Executive:
Chairman:   George Blanchard 
Hon. Treas.:  Dr Laurie Oxenham
Measurer:  John Woolsey 
Imm. Past Chairman:  Jim Clelland
Secretary:  Tom Johannsen, 2531 Lakeshore Blvd W., Toronto 14, Ontario
Publicity:  Al Schoenborn, 13 Ojibway Ave., Toronto 2, Ont.

Fleet Representatives:
Ottawa -  Peter Jefferson
North Bay -  Don Paine
Kitchener -  Pete Bassin
 

GREETINGS, FELLOW WAYFARERS!
As we wistfully prepare to pack in our gear for another winter, the overworked secretarial shoulders of  Tom Johannsen have left to me the pleasant task of trying to recapture the essence the ’64 summer among the Wayfarers.

The Wayfarers spirit gained its initial hold on me last fall as I observed the North American Championships from my post on the Race Committee.  I was so taken with the class that I spent the entire winter on borrowed schoolbooks, team hockey sticks and mooched beer with the result that after eight years of futile efforts at getting my own boat, I am now co-owner of SNOOPY (W-116) with my father.

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT:
As your new Chairman for the 1964-65 season, I must first congratulate last year’s Executive members – James Clelland, Alex Lowenthal, George Wilson, Bob Thompson and Tom Johannsen for doing such a fine job of running the Association.  I am very pleased to welcome Tom Johannsen as Secretary again, Dr Laurie Oxenham (new owner of W-282) as Treasurer, John Woolsey Chief Measurer and Al Schoenborn as Publicity, to act on the 64-65 Executive.

The running of the North American Championships by the past Executive and Royal Canadian YC, was a splendid show in spite of the Sept. 5th set-back at the CNE Race, cancelled due to heavy weather.  The R.C.Y.C. Race Committee and Steward certainly worked hard to make our sailing week-end enjoyable.  I was very pleased to see such a large turnout of Wayfarer sailors, crews and families at the Saturday Dance at the R.C.Y.C. and Sunday dinner.

With your continued support we look forward to having another successful season.

Respectfully submitted,

FIRST RACE: Cancelled due to heavy winds.

SECOND RACE: Peter Jefferson started out on the right foot by winning the first one.  Way-out Terry Gregg placed second, followed by Tom Johannsen (Toronto), Mike Schoenborn (Tor.), Harry Jones (Tor.), and Jim Clelland (Tor.)

THIRD RACE: It looked as if Pete Jefferson was going to do it again, as he moved into an early lead and held it for over five of the six legs.  Mike Schoenborn finally passed the fleet but spinnaker-less Ottawan on the final spinnaker reach to win.  Four Toronto entries followed the top two in the persons of George Blanchard, Harry Jones, Alex Lowenthal and Al Schoenborn.

FOURTH RACE: Al Schoenborn hit the favoured leeward end of the line too soon, but jibed around the mark onto port tack and still managed to duck in among the leaders.  From there he pulled into a substantial lead which he held, more or less, for the win.  Peter Jefferson had started away down in the hole, but by the end of the second beat of the windward-leeward course had moved into the runner-up position.  However, the dead run without a spinnaker caused him to lose George Blanchard and Harry Jones for a fourth place finish.  Peter Bassin (Kitchener) came next and was followed by Jim Clelland and Terry Gregg.

FIFTH RACE: Going into this race, Peter Jefferson now had a 1-2-4 standing for 6¾ finish points, and only Mike Schoenborn with 1-4 for 4¾ finish points on his best two, and George Blanchard with 2-3 for 5 finish points had a chance to catch Peter if he placed worse than third while Mike placed first or second, or George won.

Young Bill Quantock had other ideas, however, as he moved into an early lead at the first mark and held on all the way for the win despite a last-minute surge which carried Al to within 20 feet of winning.  This automatically assured Peter and his wife a victory.  Peter Bassin who had followed the leaders off-shore placed third, ahead of George Blanchard who in turn edged Mike Schoenborn to squeeze into third place overall.  Peter J. was among those who got caught inshore and placed the happiest tenth of the year.

CONGRATULATIONS, MR AND MRS PETE JEFFERSON!!

COMPLETE RESULTS – NORTH AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS – 1964 – R.C.Y.C.
 
