Racing in Ottawa can be challenging.

This past weekend we became acquainted with the "header/lifter" phenomenon. Wind shifts could provide a 10 degree header for fifteen seconds, followed by a 20 degree lift that would last for a minute or so. Tacking on these headers, which is generally a good idea in most civilized sailing locales with oscillating winds, had horrible consequences. Of course, this didn’t happen every time. That would have been way too easy.

So we raced on Saturday under trying conditions at this year’s Nepean One Design Regatta. The Ontario fleet decided to use this event as the 40^th Ontario Provincial Championships and there was an excellent turn-out of nine Ottawa boats, joined by one lone Toronto Fireball, one entry from Nova Scotia, and four of us from Quebec. The Race Committee thoughtfully provided us with five races, which proved to be a tough test in concentration endurance. I think I would have preferred four. Tom swears I was hallucinating on the last upwind leg.

The Race Committee was excellent. They coordinated the events of the Albacore and 505 fleets in addition to the Fireballs. There were few delays, and despite very shifty winds, we still managed to have good windward legs most of the time.

The action on the water was intense at times. For some inexplicable reason, the Ottawa boats were testing the rules with each other, and two Montrealers had to resort to the protest committee to rule on their conflict. Whatever happened to the Montreal-Ottawa Challenge? Clearly the concept of team racing has not been endorsed by these groups.

The competition was tight throughout the fleet, and it seemed like everyone was either defending or challenging other boats throughout the day. There was a fair amount of movement within each race, and few boats earned consistent finishes from race to race.

On Saturday night, Grant and Averill hosted a backyard Bar-B-Q. In addition to the competitors, noted Fireballers Malcolm Van Haeften, Peter Kelly, Toby Bryant, Gary Branscombe and Jeremy Kennedy showed up. Family and friends completed the group. We had a great time.

The winds were too inconsistent and light on Sunday for even the Ottawa Race Committee, so we headed to shore, packed up early, attended the prize giving, and made it home for the last tiny bit of Father’s Day.

One of the highlights of the regatta included a well-deserved third place finish for Pierre Carpentier and Tom Bird. This is only their second year sailing Fireballs, and it was great seeing them on the podium.

They were joined by Averill and Grant Lamont in 2^nd place, and Tom Egli and I were delighted to bring the Ontario Provincial trophy home to Montreal.

It was a pleasure seeing some of our Ottawa friends competing again after missing far too many regattas: Mona Barakat and David Landsberg, Mike McEvoy, and Ian MacLaren.

Welcome back.

Joe Jospe

CAN 14769