14 IOM’rs converged on Kelowna May 10 and 11 from BC, AB and WA to enjoy Coastal Cup’s first 2-day event of 2025. Kelowna did not disappoint…it was the sunniest CC yet with none of that rainy stuff. Oh, and the organizers had a special twist in the plan….more on that later.
A big thanks to John Hogbin for helping with the event organization and to Bud and John from the local IOM fleet for taking on the RC duties…great job guys! And huge thanks to the El Dorado Resort for hosting us at their fabulous waterside facility. Their generosity and super service was appreciated by all.
Saturday dawned under partially cloudy skies and by race time we had around 4 knots from the west which held for the most part throughout the day with just enough shifts, velocity changes and bumpy wavelets to make things interesting. Under Don Martin’s guidance, and Bud and John’s execution, we knocked off 20 windward leeward races even with a one-hour break for lunch!! Peter Grimm showed the way with 9 firsts in his red K2. Peter was unphased by doubling as the mark set guy…thanks Peter, and also Art for providing the marks, and Don for providing the E-Dinghy!! Jerry Brower managed 7 firsts in his brand-new stealth grey VISS to sit in 2nd. Consistency paid off for Andrew Baak in 3rd followed closely by Steve Kinsey and Brian Woodward all within 3 points.
The El Dorado bar was able to easily wet our thirst as a prelude to the group heading off to Montana’s BBQ Grill for a feast of everything BBQ. The company and food were great and the usual lies and stories were enjoyed by all. Somehow, we even calibrated a birthday for Peter G although there seemed to be some questions about its timing…..all in good fun!
Sunday dawned with mostly sunny skies and a twist from the CC Committee. In our ongoing efforts to promote fun and competitive sailing we tested a new concept for a tuning and training session. We took the first 7 skippers from day 1 and matched them to the next 7 skippers as a team. The first 7 skippers parked their boats and then advised on tuning and boat setup for a fun practice start and race. Then with more tuning ashore, 2 formal races were run as a team. Either skipper could sail the boat for the whole race or part of it. The results for the 2 races did not count for the series, but there were prizes for the top team. Peter and Don in this case, sailing the new M3 Toothpick. The team could also discuss things the rest of the day in the counting races. We think everyone found it fun and informative. The whole initiative was to help the whole fleet advance and have more fun. It seemed to work as the following races saw much more bunched up weather marks!!
After a short break we returned to the main series in light southerly winds of 2-3 knots. Peter continued some of his winning ways to take the series win with Jerry defending his second place with another solid day’s performance. Steve Kinsey found a new gear and slipped by Andrew Baak to take third place. The other notable performance for CC 4 was Mike Kidd in 7th place in his first year sailing an IOM…well done Mike!
As a bonus, some of the Vancouver contingent got a taste of winter in the highlands with some wet snow and very limited visibility on their way home on Sunday. Another great CC is in the books. Next up is CC #4 at KYC June 21st.
The entry form is now up on the site.
https://westcoastradiosailing.ca/coastal-cup-4-kitsilano-yacht-club-vancouver/