AFTERBURN TAKES LINE HONOURS FOR LO300

North Sails Clients Perseverance Pays Off

A fight 'til the finish, Afterburn took home line honours for the 30th Edition of the Lake Ontario 300 Challenge for Main Duck Course. Owned by Darren Gornall and Craig Pirie, the crew vied for the win for the past several years and 2019 was their year. After 300nm around Lake Ontario, the crew battled it out the last 3nm with Hydromec from Quebec, owned by Dave Savard, with lights winds ranging from 1 knot to 2.6 knots. The Afterburn crew crossed the finish line at 10:50am for a corrected time of 1 Day 22 hrs 57 mins 27 secs. The secret to their light wind finish, besides perseverance, hard work and dedication was their Helix powered Code Zero. From shore you could see the Soto 40 coming in with their Helix up, hugging the shore, they furled it in, jibbed and unfurled it where they immediately picked up speed and soared to the finish. Local North Sails expert Hugh Beaton welcomed the crew on the dock and congratulated them on their win:

A heartfelt congratulations to the team for their well deserved efforts and tactical sailing across the lake.

The race started on Saturday morning with breeze - for once - which lead to an exciting race for both spectators and racers. Afterburn had a great start right off the line heading towards Ford Shoal. Despite a 40 knot squal that came through on Saturday afternoon, the crew sailed smart, stuck to their plan and played the long game for wind after rounding Main Duck Island.