         28   21    49.00   49.00  CAN ON Hamilton,OACC
26  CAN68           NEEDHAM, RICHARD       25   29    54.00   54.00  CAN ON Toronto,OHCC
27  USA192          CAMERON, BRAD          26   28    54.00   54.00  USA CA Tracy,SSS
28  CAN1599         WHITTINGTON, FRANK    DNF.  22    57.00   57.00  CAN ON Toronto,OHCBC
29  CAN2428         MARTIN, PETER          30   27    57.00   57.00  CAN ON Toronto,OHCC
30  USA200          MASHI, MIKE            27   32    59.00   59.00  USA TX Seguin,SAYC
31  GBR621          WEEDON-JONES, VANESSA  29   30    59.00   59.00  GBR    Eaton Bray,OSC
32  CAN726          JANIDLO, TOM           31   33    64.00   64.00  CAN ON Ottawa,
33  CAN80           MAH, STEPHANIE        DNF.  31    66.00   66.00  CAN ON Richmond Hill,OHCC
34  CAN61           WOOD, STEVEN          DNF. DNF.   70.00   70.00  CAN ON Toronto,OHCC

The 2008 Canadian Open Championships

Video from the Canadians can be found HERE.

S  SAIL     SKIPPER                     RACE RACE RACE RACE RACE   TOTAL   NET
                                           1    2    3    4    5    POINTS  POINTS
                                         Sat. Sat. Sat. Sun. Sun.           AFTER
                                         1200 1400 1645 1245 1402           1 DROP

 1  AUS2323         HAMILTON, MARCUS        3    3    1    2    1    10.00    7.00  AUS    Melbourne,BRYC
 2  DEN44           ANDREASEN, SOREN        2    2  DNS    1    2    39.00    7.00  DEN    Hellerup,HS
 3  GER551          HOMEIER, CHRISTOPH      4    1    2    3    5    15.00   10.00  GER    Kiel,TSVS
 4  ITA99           VERSARI, MARCO          5    5    4    4    3    21.00   16.00  ITA    Milano,CNB
 5  AUS2443         SUTHERLAND, CHRIS       6    4    5    5    4    24.00   18.00  AUS WA Swanbourne,RFBYC
 6  NED233          HAANSTRA, JAN          15    6    3    6    6    36.00   21.00  NED    ferwoude,GWS
 7  GER531          HARPPRECHT, JOACHIM     1    7   10    8    9    35.00   25.00  GER    Molfsee,TSS
 8  GER540          ENGEL, CHRISTOPH       12   11    7    7    8    45.00   33.00  GER    ,KYC
 9  GER53           BRANDT, OLIVER          7   16    8   10   12    53.00   37.00  GER    Hamburt,HSC
10  GER488          BILLERBECK, MAX         9    8   13    9   11    50.00   37.00  GER    ,WSVK
11  GER425          ROESLER, JOACHIM        8   15  DNS   12    7    74.00   42.00  GER CT New Canaan,
12  2398            SMITH, NEIL            13   14    9   14   10    60.00   46.00  CAN ON North York,OHCC
13  2372            ANOSOV, ARTHUR         14   10   11   11   15    61.00   46.00  USA FL Ruskin,
14  CAN2397         SMITS, MICHAEL         10   12   12   16   13    63.00   47.00  CAN ON Toronto,OHCC
15  USA2396         BIXBY, ETHAN          OCS    9   14   15   14    84.00   52.00  USA FL St Petersburg,
16  CAN2399         MARTIN, ROGER          11   13   16   13   16    69.00   53.00  CAN ON Toronto,OHCC
17  CAN84           MAGNAN, JOEL           18   18   15   17   17    85.00   67.00  CAN ON Etobicoke,OHCC
18  USA2117         WOOLLEY, GIL           17   17    6  DNF  DNF.  104.00   72.00  USA CA Palo Alto,SCYC
19  473             WHITE, RODGER         DNF.  20   17   18   19   106.00   74.00  GBR    ,KGSC
20  967             CHIDDY, JOSHUA         20   22   19   20   20   101.00   79.00  CAN ON Hamilton,OHCC
21  CAN1599         WHITTINGTON, FRANK     16   21   18  DNF. DNF.  119.00   87.00  CAN ON Toronto,OHCBC
22  81              BIEBER, BERNIE        DNF.  19  DNF   19   18   120.00   88.00  CAN ON Hamilton,OACC
23  USA192          CAMERON, BRAD          19  DNF  DNF.  22   21   126.00   94.00  USA CA Tracy,SSS
24  CAN68           NEEDHAM, RICHARD       21   23  DNF.  21  DNF.  129.00   97.00  CAN ON Toronto,OHCC
25  USA200          MASHI, MIKE           DNF  DNF  DNF.  23   22   141.00  109.00  USA TX Seguin,SAYC
26  CAN2428         MARTIN, PETER          22  DNF  DNF.  24  DNF.  142.00  110.00  CAN ON Toronto,OHCC
27  CAN726          JANIDLO, TOM           23  DNF  DNF. DNF. DNF.  151.00  119.00  CAN ON Ottawa,
28  CAN61           WOOD, STEVEN          DNS  DNF  DNS   25  DNS   153.00  121.00  CAN ON Toronto,OHCC
29= CAN80           MAH, STEPHANIE        DNF. DNF. DNF. DNF. DNF.  160.00  128.00  CAN ON Richmond Hill,OHCC
29= GBR1771         MOLLAT, ALAN          DNF. DNF. DNF. DNF  DNF.  160.00  128.00  GBR    Deal,SBSWC
29= GBR621          WEEDON-JONES, VANESSA DNF  DNF. DNF. DNF. DNF.  160.00  128.00  GBR    Eaton Bray,OSC

The ultimate souvenirs

As some of you may already know, we've got several boats coming from the UK that will be looking for a good home after the Worlds. They are:

1. An older Rondar for 1000 pounds (GBR 473) - can include a carbon boom and sail brand new. See pics at: http://s286.photobucket.com/albums/ll113/Contender473/

2. A Ridge (GBR 621) for 2300 pounds with new sail and carbon boom (1800 with alloy and an older wavelength).

3. A Bonezzi for 3600 pounds - can supply the boat with options- an economy package includes a Goldspar aluminium mast with Superspar alloy boom, and 1 good sail. The top spec includes a current Cassidy rig (carbon slim spar and matching sail (which is proving rather quick-only needs a decent sailor!) and Superspar carbon boom. £3,600 in top trim, economy version around £3000.

We also have some older boats in Toronto for sale after the Worlds. If you're interested, contact me or Neil Smith (contenderkc62@yahoo.com). And if you're in the area, we can certainly arrange for a ride.

Early training in Kingston

After successfully robbing a bank, Neil Smith quit his day job and went up to Kingston early to do some training with some German boys who clearly have sugar mommas. Some video here:

And some pics:

Cadge a ride!

Hello all:

If you are arriving in Toronto on the 12th of August, you may be interested in catching a ride to Kingston with Vanessa and Nikki in the evening. Clean smelling sailors need only apply!