The FAntastic Nepean FAll REgatta 2019 ran on September 7 and 8. It is our annual small boat, big wind event. Winds were the most consistent in living memory. All fleets had 12 races which is an outstanding achievement.
Turnout was similar to recent years, with 31 boats competing in 505, Catamaran, Albacore and Fireball classes, respectively won by Thomas Kivney / Gordon Russell (Hingham YC), Scott Pegrum (LDSC), Simon Igici / Eleanor Toews (NSC), and Rune Lausten / Ian Maclaren (NSC). Visitors joined us from Montreal, Kingston, Toronto, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, and more locally from Lac Deschenes Sailing Club.
Warner Monteiro was the RO. He’s an experienced NSC sailor with a special fondness for Albacores, so he ran the regatta as a pure dinghy event: 25 minute races, with 1 minute break between races (I’m still tired and was that really a full 5 minutes for lunch?). The competitors were very happy with the go-go-go.
We did get lucky: winds blew consistently from the NW for 48 hours (when did that ever happen?), which greatly assisted with course management. By the last race, gusts well beyond 20 knots thinned the field and only the die-hards stuck it out for race 12.
The race committee team achieved 48 starts with no errors in starting sequence or scoring – remarkable work by Rick, Lynn, Nancy and Peter. Our race bosun staff John and Phillipe ran the marks accurately. Gilles C. drove a support boat – as a dinghy sailor myself, I’m very appreciative of on-water support. As Warner said to his team: “Each of you did your jobs perfectly and even went above and beyond without being asked. It allowed me to keep my head out of the boat and ensure the quality of racing was being maintained.”
Looking ahead, NSC is investigating improved Britannia Shoal markings, as a couple of FANFARE boats suffered damage with the low water.
The 505 fleet is invited to run FANFARE 2020. Given the strong progress in NSC’s 505 fleet in the last 3 years, it should be no problem to continue our success.
Reported by: Dominic Goodwill, NSC Fleet Captain