SUBMITTED BY THE SS SAILING CLUB
Salt Spring’s sailing club is hosting the Canadian Radio Yachting Association Pacific Region International One Metre (IOM) Championships this coming weekend off the club docks.
Boats are one metre in length and radio controlled with two channels operating the sails and the rudder.
Around the world there are many clubs and international, national and regional regattas are held on a regular basis, with lots of international travel. Coming to us this weekend is Peter Grimm, who represented Canada in the 2019 world championship in Brazil. Also travelling to us will be two New Zealanders and we look forward to sailing with them as theirs is a true sailing nation. The event is capped at 20 boats and is fully subscribed.
Local sailors Mark Wallace, Gyle Keating and Martin Herbert will be joined by a talented big boat sailor, our secret weapon, whose identity we refuse to disclose at this time. We have been in training all summer but have not travelled far afield so we were encouraged in early September when Herbert won the wooden IOM nationals hosted by the Royal Victoria Yacht Club. While there, the boats graced the dining room of the club for a “show and shine” event and voting. Best in show went to David Cook of Victoria while two boats built by Herbert completed the podium.
Racing starts at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 23 and the regatta chair hopes to complete 24 races by 3 p.m. on Sunday.
This event is the last of our 2021 season but the locals keep an eye on the weather and try to get out once a week to race around the buoys.