The 12th annual Whistler Regatta brought a mix of excitement, tricky winds, and some truly memorable moments on the water!
Saturday:
We kicked off with a surprising north wind that stuck around for most of the day, allowing us to run four races for the ILCA 6 class and three races for the Optimists, Pirates and ILCA 4 class. The wind shifts kept everyone on their toes, making the starts close and thrilling to watch. In these light conditions getting off the start line with clean air and finding the next puff of wind was the key to victory!
Sunday:
Sunday greeted us with rain and a glimmer of hope from a south wind, but as more rain rolled in, the wind went flat. Just when we thought the day might be a wash, a southerly breeze filled in around 12:45 PM. We managed to squeeze in three more races with varying wind strengths. The first race saw a solid 10-12 knot southerly, but heavy rain challenged the fleet as the wind became shifty. Despite the clouds and the rain, the breeze held at around 5 kts, and the races were on!
Huge thanks to our dedicated volunteers and our PRO, Kathy Parslow from the West Vancouver Yacht Club, who kept the races rolling despite the challenging conditions. Shoutout to our coaches, Jeffrey Baird and James Cannon, for guiding the team through it all! 29 Sailors from WSA took part in the event this year. Huge growth in our race team this season!
Highlights:
Laser 4.7 (ILCA 4): First place went to Adri Giese from WSA
ILCA 6 (Radial Fleet): Lira Ilyasova from WSA snagged a solid third place finish. Yuanda Zhang from West Van YC took the win in the 15 boat ILCA 6 fleet.
Optimists: Thien Do Ngoc Yuan took the overall win and 1st in White Fleet.
Sebastian Sturgess claimed first in the Blue Fleet and second overall. Damien Dunn came in third overall and second in the Blue Fleet.
Pirates: Our very own Hugh Jones and David Ellis took first place, with the Andrews brothers, Alan and Roman, rounding out the podium in third in their first regatta ever.
Well done WSA sailors !
A big thank you to our sponsors!
Nesters Market: Provided lunches for volunteers, plus desserts and snacks. .
Misty Mountain Pizza: Supplied Pizza dinner for the hungry sailors.
Rekord Marine: Provided fantastic prizes and sailing gear for all participants.
Check out the full results at https://www.whistlersailing.com/whistler-regatta
See you next year!