Martin 16 National Capital Cup 2012

Marc Villeneuve with Nepean coach Marc Antoine Brassard, photo by Kelly Lyon.

Montreal Sailing is fortunate to have a Montrealer on the Ottawa scene to keep us up to date on some of the action there. Working for Able Sail at the Nepean Sailing Club, Jen Davey keeps us up to date. She and some Ottawa racers will be at PCYC next week end to do battle in another Martin 16 regatta. Here is her report:

The Nepean Sailing Club, in conjunction with the National Capital Adaptive Sailing Association, hosted another successful edition of the National Capital Cup for Martin 16s July 7-8.

Sailors from Ottawa, Montreal, and Trenton joined together for two fantastic days of racing. In all, 12 sailors competed, split into Silver and Gold fleets. There was plenty of breeze all weekend, but the racing conditions were by no means easy. PRO Rick Anderton and his crew were kept on their toes responding to constant changes in direction and velocity all weekend. High praise was heard all around for their efforts, and thanks to their work, both fleets enjoyed six races over the course of the event.

In the Silver fleet, 7 boats competed, with a representative from each club in the top three. Pierre Yves Levesque from the Association québécoise de voile adaptée in Montreal took third place, 3 points back of Bryan Cuerier of Quinte Sailability in Trenton. Nepean AbleSail’s Ralph Nolting took first overall, finishing with just 7 points after his drop (a lowly second place!). While Ralph is known by many as a longtime sailor, racer and neighbour from Britannia Yacht Club, as a newcomer to the Martin 16 fleet, and to the National Capital Cup, he was eligible for - and took home - the Fraser Tray, presented to the top-placing finisher in the Silver fleet who is new to the regatta.

In Gold, Marc Villeneuve of Montreal was dominant all weekend, his shutout of five bullets tainted only by a DNF due to equipment failure in the gusty 18+ knot conditions during the sixth and final race on Sunday. NSC’s Doug Morris, off to a strong start this season, sailed a consistent event to place second. The top three was rounded out by Pierre Richard, who also experienced equipment problems in the big breeze, but managed to finish one of his races even after his clew shackle failed – leaving his mainsail flapping helplessly – on the final downwind of race 5.

A big thank you to the Co-chairs Karell Regnier, Monique Cormier, and Christine Lavallée, the Nepean Sailing Club staff, the Race Committee, the Galley, and the many, many volunteers who helped make this a successful event. Next on the Martin calendar is the Coupe du Quebec, hosted by AQVA at the Pointe Claire Yacht Club, July 28-29.