Sail Canada Sailors of the Month

Sail Canada’s Sailor of the Month award acknowledges sailing achievements by Canadians involved or associated with the sport in all its forms. Here is the latest recipient.

This year’s Marblehead to Halifax Ocean Race put a few Canadians in the headlines – RNSYS’s Airborne IV, a Beneteau 50 skippered by Bill Greenwood, won first in class and the PHRF division overall. Notable at the event were two other entries from Nova Scotia – MacIntosh / Durk Steigenga (Chester Yacht Club) and Sea Smoke / Mike Evans (RNSYS) respectively finishing 2nd and 3rd in PHRF overall.

Canadian Rob Gale (Halifax) delivered as crew member aboard Prospector – the team set a Marblehead-Halifax course record and won IRC fleet. Gale moved on to Michigan less than two weeks later for the classic Bayview-Mackinac race, where he joined the crew of Il Mostro in setting yet another course record.

And checking into the Transpac 2017 – Kinetic V, a BC TP52 owned by David Sutcliffe of RVanYC and the all-Canadian crew sailed to a 5th place finish in their Division, 26th in fleet overall. Olympian Richard Clarke was a key player on the Comanche team, achieving a new monohull course record for this regatta – one of the world’s oldest ocean races.

Ultimately noteworthy from the Transpac – winning their division after the crossing to Hawaii on a 33 foot boat… no other than Christopher Lemke of Glenmore Sailing Club in Alberta, co-skipper with Brad Lawson and the crew of the Hobie 33 Dark Star Racing. It takes a feat to get the boat & a crew from Calgary to the start of the Transpac – a division win is the icing on the cake!

Kudos to Christopher Lemke and the Hobie 33 Dark Star Racing Team – Helly Hansen Sailors of the Month!
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Sail Canada’s Sailor of the Month award acknowledges sailing achievements by Canadians involved or associated with the sport in all its forms. Sail Canada encourages the submission of noteworthy Canadian sailing activities to sailorofthemonth@sailing.ca.