Saturday, August 23rdSunday August 24th Registration : 0930 -1000 Skipper’s Meeting 1000 Start right after the skipper’s meeting Last Racer start no later than 1100
The annual 12-Mile-Island (Harry Adderley) Regatta has been held since 2011. It is KSC’s longest distance race. Depending on boat used and wind conditions, the rounding of the island can take from 2.5 to 5 hours (with 3-4 hours being typical). Participating in the 12-Mile-Island Regatta (and completing the rounding) counts as a rounding for the Harry Adderley and Ken Eaves sponsored 12-Mile-Island Challenge.
Eligible Sailors/Boats KSC members with boat sign-out privileges and their guests are welcome to enter the event. Boats signed out on a first come basis. So get there early.
Classes and Starts : All dinghy classes including monohulls and multihulls are permitted to race. Portsmouth Numbers will be used to determine the handicap rating for each class and to calculate the Corrected Time (CT) for each boat’s Elapsed Time (ET).
There will be one start — monohulls and multihulls will be required to start between 1000h and 1100h. This is intended so that competitors will finish closer to the same time. A self timed start and finish using the honour system will be used for this event. A mark will be placed out on the water creating a line between the jetty at KSC and the mark. You are to use this line as your start. You are to pass the times on to the sailing director upon finishing at [email protected] or by cellphone (provided onsite). Your Actual time will be calculated using the PN handicap numbers to determine the scores.
Entry Fee : There is no entry fee
Registration : On-site Registration at the KSC clubhouse on day of event starting at 0930h and continuing until 1000h.
Formal Sailing Instructions will be communicated at the skippers meeting at 1000.
Bring your own food and fluids for your sailing journey and for any meals you choose to have after the event. The Deck and BBQ are open.
Race Finish: The sailing race will officially end at 1600h or 4:00 pm. Bragging rights go anyone who finishes the entire race especially to the top three finishers.
Ahoy KSC Racers, here you’ll find the race results for the Wednesday night racing series, up to and including the race on July 30. If you see any issues (i.e. a wrong score, or a missed entry) then please let me know at [email protected]. Scores generated/tallied using Sailwave software (sailwave.com). In accordance with our “drop 1 for every 3 races” policy, we only count the best 14 of the 22 races so far.
Steve, unsurprisingly has a good lead in the series. Other than 3 second place finishes, he has bullets for ever other scored race. His DNC (“Did not come” = 15 points) entries are all discounted at this point. He has a total of 18 points
Carla is solidly in second place, with a few 3rd/4th place finishes in there, but still mostly 1s and 2. Total 30 points
Thing tighten up with position 3, 4 and 5, with Jason, Mike, and Corinne all in the 40s. 6th-9th is even tighter with Gen, Olivier, Tom and Jean just one point behind each other in the 61-64 point range. That’s counting a DNC for Gen though, so she can expect to improve her position considerably if she sails the next 2 races.
Things start to get a bit more spread out from there, with a special mention to Jae Woo and Alex, two of our rookie sailors in 10th and 11th places, and separated by only a few points.
So far we’ve has 39 sailors take part in at least one race. Let’s see if we can close the gap with Steve!
In just two short weeks, our Wednesday race night series will start. I’m here today to convince you to come out! No experience or competitive spirit required, our race nights are mostly just an excuse to hit the water and have some fun. I first started racing when I was taking learn-to-sail as an excuse to get some extra practice time on the water between lessons. Even though I’m not a competitive person, I had a lot of fun, and have been coming to the race nights ever since.
We have a nobody left ashore policy, and if you’re interested in getting out on the water then we’ll make sure it happens! Details on how it works below, but let me start with some reasons you should come out racing:
It’s the safest time to sail – there are lots of other friendly boats around in case you get into trouble, and even the most competitive KSC skippers are happy to abandon a race to help out someone in trouble
It makes you a better sailor – the person out there with 15 or 20 years experience will know so many tricks and tips to improve boat trim, handling, and stability, all of which translate to a safer (and faster) boat. They’re always happy to share knowledge! Learn the difference between “sheet the jib in” and “sheet the jib in 3 inches, and open the luff of the main”. Even if you’re a solo sailor, you can watch how Ken trims his sail, check how you have yours trimmed, and compare what the boats are doing side-by-side.
It gets you out on the water more – let’s face it, if we wait for “the perfect day” to go sailing, we’ll never go. It will always be too cold, or too hot, or too calm, or a tad-too-windy, etc. Having a regular “I’m going sailing, even if conditions are not perfect!” event in the calendar encourages you to get out more, and make the most of your membership.
Fantastic people – I’ve been racing at KSC for 15 years now (since back when I didn’t know a tiller from a mainsheet) and met so many good people, and good friends. And every year I get to meet new people!
