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AUGUST l965
OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE "CANADIAN WAYFARER OWNERS' ASSOCIATION"
The Wayfarer Class, 16’ Sailing Dinghy,
CANADIAN WAYFAEER OWNERS’ ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER
Executive:
Fleet Representatives:
A Time Of Trial
It is in the class rules and their interpretation that many of the conflicts
lie. As a step towards obtaining a uniform and definitive set of rules
for all North American Wayfarers, all members of the class were asked to
express their views on contentious matters in a mailed ballot. The
unofficial results of this vote appear in this Newsletter. No decision
was unanimous, which means that there will be some dissatisfaction with
each of the adopted measures.
If a serious grievance with one of the present rules does arise, it
will be a tribute to the maturity of the class if such a matter is brought
constitutionally before the executive and thence before the membership
in general for consideration. One such instance has already come up and
its details follow...
Ottawa and The Centre Mainsheet Arrangement
After a considerable controversy over the legality of such a rig, the matter was put before the membership, which voted to ban the idea. Understandably, the Ottawa boats were rather unhappy at the decision and there was considerable grumbling. Matters stood this way when I had the pleasant occasion to converse with Ottawa’s Ben Rusi on the subject, at the Canadian Championships, which were held Aug. 7-8 in Toronto. While conceding that, if we are to prevent anarchy in the class, there must be conformity to the rules, he still maintained that the idea of the centre mainsheet had not been examined carefully enough. Having heard Ben out, I was convinced that he was quite possibly right about the desirability of such a change in the mainsheet arrangement. These are his views: i) running rigging is not covered by the rule forbidding basic design
changes
Tom Johannsen, on the other hand, brings out the following sobering
thoughts:
Moving the mainsheet arrangement into the centre does make the boat
easier to handle in heavy weather. However, this departs very strongly
from the one-design principle of the class. A centre mainsheet arrangement
will make it possible to install the following things: a centre track for
setting the mainsail according to the wind (which is now possible with
the transom rig), a bending mast and boom, a different spreader arrangement,
and a differently cut sail. This would involve considerable expense,
and would certainly make the boat a little faster. However, this
is not the aim of the class, which is to maintain racing on even terms,
and at the same time provide a boat which is suitable for family and day
sailing. For this reason, the rule states that the mainsheet should
be run off the transom. However, you may run the mainsheet along
the boom into the centre of the boat, provided there is a double purchase
still on the transom.
The North American Championships
Further information about this three-day Wayfarer spectacular, to be
held Sept. 4-6, has been sent out by Tom Johannsen...(ed. note: I am starting
to daydream...I see Wayfarers arriving from California with surfboards....with
‘wind’ from ‘the Windy City’.... with Fred Lewis from Lake Orion....with
pigs feet and peanuts from Kitchener....with W95, the oldest of them all,
from Welland ...with our Honorary Commodore [I thought those guys were
always retired old sailors who simply sat at the Yacht Club and quaffed
beer – they’re not supposed to keep on racing and winning all the time!!!]
from North Bay... with upright masts on trailers along the Gardiner Expressway
from Hamilton.....perhaps with boats even, from Kingston and Baie-d’Urfé....The
rest of us nondescript, undistinguished, run-of-the-mill Wayfarers from
Cleveland, Detroit and Toronto [sorry, George Blanchard!!!] will also be
there with our extraordinarily good crews and boats. Anyway, we want you
to be there, for sure, eh????).
