2003 Canadian Championship Regatta

For all of the days we sharpen, travel, set up and get skunked, we received a day like the day we had at the Canadian Championship on Lake Champlain, off Phillipsburg, Québec. The visibility was clear. The winds steady from the South West at 12-15 knots. The ice blue, except for the occasional snowdrift. Seven straight races on a full one-mile course. The temperature hovering just below freezing. A mix of twenty-seven hearty American and Canadian sailors, and voilà…the perfect DN day!

Once again, André Baby of Pointe-Claire, Québec ruled the regatta with four firsts and three seconds to take the title carrying only 8 points after his drop race. This, despite fighting a mean flu bug that had a hold of him the entire week leading up to the regatta. “Smile!” I said to him after he was crowned national champion, “don’t get me wrong I’m happy, I’m just too tired to smile” was his answer. Hot on his heels was Mark Wolff of Oakville, Ontario who unfortunately had two bad races (one mark hit, and one slight collision off the start) and had to carry a DNF to his final tally yet still finished in fifth. In second, also of Pointe-Claire, was Jean-Francois (J.F.) Simard who had good overall speed and solid pointing ability. Only two points behind Simard, in third place, was top-of-the-fleet veteran Bob Schumacher of Shelburne Vermont. Rounding out the top five, in fourth, was Greg Cornelius of Massachusetts.

Race Committee Chairman Bob Stone with his crew of André Charbonneau and Louise Devost kept things moving at a good pace. The first race starting at noon, and the last race finishing at three forty five, just as the breeze was dying.

In a just way, with the fleet feeling comfortably numb, spent both mentally and physically, the day ended just as perfectly as it had begun.

Marc Gagnier KC 5165 Regatta Chairman

Pos Name                 Sail#  Race#> 1    2    3    4    5    6    7  Pts
1   André Baby           KC 4360       2    1    1    1    2    2    1    8
2   J.F Simard           KC 5159       6    2    4    2    4    3   13   21
3   Robert Schumacher    US 4032       7    3    6    3    3    4    4   23
4   Greg Cornelius       US 1019       3    5    3    5    6    7    2   24
5   Mark Wolff           KC 4190       1  DSQ    2  DNF    1    1    7   35
6   Paul Gervais         US 4626       9   12    5    4    9    8    5   40
7   Steve Madden         US 4512      13   13    9    6   10    6    3   47
8   Brad Reynolds        KC 4507       4    9    8   12   12   12    6   51
9   David Clapp          US 5116       5   15    7    7    7   10   16   51
10  Dan Clapp            US 3282      10    4   13    8    8   15    9   52
11  Stéphane Arsenault   KC 4361     DSQ    6   12    9    5    5   19   56
12  Claude Morin         KC 5001      12    7   10   14   11   14   11   65
13  Robert Dill          US 3904      16   10   11   11   13   19   14   75
14  Marc Gagnier         KC 5165      15   11   16   13   17    9   12   76
15  Patrick Zachary      US 3173     DNS    8   14   10   16   16   20   84
16  Alain Boucher        KC 5238      14   14   17   16   14   18   15   90
17  Jacques Charbonneau  KC 4992      18   18   18   15   15   17    8   91
18  Eric Anderson        US 5193      20   20   19   17   18   13   10   97
19  Ed Atkeson           US 5105     DNS   23   21   19   22   20   18   123
20  Claude Prévost       KC 1815      21   21   22   21   20   21   21   125
21  Thomas Thieler       US 5224      19   19   20  DNF  DNS  DNS   17   129
22  David Caroni         KC 360       22   24   23   18   21  DNS  DNF   130
23  Scott McDowell       US 4315      11   17  DNF  DNS  DNS  DNS  DNS   131
24  John Doe             KC 1        DNS   22   24   20  DNF  DNS  DNS   147
25  André Charbonneau    KC 4630     DNS  DNS  DNS  DNS   19  DNS  DNS   154
26  Don Brush            US 4009     DNF  DNS  DNS  DNS  DNS  DNS  DNS   162
27  Tony Mancini         US 1196     DSQ  DNS  DNS  DNS  DNS  DNS  DNS   162