A START TO REMEMBER

Lake Ontario 300 Experienced Breeze And Sunshine

84 boats lined up on July 13th to begin the 300nm journey around the lake in celebration of the 30th edition of the Lake Ontario 300 presented by DriveHG. What made the start line difference this year was non other than BREEZE! The 12-15 knots racers experienced allowed for a quick rip up to Ford Shoal, with a squall up to 40knots included, and even up to Main Duck for the long course (Main Duck). Once sailors rounded Main Duck and headed towards the Niagara mark things got a little trickier. The wind shut down to about 2-3 knots with some boats seeing 0.3 knots. This lack of wind didn't last for long though as the front of the pack towards early Monday morning saw up to 5-7 knots bringing them back to PCYC until the Port Credit hole towards the finish mark. North powered Afterburn was duking it out with Farr 40 Hydromec from Quebec for the last 1-2 nm until Afterburn came in close to shore and put up their Helix powered Code Zero; allowing them to pick up and soar to the finish. North powered Zoe II skippered by Francois Brassard from Quebec also saw a great performance, placing 3rd overall for Main Duck, IRC, flying sails, fully crewed 1 division. For Main Duck, flying sails, fully crewed 2 division, North powered Rum Kist, Blast and Tonic, finished in the top three with Blast using their new Code Zero for the majority of the race. While North powered Angeline I, Thunder and Entourage took 2nd, 3rd and 4th for Main Duck, flying sails, fully crewed 3 division. A fantastic performance by all our North powered clients, especially Blast and Angeline I who are mainly comprised of youth sailors. For the short course, Scotch Bonnet, racers experienced similar breeze heading towards the Humberview mark and then up to Scotch Bonnet Island. Line honour winners, Beyond Survival, made terrific time arriving at the dock at 02:00 on Monday morning - just before the wind died off. Katbird skippered by Kathleen Timmins took second over the line at 06:15am. Overall, Michael Brown with Windburn powered by North took first for Scotch Bonnet flying sails double handed 1 division. North Sails is proud to sponsor and be involved in such an amazing race with competitors from all over Canada and the United States. For full results from the Lake Ontario 300, see here.