Two days of fun in the Okanagan sun!!
A near capacity fleet of seventeen IOM’ers from Western Canada converged in Kelowna for 2 days of intense racing. The weather was perfect with winds out of the NW to W in the 4-8 knot range, fading nicely at around 2:30pm leaving plenty of time for a rest before heading out for great feasts and fun socializing.
Make no mistake…. the racing was intense. The local boys from Okanagan Model Sailing Association kept the racing going to complete a total of 32 races over the 2 days !! For the non-radio-controlled sailboat racers that’s 32 STARTS, 64 UPWIND legs, 64 DOWNWIND legs, and 192 MARK ROUNDINGS (with windward mark offset) !! Fast and furious racing at its best. A special thanks to John Hogbin and the Okanagan Bud for a great job keeping the races going, and Don and Vancouver Bud for setting some fantastic courses. And finally, a special thanks to Art Prufer for his amazing custom etched beer/coffee mug prizes !! Thanks guys!
On the scoreboard there were battles raging throughout the fleet, with highly competitive starts, tight mark roundings, with shifts right and left thrown in !! Jason Rhodes jumped to the front of the fleet in the early going in his custom woodie Can2 and extended throughout the weekend. Well done Jason for such a solid performance. Bob Lewis came out of the blocks fast in his well-seasoned Britpop, and held second after day 1, but a late charge by Steve Kinsey in his V11 on Day 2 was enough for Steve to jump into the 2nd spot. Michael Kidd held off the rest of the fleet to grab the 4th spot in his new K2. Congratulations to the podium and to all the racers for a lot of fun racing!
A special thanks to the Eldorado Resort for hosting the event again this year. Their hospitality and beautiful facility were enjoyed by all the racers. Without exception the staff were most helpful.
On a sad note – we want to recognize the sudden passing of Ian Vickers, one of the great IOM pillars.
A quote from Nick Lindsay says it well:
Champion sailor, champion builder, champion designer, champion bloke has died in NZ. His contributions to the sport of RC sailing – and IOMs in particular – are legendary. Commiserations to his family. It is a huge loss for them, and the sport in general. Boots far too big to fill.
Your 2026 Coastal Cup Committee