Post-sail BBQ – For many people, the sailing is fun, but the most laughs are had on the deck afterwards, when we enjoy a drink and a burger
It’s free – who doesn’t like free things, right?
Okay, you convinced me to come out… how does it work?
Show up at the club by 5:30 or 5:45 on Wednesday afternoon. You can *probably* show up even a bit later than that, but past 6:00 is getting a bit risky if you’re looking for a partner
If you’re new, then start talking with people, especially people who look like they know what they’re doing. All the veteran racers are happy to take new sailors out, or (if their boat is already full) are happy to point you towards another veteran racer. Our goal is to give you a great racing experience. If we can convince you that racing is fun, that means you’ll keep coming out, and we will have a bigger fleet to race against later in the season!
Sign out a boat and start rigging it up
At 6:00 on the first few race nights, I’ll hold a “skipper’s meeting” on the deck. I’ll remind anyone who forgot over the winter what the rules were, and anyone can ask questions
It’s a good idea to try to hit the water by 6:15 at the latest
The first warning signal goes at (about) 6:30. The first race night or two we might be a bit later while the sailors and Race Committee figure out the routine
We do a 5-minute start for most boats, with a head start for some of the slower RS boats. We’ll cover the start sequence at the skipper’s meeting, but a quick summary is below
Sail the course around the marks – a counter-clockwise triangle, followed by an upwind/downwind leg. If you’re new to racing, the skipper can explain the start sequence and will talk about right-of-way and tactics throughout the race
I had some more questions…
Q: How long are the races? A: We try to set a short course so the first person finishes after about 20 minutes. This means the last person usually finishes after about 30 minutes. Add on a 5-minute start, and you can expect a race to go about 35 minutes between first-gun and final finish. This lets us get in as many races as we can before the sun starts to go down and the wind dies. We might get 4 races in a night in June, but only 2 by end-of-August
Q: I can’t be at the club until 6:30 or 7:00. Can I still race? A: Yes, but it might be harder to find a partner and you’ll probably miss the first race of the night. We try to match up skippers and crew before 6:00 so they can hit the water and be on the race course by 6:30. If you sail a single-hander (Laser, Byte, etc) this isn’t a problem, but if you want to sail a double-handed boat then you might want to make arrangements with a partner to meet you at the club at a specific time.
Q: If I start sailing with someone, can I change partners later? A: Yes! We score sailors, not boats, so there is no problem sailing with one person some week, someone else the following week, and sailing solo another week.
Q: What if I miss some races or race days? Can I start racing later in the season? A: No problem! We have some people who only attend one or two race nights a year. Of course, the more race nights you attend, the more chances you have of racking up good placement scores for the end-of-season totals, but you can still miss a lot of races and be scored a “perfect season”. I can talk season totals
Q: Do all the different types of boats race together? A: Yes. We (mostly) don’t handicap different types of boats, and just race them all as one big fleet. The exception are the RS boats (Quests and Fevas). We give those boats a 3 minute head start because they are a bit slower in most conditions, and because the new sailors tend to prefer those boats. This makes it a better contest between the new sailor in the slower Quest, and the veteran sailor in a Laser.
Q: How does scoring work? A: There’s a long answer, but I’ll give you the short one. 1 point for 1st place, 2 points for second, and so on. Lowest total points at the end of the night (or the end of the season) wins. If you don’t race, you score 1 point higher than “last place” in that race. For every 3 races sailed we drop your highest score, so if in 6 races you placed “1st, 1st, 3rd, 2nd, 8th, 8th” then you score a total of 7 points (we drop the 8th place finishes, which are probably races you skipped).
Q: Any tips? A: The boat in the front is Steve. Follow Steve, he knows all the tactics to make the best speed.
Q: What if I’m in front of Steve? A: Please, tell me how you did that – I’d love to know!
Q: What does the start look like? A: There is a power boat (Race Committee, or RC) near a buoy. The start line is between the two. RC will raise/lower some flags and make a sound (whistle, air-horn, etc) as the start of the race approaches
5 minutes before start – one flag goes up
4 minutes before start – second flag goes up
3 minutes before start – RC waves a temporary flag – RS Quest/Fevas can start
1 minute before start – second flag goes down
at start – first flag goes down, all other boats can start
Ideally you want to hit the start line, at full speed, on starboard tack (for right-of-way), exactly as the flag drops. This is easier said than done. A stopwatch helps.
Q: I had more questions. Who can I speak with? A: Your sailing director (me) can be found at [email protected]. I’ll also be at most of the race nights – look for a bald, slightly overweight guy with a beard, or ask someone “Can you point me to Jason?” Fair warning though — once you get me talking about racing, you’re not going to get me to shut up.
