by Jennifer Harker
Day 5 of the North American 5.5M Regatta dawned with a promise of 7 knots and rising winds over the bay so the fleet opted for a distance race.
It took boats from the shipping buoy M20 in the centre of Midland Bay around Snake Island, over to Flat Point by Victoria Harbour and back to Midland Bay Sailing Club – a distance of about 10 nautical miles.
With some congestion at the committee boat end of the start line, O’Kelly CAN 79 stuck to the middle locked in with Pride USA 31 and Savage USA 75 but soon burst away from the others and got off to an excellent start with clean air. A quick spinnaker set and O’Kelly CAN 79 took a commanding lead and ran with the advantage – one she would never relinquish over the distance.
It was an uneven regatta for O’Kelly CAN 79 so her skipper Don Cameron was pleased to finish the regatta on a high note. “We bounced up, down and sideways in this regatta with two firsts, some fourths and a fifth so today went really well.”
Rounding in second was Nantoria CAN 22 who just couldn’t catch O’Kelly CAN 79, but the real race was for third and the next three boats would cross the line close together which speaks well for the future of 5.5 racing here.
“The fleet tightened up dramatically as the week went on, which is awesome to see,” Cameron said.
At the line it was Purple Haze USA 51 finishing ahead of Savage USA 75, giving her enough points to push past Savage USA 75 to secure second overall in the regatta.
Purple Haze USA 75 skipper Hugh Loughborough said, “It was a beautiful day for a sail, and with some very close racing it was a real fun race. We were focused on Savage the whole race and kept a cover on him.”
Pride USA 31 made a race of it with Joe Strelow at the helm for a picture perfect finish to a fabulous regatta.
Midland Bay Sailing Club member and race statistician John Parkhurst crewed aboard O’Kelly CAN 79. He said, “Both 5.5 regattas were cancelled earlier this year due to Covid. It’s excellent that the club allowed it with extra precautions in place – and then the volunteers made it happen.”
Adhering to all Covid protocols on both sides of the border created plenty of logistical challenges and the tight timeline when organizers got the green light to go ahead meant not all North American 5.5ers could attend.
Thanks to Joe Strelow for regularly organizing Zoom meetings throughout 2021 to keep us connected to figure out together how this could happen safely.
The organizing crew met every challenge with creativity, patience, good humour and always with an eye on the prize of keeping everyone safe while still being able to sail together.
It takes a devoted group to get boats in the water on time with the help of Bay Port Yachting Centre; to find crew to fill unexpected empty spots; to coordinate and ensure competitors could be fed in a Covid-safe manner; and dozens of other small details that can’t be overlooked.
While the racing takes centre stage, the behind-the-scenes strategizing and orchestrating is equally important and a well-deserved round of applause and shout out to everyone who helped make the fall regatta possible is certainly in order.
As John Lister said, “It was so great to be able to run the North American 5.5M Regatta after such a hiatus. It was wonderful to be back together and be human again.”
Awards were handed out at the end-of-regatta dinner including sets of engraved 5.5 glasses, courtesy of Texan William Turner who was unable to attend but shipped the glasses anyway.
In June 2017 a crew from Germany joined us for 5.5 racing North American style. After experiencing the joy, passion and especially the camaraderie that overflows at the North American 5.5M regattas one of the German team members, Thies Först, generously donated the trophy for best classic that is now awarded each year. Everyone toasted Thies as the shiny hardware on its elegant wooden carrying base was on display.
After savouring his 2019 win for the past two years with no regattas being held, O’Kelly’s Don Cameron returned the trophy and it was presented to Team Nantoria, winner of this year’s North American 5.5M Regatta.
Final results of the regatta were Nantoria CAN 22, Purple Haze USA 51, Savage USA 75, O’Kelly CAN 79, Pride USA 31 and Summer CAN 80.
Fingers crossed that two regattas will happen in the 2022 sailing season.
The fleet tightened up as the regatta progressed and Pride USA 31 is rounding into fine form under skipper Joe Strelow.
O’Kelly CAN 79 picked a middle of the pack start for the distance race which was the perfect strategy and she lead from the start on the final day of racing.
Team Nantoria CAN 22, Susan French, Bill Mills, John Lister and Dave Harker came out on top in the North American 5.5M Regatta to take the Classic Trophy, generously donated by German Thies Först.