Peter, Maggie and Pippa Take '65 Canadians
Mike Schoenborn of Toronto’s Queen City Y.C. with Rick “the Meeses” Lye took the runner-up spot one point behind Peter with 16¾ finish points. John Green from Windsor, W745, gave the leaders a scare before falling to fifth place with a 13th in the fourth and final race. Don Rumble was also up among the leaders but got a DNS in the final race when he had to start back for North Bay. First Race: A light wind left most of the fleet bunched at the first mark, and the ensuing run finally determined the winners as the wind came up going onto the buck to the finish. Mike Schoenborn won easily after being first off the run, George Blanchard, after breezing by numerous boats with his spinnaker settled into second, while John Green, making all the right moves was right behind in third. Fourth place brought the surprise of the series - the girls!!! By far the most consistent threat in the series, Rhona Bassett and crew, Cathy Zalitis of TS&CC, W867, placed fourth in three of the four races but were forced to retire from one race at the start, to finish ninth overall. Second Race: The Girls took the lead off the initial windward leg in an 8-10 mph S.E. breeze, followed by Mike S., Jim Clelland, Al Schoenborn and Peter Bassin. Speaking of Jim Clelland, we come to another great performance that failed to get the breaks. Jim failed to get to the first race in time from the Royal Canadian Y.C. and had to leave the third race to make a dinner engagement. He won the other two!! Anyway, back at the race - Mike took the girls on the spinnaker leg, but while covering them on the second buck lost Jim and Al who finished one-two, Mike took third, Rhona fourth and Tom Johannsen got by Peter Bassin into fifth spot. Third Race: Those of us who stood 1-2-3-4 at the inshore turn of this drifter feel that for the common good, the race should have ended there, for ours too, maybe... for Harry Jones who was leading dropped to 6th, Mike S. dropped from 2nd to 7th, Doug Johnson in W882 was hardest hit and dropped from 3rd to 19th while Al S. went to a 9th from 4th. The winners of the marathon were Peter Bassin followed by Don Rumble and John Green. Don Paine from North Bay placed 4th and TSCC's Laurie Oxenham 5th. Fourth Race: This one was all Jim Clelland who led all the way in an 8-10 mph south-easterly to win. Peter Bassin moved from fourth steadily into second to emerge the overall winner, with Al Schoenborn remaining third, losing Peter but sneaking in ahead of the girls, who were 2nd after the first time around. For complete results, click here.
Just one day late for our June Edition was this report from the Ottawa Fleet: Wayfarers - Chuck Turnbull
( ) sanding, ( ) painting, ( ) puttying, ( ) waxing Check the one that applies to your situation. Ben Rusi is taking aim on the class championship this year. In addition to a new paint job, he has installed self-bailers. Better look out for Ben! Jim and Sally Midwinter have been busy readying their newly acquired W731 for sailing and Doug (Picasso) Arrol advises that in future, he plans to work on his boat in winter and read up on tactics in the summer. In this way, by skipping actual sailing, he will avoid the rush to get into the water. The old smoothie, Grant Richardson, has been playing it pretty cool. He is sporting a new pair of long-sighted spectacles. It’s going to be tough this year with both he and Marg aiming at the same mark! With such harmony, how can they lose? Don Miller expects delivery of a new Wayfarer direct from the manufacturer in time to start sailing before the end of June. Welcome to the fleet, Don. We hope you have an excellent sailing season. All of us in the Wayfarer fleet were sorry to hear that Peter and Avis
Jefferson are returning to the U.K. They are booked to sail on the
Corinthia on June 11th from Montreal. They have made many friends
at Britannia and I am sure that everyone will feel as we do, that the Club
is losing two staunch and enthusiastic members. In addition to winning
the North American Wayfarer Championship with Avis, Peter has been the
official measurer for the Class, the source of valuable advice on all manner
of physical detail pertaining to the Wayfarer; fleet representative on
the Sailors’ Committee; and the only one in our fleet who can splice wire.
Perhaps he will leave a forwarding address so that we may still call upon
him to bail us out of our problems. Incidentally, Peter’s boat is
for sale, which presents a wonderful opportunity for someone to acquire
a boat with a proven record of performance.
Toronto Doings
National Y.C. - June 19
Royal Canadian Y.C. - June 26
L.S.S.A. - July l, 3, 4
Port Credit Y.C. - July 10
Boulevard Club - July 24
Toronto Sailing & C.C. -Aug. 14
The Rules
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