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Day 4 Report:

The day started under dark clouds with little blue spots and an Easterly, which is never a good wind direction to start a race as it usually dies off close to noon. Also after the sailors had been treated to warm temperatures the previous days - the 17 degrees celcius the day started with felt particularly cold. The sun fought and improved the cloud cover a little with some more blue spots. By 11am we had about 5-6 knots of wind - still an Easterly and the decision was made to start the first race of the day. This meant the beat faced downtown Vancouver and on top the remaining hour of Ebb-tide - the switch for the sailors couldn't be greater - as all previous days they faced outward English Bay and a flood-tide for most of the races. It took the first boat a long time to round the mark and as an Easterly usually dies off if the sun burn off the clouds - it became tricky to find the right route around the course. Never the less the wind never died off enough to warrant cancelling the race with 5-7 knots at the committee boat end and Greg Dair made it around the course the fastest. On the other hand 4 boats did not finish within the time limit. Lunchtime was called and the race committee continued monitoring the situation as the wind died. In the end the decision was made by PRO Guy Walters that we had 12 great races in the bag and everyone would benefit from going in. Therefore day 4's morning race became the final race in the 2006 Canadian Optimist Champs series. The sun did manage to shine for the closing ceremonies and it proved that Guy's decision was the right one as the wind never came back in the afternoon. RVYC Commodore David Jennings attended to started the Ceremonies thanking all the competitors, but also volunteers, race committee, Jury, sponsors coaches and parents for attending the event. The Greenfleet coaches handled the prize giving for their flock of sailors and made it a fun event with short stories about each sailor. As special guest we had Ms Melanie Woodward on hand, the 1993 overall winner of the Canadian Optimist Championship. Her name is also engraved on the top girl trophy 3 times those years. Winner of the 2006 regatta is Jordi Xammar all the way from Barcelona, Spain. Top Canadian Boy went to Ted Murphy who sail in his final year in the Optimist and top Canadian Girl went to Emily Nicoll. We want to especially thank the PRO Guy Walters who was (other then the weather) the key ingredient in running a flawless regatta. Many sailors and coaches thanked him for quality races and the fact that he remained accessible throughout and open to input at all times. This concluded the 2006 Canadian Optimist Championships, which thanks to the weather and wind showed that one can have great regattas in Vancouver BC.

Day 3 Report:

Well, in all the excitement I forgot to mention the Baia Brothers bike demo team at the end of day 2. Sailors, parents and coaches got treated to an incredible display of balance and bravado by the team members who were as young as the sailors themselves. Jumps, tricks and turns, and best of all crushed papercups close to important body parts. Sailors had enough energy to storm the display at the end and ask the team riders lots of questions...may be a BMX bike next on the never ending wish list ? Day three proved that the bike display didn't turn any Optimist sailor off, all were accounted for and nobody traded their Opti for 2 wheels. Driving up to the club the kids commented first on the non existing wind in the morning and we actually raised the AP flag. A rule 42 seminar put on by Jury members Don Martin and Rick Hatch kept sailors busy, however the wind set in to start race 1 of the day almost on time just after 1115 hrs. The wind hit 11kn about mid day and brought increased waves, which made starting at the committee boat a real challenge. Good thing "Blue Peter", the committee's boat, is a sturdy old trawler, there will be a number of gelcoat jobs needed on the Optis and some even managed to shave their windexes off on the stern-end flag lines when clamoring for starting spots in the last 30 or so seconds. The race committee decided to dispatch the P-flag to the drawer and used exclusively I-flags after only one black-flag start. Thank goodness we had no more vision impared Martin 242 skippers on the loose - therefore no marks hit or dislodged. After another perfect day, with relatively steady winds and perfect sunshine the last race ended around 16:20hrs. In brief at the CODA AGM meeting, the Royal St. Lawrence Yacht Club was voted on for the 2007 Optmist Nationals and for 2008 the Lunenburg proposal was accepted as well. Full meeting minutes and details will be posted on the CODA Website shortly. Fair winds - Harald

Day 2 Report:

Well day two started again with perfect conditions, the wind initially on the light side but by the time the committee boat was in place at 1030 hrs, the wind came back to 8-9 kn. The Committee tried one normal start with P flag - but after a general recall decided to go back to the proven I flag. Races 5 and 6 went off without a hitch except the odd OCS. After lunch race 7 went off and the wind shifted to the right, during the race, which prompted the committee to change the course for race 8. Somehow in the break between race 7 and the start of 8 the sailors seemed to have lost any knowledge how to start - after a mass recall with boats all over the start area and already on the course, only the feared Black flag brought order. Race 8 with course 2 selection went very well - even to the end - so we thought. However a Martin 242 had hit the windward mark just before the boats rounded. Accounts of the incident vary, but a protest was filed that the Martin had dragged the mark as well. The Jury decided at the end of race day 2 that race 8 be dropped. Which obviously upset the sailors who won/placed well in the race. So this saga of race 8 may be continued on day 3 - we will see. To the Martin 242 skipper of the RVYC Intermediary - we can only recommend a number of things a)check your eyesight - if ok proceed to b) which is go back to a CYA White sail course. If you hit a mark as big as the average downtown Vancouver Condo, aside from the fact that some 62 Optimists were aiming at the mark and you shouldn't be that close to the course to begin with - its time for some sailing lessons. You may want to stay home for a few days until the Opti sailors leave town - they are looking for you ! - submitted by Harald Fritz.

Day 1 Report:

After a hectic measurement Thursday night and throughout Friday, sailors went for the practise race in great conditions. After 3 starts and no finishes with sailors going off in all directions including the marks for the Green Optimist fleet and the 6meter class race which was going on at the same time, it was decided we needed to good skippers meeting the next morning to wake everyone up. Day 1 of the 2006 Canadian Optimsit Dinghy Championships greeted sailors, coaches and parents with perfect conditions - sunny, warm and better yet wind! With the wind steady at 10kn-11kn race one started, after 2 general recalls the I flag went up and after that only the last race of the day needed some extra prompting with a black flag to contain the eager sailors. Wind for the last race reached 14knots, the race committee decided to call it a day after the forth race ended just after 1540hrs.