Queen’s University: Sail Canada Sailor 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 November report…

While Leg 2 of the Volvo Ocean Race continues to provide sailing enthusiasts with endless hours of distractions at work, at home and the wee hours of the night (have you checked your boat?), there are other exciting sailing performances worth taking note of for the month of November.

CST Alumni Matt Johnston & Brian Cramer took on the Schoonmaker Cup, one of four events within the 2014-2015 Miami Star Winter Series placing 2nd on boat “Remarc”. Other renowned Canadians in the mix include David Caesar in 3rd place, and Stuart Hebb & Mike Wolfs, placing 7th overall. The winter series carries on this month through to the Star midwinters in January with the best of 3 regattas scored to determine the overall series winner.

Peter Hall, looking to defend his Soling world championship title alongside teammates William Hall and Johan Offermans, battled fiercely against BRA 86 (Hartmann/Quevedo/Renard) & ARG 34 (Busch/Zimmermann/Feldtmann) with the final crowning on the last beat of the final race. With only 400 meters to spare, Peter Hall and crew claim their third world championship title with only 400 meters to spare, proving that a third time is still such a charm.

The Queens Keelboat Sailing Team took a break from their studies to challenge for the Kennedy Cup in Annapolis, Maryland. The invitational regatta brought the best collegiate teams from across the states together for the first time this season. The Golden Gaels, coached by 2013 Sail Canada Coach of the Year Rob Frost, were the only Canadian team represented with the exception of Canadian PRO Paul Clissold leading the race organization for this event. The 3-day event cumulated in a 3-way tie for 2nd place among CAL, U.S Navy & Queen’s. The Gaels swiftly pulled out a race win to close out their event and capture the silver medal while Charleston clinched the Cup. Earlier that month, the team also travelled to RNSYS to compete against Canada’s best universities at the Student Yachting World Cup qualifier. Queens placed 3rd behind the talented SMU and the venerable Dalhousie.

The Queens fleet racing team also maintains an impressive resume of performances this year including the CICSA fleet racing national title, & the CICSA Team Racing National title for the 4th consecutive year in a row. The Queen’s University Varsity Sailing Club have 54 members training and competing under the tri-colour banner including current CST Laser sailor Greg Clunies. A significant number of CST alumni derive from this historic sailing club including Olympians Terry McLaughlin, Oskar Johansson, John Curtis, Bernard Luttmer, Gordon Cook, Ben Remocker, Greg Douglas, and Danielle Dube.

Sail Canada applauds the outstanding performances by all the Canadian Intercollegiate Sailing Teams this year and honour the Queen’s University Sailing Team with Sailor of the Month for November! Now get back to the books!

Sail Canada encourages the submission of noteworthy Canadian sailing activities to sailorofthemonth@sailing.ca.