2012 S1M CanAm Challenge Regatta Results —
15 Races (30 Heats); 2 Throw Outs
By Charlie Berry
The fourth annual CanAm Challenge Regatta was held in Stowe, VT on August 4th &5th. This event is continuing its popularity: we had 10 boats in the inaugural year of 2009, and 22 boats this year. We had 11 boats from Canada (with the largest contingent from the Halifax, NS club), and 11 from the USA.
George Dean and Bob Letwenski, our RD’s, dealt with light winds on Saturday, but
managed to keep the pace moving right along. We ran two-fleet racing under the
Odd/Even system. This system is consistent with the theme of the regatta: “A
Friendly Cross-Border Rivalry”. It is essentially a random selection process, which
had the top sailors mixing it up with the newer sailors. The racing was based on
individual performance – no team racing allowed. However, the individual scores
were then applied to the Team scoring, with the top 5 scores from each country
applied to the Team results for that race. In this manner, any sailor could help out his
or her team by scoring in the top 5 for the team in any given race.
Eight races (16 heats) were run on Saturday, with 1 throw-out allowed. Bruce
Nourjian ended the day with 11 points, closely followed by Jim Goddard and Paul
Fixx, each with 16 points. The U.S. group held a solid lead in the team scoring at the
end of the day with 95 points versus 180 points for Team Canada.
Sunday treated the group to an 8 to 12 mph southerly breeze, with stronger gusts. The
RC managed to run 7 races (14 heats) by 1pm. Bruce continued to build upon his
lead, winning four of the races and throwing out a 3
rd. He ended the regatta with 19
pts, followed by Jim Goddard (29 pts), Charlie Berry (33 pts), Boots Boutilier (39
pts), and George Townsend (40 pts) rounding out the top 5. The Team Award went
to the USA group for the fourth straight year. The chant from Team Canada: “Wait
‘til next year!” The camaraderie both on and off the water said that there will, indeed,
be a next year.
The Corinthian spirit of this regatta was in full display throughout the weekend. At
registration, all competitors were given T-shirts with dueling Canadian and USA
boats on the back with a “U.S. Eh?” banner. Each team had various caps, hats, shirts
and bandanas showing its respective patriotism. Following a buffet dinner, there was
much banter followed with singing of Canadian and USA national anthems and sea
shanties, led by Bob “Boots” Boutilier and Bruce Nourjian.
There is no question that the “friendly cross-border rivalry” is now a tradition. There
is strong support to hold the CanAm Challenge next year, again at Stowe. The 2013
date will be determined and promoted well in advance to avoid as many conflicts as
possible and to build support from other U.S. and Canadian clubs.
Place Skipper Club Points
1 Nourjian, Bruce Stowe, VT 19
2 Goddard, Jim Dartmouth, NS 29
3 Berry, Charlie Stowe, VT 33
4 Boutilier, Boots Bedford, NS 39
5 Townsend, George Stowe, VT 40
6 Stone, Tim Stowe, VT 44
7 Fixx, Paul Stowe, VT 45
8 Bugden, Gary Bedford, NS 53
9 JD Langdon Stowe, VT 63
10 Cohen, Ira Garden City, NY 64
11 Olsen, Niels Bluffton, SC 69
12 Tonks, Phil Stowe, VT 71
13 White, Bob Dartmouth, NS 76
14 Slesar, Oliver Stowe, VT 78
15 McKinney, John Woodstock, ON 78
16 Lovitt, Victor Chester, NS 95
17 Welch, Graeme Montreal, PQ 98
18 Clay, John Brighton, ON 108
19 Conabree, Ben Barhaven, ON 131
20 Langlois, Gloria Port Stanley, ON 137
21 Varall, Ken Stowe, VT 145
22 Langlois, Robert Port Stanley, ON 153