 

Planning the 1964 series started in September 1963 at the Annual General Meeting, where it was suggested that we approach the Royal Canadian YC to act as host.  This first stage was carried out very smoothly as it required only two letters – the first asking if we could come, and the second, saying we would be delighted to come.  The winter arrived and September seemed a long time away and the C.W.O.A. committee was busy arguing, sorry, legislating, about centreboards and topics like “When is a Wayfarer not really a Wayfarer?” and the weeks rolled past.

March came, and we stirred ourselves and got into heated discussions about the number of races we could have.  Some thought that five wasn’t enough and others thought it sacrilegious to sail three races on the Sabbath.  However, we held out for five races and peace reigned.  In April there was a beautiful meeting which had all the attributes of a beverage room brawl and ended up by legislating on the number of crew and deciding that a NOVEX jib sheet block wasn’t a snubbing winch.

And then the sailing season was upon us and there were more urgent matters than the premier Wayfarer regatta, so we forgot all about and went sailing.  “After all,” we said to salve our conscience, “that’s why we bought a boat.”  Towards the end of July we thought that perhaps we should tell people that we were going to have a regatta but it all seemed such a long time away, so we said, “They all know about it anyway.”

In August, we decided that the time had come to do something; so we made plans to do something.  Then in the middle of the month, the RCYC Sailing Secretary descended on us and wanted immediate answers to questions we hadn’t thought about – and we panicked!  We realized that we needed a sub-committee to run the thing; we needed a programme; we needed a race committee; we needed committee boats; we needed the Harbour Police; we needed beer (ed. note: hear! hear!) we needed food; we needed trophies; we needed mooring space and lockers; we needed people to come to the regatta; and we needed two more months!
Things took shape quickly and we acquired most of the things we had to have after a lot of wheedling and cajoling and plain, blunt language.  Things were hectic for a while; actually they were hectic right up until it was over.  We hope it didn’t seem that because we wanted you to think it was no problem to organize and that we did it all standing on our heads.
At lunch on Monday we tried to thank everybody but some were missed and we’d like to show our appreciation now, to JOHN WOOLSEY, who triumphed over the weather and got (we hope) everyone’s money; to PAT CLELLAND and JOAN WOOLSEY for dishing out enough spaghetti for two hundred to about ninety people; to AL MALLON and DON RUMBLE for those superb start-lines; to TERRY GREGG who beat the Liquor Control Board at their own game; to ISOBEL and GRANT ALLAN for those grand signs; to the catering staff of the R.C.Y.C. who served first-rate meals; to the RCYC Protest Committee (ed. note: including Paul Henderson who at this event taught me that, if there’s going to be a collision in a split second, HEAD UP!!!) who dealt very fairly with the protests; and lastly, a big thank you to all of you who came and made it all worthwhile.
 

HARRY JONES IS ’64 CANADIAN WAYFARER CHAMPION
A topsy-turvy three-race series which attracted 24 boats on the Dominion Day weekend at Queen City Yacht Club saw Harry Jones win the Canadian title with a clutch performance that carried him to a narrow ¼-point win over second-place Alex Lowenthal.  He in turn was only a single point ahead of third-place Peter Jefferson of Britannia Yacht Club, Ottawa.

The scrambliness of the racing was reflected in the flukey weather in the second race where early leaders, Mike Schoenborn, Peter Bassin and Jim Clelland were the last to get a spanking, fresh breeze off the shore to drop into 22nd, 23rd and 24th spots.  Hardest hit was Peter Bassin who, without taking anything away from the winners, deserved to win the championship, (two firsts) but finished 17th in that race while outclassing the fleet to win the other two.

The “opportunists” award has to go to Harry Jones who literally sneaked in while no one was looking to snatch away the title.  After being well back in the decisive final race, Harry edged up on the second beat and in one beautiful move played a wind shift to beat Alex Lowenthal, Peter Jefferson and Jim Clelland around the weather mark to move into third spot before moving past Al Schoenborn on the reach to take second place and the title as Lowenthal and Jefferson, the leaders after two races dropped back while fighting each other.

In the sportsmanship division, Alex Lowenthal remained tops.  One particular instance comes to mind, which proved costly to him.  In the final race, he lent Al Schoenborn his other mainsail, and was subsequently beaten by Al for the first time for the loss of one costly point.  He lost another point when he felt it was his duty to protest an infraction against him, even though the guilty party had finished between him and main competition such as Harry Jones and Peter Jefferson.  Yet not one word of complaint about luck or what have you has been heard from him.