Public Open House has been scheduled for Saturday, May 10th, from 12-4pm. Open house is when we invite members of the public to come check out the club and see what we’re all about. Many of our members will be there as well as our training instructors, so come on down to the club and say hello!
This year is very special as the Kanata Sailing Club is marking its 50th anniversary! And to celebrate we’re giving away 1 Adult/Youth Learn to Sail course plus 1 Family Membership to new members! Approx value $1106.
No purchase necessary + skill-testing question. Not redeemable for cash value. Must be 18 or older. Valid for use in the 2025 or 2026 sailing seasons. Those eligible are Open House visitors as well as brand-new 2025 registered members or trainees. Returning members from 2024 are not eligible (they will be eligible for draws later in the year though!)
The draw will be held at 4pm on May 10th at the end of the Open House.
Launch day has been scheduled for Sunday April 27th (updated), starting at 9am. We need all hands on deck for this event, there’s lots to do but it goes quickly if we have lots of help. Like every year this will take place rain or shine, be sure to bring gloves, boots, and work wear with you. We will be removing the boats from the clubhouse, prepping boats with masts and rigging, hauling some of the boats to the beach, and assembling the dock in the water.
When: July 5 & 6 weekend (and mandatory July 4 evening online session) Registration opens January 15 at noon. Spaces are limited, see here for more info:
REGISTRATION BUTTON: see top middle-right of info page, they didn’t make it easy to find!
Hello Potential Community Sailing Instructors!
The Kanata Sailing Club is one of two sites hosting the OSA (Ontario Sailing Association) two day Community Sailing Instructor clinic in 2025. This course allows one to teach sailing to new sailors and allows you to certify up to the recreational iCanSail level. Part of the on-the-water training for this clinic will be the Coach Boat Safety Course, so having your PCOC certificate is a requirement prior to the start of the clinic in July.
If you wish to be further qualified and eligible to certify students up to CanSail level 1, then the Fundamentals course is a prerequisite. The online OSA course starting in January 2025 sold out, but a new session was established that begins in February.
ABOUT THE HOST CLUB:
The Kanata Sailing Club is a volunteer-run community sailing club located on the Ottawa River in picturesque Dunrobin Shores, half an hour from downtown Ottawa. Since 1975, this club has focused on sailing and self-catered socializing. That’s right. No restaurant or bar. Sailing is the name of the game, and we’ve been at it here for 50 years.
OSA Trainees and Learning Facilitators will be pleased to hear that we don’t stint where it counts, and KSC’s LTS training fleet consists of the rightly popular RS Quests and RS Fevas.
We enjoy a wilderness camp flavour with addictive views to the Gatineau Hills in La Belle Province, on a navigable stretch extending farther upriver than you could reasonably sail in a day.
If you are interested in the clinic or register for the clinic, send an email to our training director, she would be pleased to hear it!
Lots of action on the KSC racing scene, including updated season results, and the Catamaran Regatta on Sat Aug 10
Catamaran Regatta
The wind was forecast to be 8 gusting 12, or 10 gusting 18, or somewhere around there (depending on forecast model used). In other words, perfect cat wind! The reality was… a bit less aggressive. Low base wind, but infrequent gusts of around 10 knots could give the sailors a bit of a thrill.
We had 6 participants in the regatta, Jean, Annie, Olivier (in a RS-CAT16) and Ken, Martin, Hong (in a Hobie 18). We sailed a windward-leeward course, which is more typical of cat races than the triangle we use on Wednesdays.
We got three 30-40 minute races in, all told. Ken, Martin, and Hong were nailing their starts, especially in the 3rd race (crossing the line with speed about a second after the whistle). The gusts were favouring Ken, Hong and Martin, at one point even having them fly a hull! Meanwhile, the lulls were thwarting Jean, Olivier and Annie, hurting their upwinds. They were holding their own and making up time on the downwinds, but not enough to outpace the Hobie’s upwind gains.
Due to prior comittments of some of the racers, we elected to skip lunch and race until 12:30 before calling it a day. At the end of it all, we had 3 races, 3 victories for the Hobie 18, and 3 second-place finishes for the RS-CAT16. Thanks to all for coming out! Maybe we’ll get a few more boats on the start line next year.
Weekly Racing
The weather has not been cooperative on Wednesdays, forcing us to cancel three (THREE!!!!) weeks of racing in a row – it’s either been thunderstorms and huricanes, or absolutely dead air.
We were able to get a couple of nights in recently though… A (very) light wind Jul 31 race saw 2 of the 9 boats finish and the others having to abandon (which means they all tied for 3rd). Aug 7 was a bit better, getting 3 races in, although still a light-wind night. Our instructor Danika got out with Steve in the fabled 29er and even got the spinakker up!
