I Am A Sailor – Ed Trevors

In the ‘I Am A Sailor’ series which seeks to recognize all sailors across Canada who share a passion for the sport, Rob Dunbar provides this report for Sail Canada:

To sail what is arguably the most popular Canadian designed, high performance dinghy, the Laser demands slow deliberate movement in light air and quick acrobatic maneuvers in heavy air. The boat is a challenge for someone with no dinghy experience, or sailing experience at all, like Ed Trevors.

That Ed was 6’3″ just added to the challenge.

In his younger years, Ed was an avid basketball and volleyball player but as we age the body just can’t take that kind of high tempo every day. Ed’s path to sailing was paved by his daughter Maya as he watched her fall in love with the sport while taking lessons at the Shelburne Harbour Yacht Club (Shelburne, NS).

At about that time, Ed was invited to crew for a friend at the East Coast Albacore Championships and the rigors of racing got him hooked on a new passion and he soon purchased a used Laser.

“When I started I really filled out my wetsuit – I was a bit over 250lbs. Being in the cockpit was not an easy place to be.” Lumbering in light air, Ed usually found his Laser on top of him but his sense of humor and perseverance has helped immensely since the early days not even three years ago.

Ed’s drive to compete in both basketball and volleyball has transferred to sailing. “I always intended to compete (not necessarily to win) and I knew that I’d have to get into my ‘fighting-shape’ to do so.”

In order to do this, Ed has taken this quite seriously as he not only watches tapes and has many a discussion with fellow club members about sail trim and tactics, he also has adopted a regular exercise routine consisting of weight training, cardio, and yoga.

“I’ve lost a bunch of weight, increased my stamina and endurance, and given me a drive that was missing since I stopped playing ball.” Aside from all these benefits, the feeling of being unplugged from today’s hectic digital lifestyle is left at the dock and replaced by the peace and quiet of nature.

The sport is the winner too as Ed is an active member at the SHYC and sits on the executive board as the Director of the Sailing Academy which is focusing on increasing club membership and sailing awareness in the Shelburne area. There is a very active Albacore fleet at the club and will be hosting the 2019 Canadian Albacore International Championships in August.
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