BC Fall Dinghy Championships

22 - 23 September 2012 - Royal Victoria Yacht Club, British Columbia

The BC Fall Dinghy Championship is on again.

Come out for one last sail before the weather turns cold.

Race Report & Results

Fall in Victoria BC. I always know that Thanksgiving is just around the corner when we have the Fall Dinghy Championships at Royal Victoria Yacht Club. This 2 day regatta was designated as the Fireball BC Championships this year.
With a delay to the start of racing due to both lack of wind AND a broken BC ferry, the 10 boats registered got down to the serious business of visiting. I had emailed, cornered at pubs, hassled and emailed some more to ensure that the 3 sailors traveling north from Portland would have local boats to sail.
My campaign had the added bonus of getting a 10 boat fleet on the water. I also managed to convince a lot of local sailors that there would be a coaching/learning aspect if we switched up our usual sailor pairings. For me, I already knew I would be sailing with someone different as my skipper was not available for the regatta.
Mike McEvoy sailed with Debra Dietch in Mark Cumming's boat, Panther Larkin was teamed with Simon Pearson in Jamie Cox's boat and Greg Desilets sailed with Shannon Gallins in Kelly's boat. Other highlights included the return of Iain McEvoy after being MIA for several years and the unexpected appearance of Chris and Tracey Mills sailing their new to them (ex Mel Steffin) Fireball. Light air prevailed through the weekend and as usual in Cadboro Bay the tide was as much a factor as the wind.
See the results posted here (link to follow later apparently), to see who I convinced to switch up.
Day 1 saw breeze from 0-7 knots and the RC managed send us on 3 W courses of varying laps. Current played more of a factor in our afternoon of sailing than I was expecting. I'm not sure why I was expecting less current, I've been sailing here for a few years now and current is always involved.
Lake sailors McEvoy and Dietch led the fleet for much of the second and third races after going the wrong way in race 1 but were unable to hold on for the win. Better boat handling and superior unwind speed gave Rob and Francis two bullets and the lead at the end of day 1. With everyone having a bad race counting all were hoping for a couple of races Sunday in order to get a drop.
After the dinner provided by the RVYC, the Fireball fleet got to hang out by the patio fire and enjoy more nibblies and cake, while telling stories of the good old days and the windy regattas held at this location.
Day 2 saw breeze from 0-2 knots most of the morning and left the fleet visiting on shore, until the day was abandoned at 1 pm. By this time the Fireball fleet had decided that a little time on the water was better than a whole day on shore and 6 boats headed out for a couple of rabbit start races in the bay.
Congratulations to Rob Thompson and Francis Thompson the BC Champions. Also, thank you from me, to the sailors who showed up to sail with whoever I arbitrarily decided to match them up with in whatever boat was available.
Photo taken by Jamie Cox
Highlights of the weekend for me; sailing with CBSA Brian in a regatta; meeting new Fireball sailors that I didn't even know were showing up; visiting around the fire on Saturday evening; making my non-sailing friend chauffeur me about town all weekend because I lent my car to our Portland visitors. Next regatta I will have to attempt cc'ing my email campaign to the wind fairies to see if they will show up to play too.
Results -
14998 Rob Thompson Francis
14757 Garry Bishop Rob Warren
CAN14680 Paithen Larkins Simon Pearson
14758 Leigh Anderson Vanessa Edwards
11800 Mike McEvoy Debra Dietch
13890 Iain McEvoy Dave Richardson
14680 Jamie Cox AJ Howard
6796 Greg Desilets Shannon Galins
13158 Brian Swaile Evelyn Chisholm
12942 Chris Miils  

 

Online Entry Form

 

The main Clubhouse is located at the corner of Ripon Road and Beach Drive in the Uplands residential area of Oak Bay.

Guests may park in the upper parking lot. Foreshore parking is reserved for Members whose cars display a Club sticker.

 

 

The Royal Victoria Yacht Club's facilities consist of two centres: a main Clubhouse and foreshore facility at 3475 Ripon road in Victoria, BC, Canada, located on beautiful Cadboro Bay; and a smaller facility located in Tsehum Harbour on the Saanich Peninsula just north of Sidney, BC.

The Cadboro Bay facility is the center of most of the Club activities, housing the administrative staff, our boat maintenance facility, hoists and ways, a large function lounge, several meeting rooms and our waterfront dining room and Chartroom bar.

The permanent moorage at Cadboro holds approximately 375 boats and is protected year round by a breakwater to shelter the facility from the southeasters which sweep in from Haro and Juan de Fuca Straits. Temporary moorage for visitors is seasonally available. Dry storage to dinghies, day sailors and sports boats is provided on the dinghy docks on the foreshore; access to the water for dry stored boats is provided by 2 ton and 5 ton hoists and a boat ramp. There is a ways that can accommodate boats up to approximately 50 feet in length.

RVYC maintains an outstation in Long Harbour, Salt Spring Island which provides temporary moorage for up to 5 - 10 boats cruising in the Gulf Islands. The Club also leases two 40 foot slips in the Port of Friday Harbour, Washington, USA for member's temporary use as well as 70 feet of dock for members use in Shawl Bay in the Broughton Archipelago at the mouth of Kingcome Inlet

The Cadboro Bay Clubhouse features dining room services for members and their guests Wednesdays through Sundays, 12:00 pm to 8:00 pm, Friday's 11:30 to 9:00pm. As well as our regular ala carte menu we offer daily lunch and dinner specials.

The Clubhouse rooms and grounds are available for rent for various functions to both members and member sponsored guests. Rooms are available for meetings or conferences with wireless internet, laptop connections and large wall-mounted monitors. In addition, the lounge and grounds are wonderful spaces for parties, receptions, workshops and weddings.