TORONTO FLEET REPORT – 1964
The enthusiasm of the Toronto area Wayfarer group was mirrored in an increased participation throughout the ’64 season, averaging more than 15 entries per race.

After opening the sailing season out of town at Chicago and at Kitchener, our home opener at National Yacht Club on June 20 attracted a modest 12-boat fleet.  TSCC’s Harry Jones led the pack, while George Wilson of QCYC and Terry Gregg from RCYC were well back in second and third spots.

The 27th of June saw Mike Schoenborn of Queen City YC parlay a pair of wind shifts on the second beat into victory at the Royal Canadian Yacht Club Open Regatta.  Terry Gregg of the home club placed second, followed by Tom Johannsen from Toronto Sailing & Canoe Club.

The annual combination of the Canadian Championship and the Lake Skiff Sailing Association Regatta was next on the agenda on the Dominion Day weekend.  Harry Jones was proclaimed Canadian champion after edging out Alex Lowenthal, another Toronto entry, by a mere ¼ point.  Following Alex, only one point behind, was the eventual North American champion from Ottawa, Peter Jefferson.  Although missing the big title, Alex Lowenthal salvaged some glory by handily taking the overall LSSA title, ahead of Harry Jones and Al Schoenborn (QCYC).

The Island Yacht Club regatta, scheduled for July 11, seems to be in bad standing with the weatherman these days.  A severe squall struck the fleet as it was about to start, capsizing a number of boats and forcing cancellation of the race for the third time in recent years.

The fleet split between the local regatta at Port Credit Yacht Club and the inaugural Wayfarer event in Ottawa’s annual National Capital Regatta at Britannia Yacht Club on the July 18 week-end.  While Alex Lowenthal, George Blanchard, Tom Johannsen and Harry Jones trailed to the capital, Mike Schoenborn beat out Jim Clelland (RCYC) and George Wilson for the yellow flag at Port Credit.  Alex was the best from Toronto at Ottawa where he lost a nip’n’tuck battle with Kitchener’s Peter Bassin, king of the small lake sailors, for a second place finish.

TS&CC had a big day at Boulevard Club July 25, as George Blanchard and Harry Jones placed one-two, followed by QCYC’s Al Quantock in a fleet of 11 boats.

The August 1 Civic Holiday week-end produced another split between the annual North Bay Cruise Race and the Lake Yacht Racing Association regatta held at Queen City Yacht Club.  Only six entries, all from QCYC, participated in the LYRA.  Mike and Al Schoenborn tied for first place in an abbreviated two-race series, and Al Quantock took the third-place flag.  The Island Yacht Club flags were also awarded on the basis of the first race which was won by Mike Schoenborn ahead of brother, Al, and Al Quantock.  The rest of the fleet headed north, whence we are expecting a fleet report which will include the results of this, their main event.

Cries of “team racing” arose at the Toronto Sailing & Canoe Club regatta, August 15, as the hosts saw arch rivals Queen City Yacht Club walk off with the top three spots.  Two #151’s, Al Schoenborn (alias 116) and Alex Lowenthal (the real McCoy) placed one-two and Mike Schoenborn completed the sweep by sneaking past TS&CC’s Larry Solway on the final leg.

In order to try to muster financial support for the new Toronto-based brigantine, Pathfinder, the Brigantine Trophy was put up for Wayfarer competition by Croce & Lofthouse with an entry fee of $3.00 in the only Canadian National Exhibition race that was not cancelled, August 29th.

Ideal conditions prevailed as Al Schoenborn sailed SNOOPY to win the trophy, shadowed closely by the red, white and blue spinnaker of Tom Johannsen’s KAREN, and the yellow and white ballooner of Peter Bassin’s PIPPA from the Conestoga Sailing Club.

The Labour Day weekend was as always the zenith of the Wayfarer racing season with the North American Championships held at the Royal Canadian Yacht Club, September 5, 6 and 7.  A record 38-boat contingent, 19 from out-of-town, was smoothly and very hospitably handled by Jim Clelland, Grant Allan, Terry Gregg and Al Mallon with his Race Committee to name but a few.