Photo courtesy of Deb McPhedran
Despite the light wind, the night had some of the closest action I’ve seen at KSC in a while — 3 boats were seconds apart at the start line for the third race. Tom and Yours Truely even had an RS-CAT16 battle with Jean/Liz/Karen with the two equally matched boats trading places all the way along the first legs of the race (until a tactical mistake by myself allowed them to walk away on the second upwind). Good times!
Updated season stats below. I don’t think there’s much hope of catching Steve at this point (his “drop races” include a 1st place finish) but there’s still lots of opportunity to move around in the rest of the standings. Special shout-out to 11-year-old Nora who’s sitting in 5th place, despite having to deal with Mike holding her back 😉
I was hesitatant to post speak too loudly about this based on the lack-of-wind we’ve been having this year, but it looks like the KSC Catamaran Regatta can take place, Sat Aug 10! Let’s hope the forecast doens’t change too much, and we’ll see how many races we can get in. No entry fee,
Schedule:
9:30-10:00 – Come to club, grab a boat, start rigging up 10:00 – Skipper’s meeting on deck 10:30 – First warning signal (3-min start sequence) Around 12:00 – break for lunch (BYO sandwiches, snacks, etc) Around 12:30 – resume racing 1:30 – latest possible time for a new start sequnce to begin Around 2:00 – done racing, head back to KSC and de-rig 3:00 – results announced
This is a chance for all you multi-hull fans to go head-to-head with your fellow cat sailors. Those who normally come out to our weekly races will notice a slight change in the course (although it might look familiar to anyone watching the Olympics this year).
Boats like cats and skiffs generally sail much faster downwind on a broad reach than going directly downwind. As such, windward-leeward courses are typically used for these boats. We’ll use a 2-lap course for the regatta.
cross start line
first upwind leg (round mark to port)
first downwind leg
pass through gate – round either the mark to starboard, or the comittee boat to port
second upwind leg (round mark to port)
second downwind leg (finish through gate)
2-Lap Windward-Leeward course
Why a Windward-Leeward course? The short answer is because it allows more chances for tactical decisions. Boats like cats sail faster downwind on a broad reach than pointed directly downwind. This means on a leeward leg, you’re probably going to be reaching. If we used a triangular course and a gybe mark, then it forces everyone to reach in the same direction, and the race becomes somewhat processional. By using a windward-leeward course, it give you the option to reach to either side of the course – good sailors will be able to make decisions about which side has the better wind speed/direction/etc, and can take advantage of their skills to perhaps pass boats which made the wrong choice. Similarly, having a gate at the bottom of the course allows a boat to come in on either tack and round in the direction of their choice, to better put themself in contention. Port/starboard rules still apply though, so beware if you’re the port-tack boat screaming into the gate 🙂
Your KSC Sailing Director here with some updates about racing the year.
First of all – if you’ve never been racing, come on out on a Wednesday, and we’ll get you in a boat! It’s a great excuse for a sail, it is totally laid back and friendly, and we have a ‘nobody left ashore’ policy. Show up at the club somewhere been 5:30 and 6:00, and we’ll match skippers/crew on the fly. If you want to sail, we’ll make it happen! New sailors welcome!
Ken, Steve, and Olivier/Tom (behind Ken’s sail) at the start line for Race 1
Looking for Organizers/volunteers – 12-Mile-Island, Cat Regatta
We have tentatively set dates of Saturday July 13 for the 12-Mile-Island race and August 10 for the catamaran regatta. If you have an organizational bent in you, or are otherwise interrested in helping out, please contact me at [email protected]. The organization isn’t that difficult, it’s mostly get word of the event out to likely participants, and figure out if you need support like a race-committee (and if so, who’s going to do it).
Wednesday Race Season
Our annual weekday series is well underway. Once again, we’re aiming for short courses with lots of short races. The first couple of race nights went great (getting in 7 races over the two nights) but the 3rd race night was cancelled due to lack of wind. Hopefully we’ll get some luck in the coming weeks. Steve, Ken and Mike have taken an early lead (full standings below) but it’s not too late! We discard results for one out of every the races, so even if you’ve missed a few weeks, had a bad night in the standings, or anything like that then the scroring system automatically doesn’t count your worst results
Quest/Feva Head Start
Last year, we noticed that the RS Quests and RS Fevas were often at the back of the fleet. This might be because the boats (especially Feva) are a bit slower than the Lasers and cats, but also they tend to be favoured by the recent learn-to-sail grads and by sailors bringing families/guests out. Either way, we figured we’d give the RS boats a bit of a head start this year. It gives the veterans in their fast-and-fancy boats a challenge (can I catch the RS boats?) and it gives the RS boats a fighting chance to celebrate a victory, instead of be resigned to the back of the fleet. Mike and his family were the first winners in a Quest, taking the 3rd race. We might tweak the system a bit later in the season, but so far people seem to be liking the system.
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