SUBMITTED BY SSISC JUNIOR SAILING TEAM
Four youth sailors from the Salt Spring Island Sailing Club spent their spring break practising and competing with students from Mount Aspiring College in Wanaka, New Zealand.
Izzi Pugh Aucoin, Malikaa Clement, Maeve FitzZaland and Reuben Sol travelled to New Zealand with their coach John Hillier and parent volunteer Anna Pugh.
In Wanaka, the Salt Spring youth were introduced to a different type of racing using International 420 boats, which are similar to the C420 boats they usually compete in. In Canada, junior sailors usually compete in a fleet race, where several boats compete against one another. In New Zealand, however, the format was “teams racing,” consisting of two teams of three boats each competing on a short course with six to seven “marks” or turns. This changes the tactics, and hones the sailors’ skills in maneuvering around marks and other boats.
Roger North, coach of the Wanaka team, commented that he had not expected the Canadian sailors to be as quick to catch on to the different racing format.
“It was exciting to witness team Canada make four months’ worth of progress in just two weeks,” North said.
Fresh off a 15-hour flight, the sailors were on the water, practising with the local club on Lake Wanaka and participating over the following days in a small, teams-racing regatta. The warm, freshwater sailing was a nice change from their winter training near Salt Spring. The sailors enjoyed meeting and racing with the local youth, and formed fast friendships with their new teammates.
After a successful first weekend, the team made its way to Picton, a 10-hour drive north of Wanaka, to prepare for the regional high school championships, a regatta which included 16 high school sailing teams from the South Island of New Zealand. The Canadians and three sailors from Wanaka formed a team known at the championships as the Canada Combo.
Over the three-day regatta, the Canada Combo competed in 37 races and finished fourth in the Silver Fleet. All four Canadian sailors were happy with their finish, which was also commented on by organizers and course officials. Many calls of “Go Canada!” were heard from the spectators when the Canada Combo was racing. Lily Grimshaw, the head umpire for the regatta, noted that she always knew when the Canada Combo was sailing.
“I could tell their victories as a team were beautiful and sweet,” Grimshaw said. “By the end of the regatta, their confidence had [grown by] leaps and bounds. [They made] amazing progress in one week!”
The youth sailors’ performance was also picked up by Sail Canada, who posted a story to their social media accounts regarding the regatta.
The sailors returned to Canada determined to bring teams racing to Salt Spring and the surrounding sailing community. The team hopes to host an Introduction to Teams Racing session later this year.
The students and their families would like to thank and acknowledge the vision and enthusiasm of Jill Oakes, whose own trip to Wanaka spurred the connection between the two sailing clubs, as well as the financial generosity of several anonymous donors from the Salt Spring Island Sailing Club and community who made the trip possible.