| the PMG CanAm CL16
Regatta Hilton Beach, August 12-13, 2006 press releases from Phelps Media |
|
Schonborn
and Bennett Dominate First Three Events at PMG CanAm CL16 Regatta
Schonborn
and Bennett Dominate First Three Events at PMG CanAm CL16 Regatta
Hilton
Beach, Ontario, Canada - August 12, 2006 - Imagine getting a
tack-by-tack report of your racing progress broadcast live to fans
watching
from stands on shore, or better yet, from the veranda of the Tilt'n
Hilton, which
looks out onto one of the finest, most scenic sailing venues that you
will ever
see! This was just one of the many uniquely enjoyable aspects of the
third
annual CanAm CL16 White Sail Regatta hosted by the North Channel Yacht
Club of
Desbarats and the Village of Hilton Beach. Warm, sunny weather made the
venue
on this lake-like stretch of the St. Mary's River east of Sault Ste
Marie
spectacular.
The
event attracted 18 CLs from throughout Canada and the United States,
who
competed for the generous prize purse of $7500 put up by sponsors,
Phelps Media
Group, Inc. International. Holder Marine provided the Committee Boat,
Coca Cola
sponsored the beverages and Market Street donated the snacks.
The vessels competing in this year's Regatta are sixteen-foot fiberglass sailboats, manufactured in Fort Erie, Ontario. This remarkable dinghy is highly respected for its durability, high quality manufacturing, and its 30 year old design which has proven itself time after time. The PMG CanAm Regatta 2006 is a white sail regatta, which means only the mainsail and the jib are allowed, but no spinnaker. The sponsoring club is the North Channel Yacht Club of Desbarats, located in the St. Joseph Channel between Pine Island and Gawas Bay, led by Commodore Mason Phelps, Jr. from Campement D'Ours Island, a fifth generation summer resident. The first race almost had to be restarted due to lack of wind. Originally scheduled to be six legs long, it was shortened to two legs when the winds were too weak to finish a long course in a timely manner. The first to round marker number one were last year winners Al Schonborn of Oakville and Mark Bennett of Toronto. The team passed that marker with less than a minute and a half left to the expiration of the time limit. Schonborn and Bennett stayed in the lead for the remainder of the race, winning the race easily. In second place were Kirk Iredale and Mike Codd of Toronto, followed closely by the female team of Elizabeth Sylvester of Dresden, ME and Kim Wood of Chagrin Falls, OH. Breezes
picked up significantly in the afternoon for races two and three. The
pace between marks, set one mile apart, hastened to approximately
twenty
minutes per leg instead of the sixty minutes seen in the first race.
Seasoned partners Schonborn (sixth in the world, Wayfarer class) and Bennett were victorious again in the second and third races, placing them well in the lead overall, entering the final two heats to be held Sunday. The pair has been competing together for over fifteen years and their combined experience on the water equals over a century. They arrived early in the week to give clinics on roll tacking and other sailing strategies to fellow competitors. “The placings of the day do not matter to us. We are here to have fun, teach, and to enjoy the beautiful day and company,” Schonborn said. “It is wonderful to see improvement in the sailors from year to year. It makes me happy to see them progressing and using newly acquired skills. Today was great fun, with great people,” he laughed. Races
four and five will be held Sunday starting at 10:00AM. Exciting
Finish at the PMG CanAm CL16 Regatta Spectators
and press intently watched the final two races of the White Sail
Regatta from the shore and the water. The picturesque view, which
overlooks the North Channel, was perfectly clear. A beautiful August
day made the venue a pleasure to watch, and the wide variety of wind
speed made it exciting...
The fourth event in a five-race championship began with very light winds and perfectly calm waters. The course was a triangle, followed by a windward-leeward plus a final-leg upwind to the finish. Each of the six legs were one mile long, and took approximately 20 minutes to complete in the initially soft winds. Al Schonborn of Oakville and Mark Bennett of Toronto proved they could maintain their dominant reign over the competition when they held a steady lead in the race, and finished in first place for the fourth time in the Regatta. Schonborn commented after the race that “the large amount of press coverage and spectator participation separates this Regatta from all others.” The veteran competitor added that Commodore and sponsor, Mason Phelps, “should be commended for his dedication to this event. He sets an example for other venues.” It seemed that the experienced team of Schonborn and Bennett were unbeatable until the fifth and final race. The wind disappeared just as the racers were vying for position at the start line. The pair of Colin Junkin and Heather Wood of Belleville were the only ones to catch an outside breeze and left all others stuck at the start. The wind stayed light and variable and the group was scattered all over the course, making it hard to know which pair had the winning strategy. Schonborn and Bennett rounded the first mark in a tentative sixth position while Steve and Andrew Macklin from Belleville held the first spot around the triangle with a 120-second advantage over the rest of the pack. For the windward-leeward and the final beat to the finish, the wind picked up significantly and the race took another turn, when the winners of the 2004 Regatta and local favorites, Jim and Alice Hill, moved up in the pack to round first off the fourth-leg beat into the wind. Another change at the top occurred on the downwind run to the fifth mark, where the Macklin pair regained their lead, and rounded onto the final leg upwind followed closely by Schonborn/Bennett, and the Hills. The race
was now anyone’s for the taking, and the Hill team appeared to be
winning on the home stretch, when Jim suddenly lost his footing and
fell in his boat. Although he was physically unharmed by the slip, his
lead was not unscathed. Seasoned partners, Schonborn and Bennett
sprinted past the pair in the last five seconds to win their fifth
consecutive race. The Schonborn/Bennett team has competed together for
over fifteen years and their experience on the water showed, as they
took advantage of the Hills' mistake. “Racing was very exciting and
close this year,” Schonborn commented. “We were behind until the very
end, and we got a little bit lucky,” he smiled. “Jim lost
his balance and slipped,” said Alice Hill. “We were ahead in the fourth
and final legs of the race until a brief regrouping cost us the finish.”
Alice and Jim Hill, who finished second, won the inaugural CanAm CL16 Regatta in 2004. They are members of the North Channel Yacht Club, and race every Wednesday and Saturday during the summer months. The husband and wife team live in the Sault and have a cottage on Dawson Island, acquired in 1964. The momentum of this exciting Regatta will hopefully carry into future sailing events. The $7,500 purse combined with a fabulous turnout of spectators and sailors provided a fun weekend for all who were involved.  |
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