A 35 m.p.h. westerly forced cancellation of Saturday’s race before Ottawa’s Peter Jefferson and his wifely crew blitzed Toronto’s longtime supremacy with three superlative Sunday races in #827, which turned out to be more than enough to win the abbreviated “best three” series with 107¼ points.  After a slow start, Al Schoenborn and crew, Roy Coleman, sneaked into the runner-up spot with 105¼ points, just ¼ point ahead of George Blanchard and crew, Leo Maarse.  The other two race winners were Mike Schoenborn with Richard Lye who finished fourth overall, ¾ point behind George B., and a most-times crew, Bill Quantock, son of Al Quantock of QCYC, who surprised everyone by taking the final race.

The September 12 Ashbridges Bay Yacht Club regatta was highlighted by the performance of Laurie Oxenham (TS&CC) who bought W-282 from Terry Gregg at noon and by 3 p.m. had sailed BANSHEE to second place behind Al Schoenborn.  Brother, Mike Schoenborn, took third to complete a great day for those old boats which still go very well.

Bad weather continued to plague sailors as high winds forced cancellation of the Queen City Yacht Club regatta, Sept. 19, and the scheduled Around-the-Island race on the 20th.

The week-end of the 26th saw four Toronto boats join the mob at Lake Orion near Detroit with 38 entries.  Peter Bassin dominated a wild and woolly series all the way, followed by three local entries, Harry Jones, George Blanchard and Tom Johannsen.  Alex Lowenthal also went, but seems to have better luck sailing against the Schoenborns than with them.  In the spring, at Chicago, Alex sailed with Mike and dumped three times; in the fall at Lake Orion with Al, he equalled that performance while adding a broken rudder and a hole in his topside to boot.  The toilet at his cottage also flooded.  (Al's note: I seem to recall that Roy Coleman and I discovered Pabst Blue Ribbon beer that weekend and dropped Alex’s mast onto his car whereupon Alex promised he would never take us anywhere again.  A promise which he kept – in fact he moved to B.C. shortly thereafter.  Roy, I think, was crewing for George.)

The most recent event held in Toronto was a steak barbecue with an Around-the-Island race attached.  Mike Schoenborn won the race and a bottle (in which he put a model ship of course) while George Wilson handled the organizational department.

FLASH!!  In a resail of the cancelled QCYC regatta, sailed around Toronto Island, Monday, October 12, Richard Lye, regularly crew for Mike Schoenborn on W-276 WARATAH, has won the QCYC Regatta Trophy, awarded annually to the winner of this race.  Richard hopes to be getting his own Wayfarer soon so we’d better watch out.  Al Schoenborn, also of the home club, came in second, while Tom Johannsen edged out George Blanchard in an exciting spinnaker duel to gain the blue flag.

In preparation for a possible Toronto championship series next year based on local regattas throughout the summer, the following summary has been compiled.  The results are based on finish points, and non-starters in any race receive one more point than the number of starters in that race: click here for results

The Wayfarers of Toronto all express their gratitude to the Hurrells, George and Pat, along with their fine race committee which did another splendid and efficient job of running our local races again this year.  It is a great credit to their efforts that they are so well liked that, where many race committees reap constant beefs from irate sailors, they have been asked to become honorary members of several classes, among them, the Wayfarers.  We are proud to welcome them as one of the gang.
 

Good luck to Laurie Oxenham who has recently purchased Terry Gregg’s BANSHEE, #282.  We hear that Terry is off to Ireland after a long and distinguished career as a Wayfarer man, which brought him both the Canadian and North American Championships.  Good luck, Terry!

The word is out that Don Paine expects his fleet at North Bay to crack the 20 mark next season.  After Peter Jefferson’s success in Ottawa, that fleet should also show a substantial increase in the coming season.

The report on the ’64 A.G.M. will also grace the next issue.

Those of you who think you’re hearing Harry Jones, W-720, barking orders at his crew, t’ain’t so; Harry sails with a poodle (as well as his crew).

In order to help those Wayfarer people who are even more confused than those who win, we are hoping to start a series next issue, called TIPS FROM THE TOP, where we will ask such stalwarts as George Blanchard, Tom Johannsen, Alex Lowenthal, Harry Jones, Peter Bassin, Peter Jefferson, etc., to come forward with some of the little tricks they have learned from the mistakes they have made, and explain them to the rest of us.  This way we hope to improve the quality of the sailing throughout the class.

Anecdotes to do with sailing in Wayfarers are especially welcome as are other nautical items of interest.

All those who have ideas or complaints are urged to send them to: 

The Canadian Wayfarer, c/o Al Schoenborn, 13 Ojibway Ave., Toronto 2, Ontario.
 

That’s all for now – see you next month!