Good care and maintenance are the keys to get the maximum life from your sails. Vicky will describe the most common sail and canvas repairs she encounters, and explain how to keep your sails in top notch condition.
In her presentation on Sail Maintenance & Repair, Vicky will briefly take us through the most common sail & canvas repairs she encounters and focus on the factors that affect the life of your sails and common sense practices to help keep your sails and canvas in top notch condition, so they will perform well, last longer and give you the best return on your investment.
Vicky Hogan-Gow was first introduced to sailing at a young age when she got to sail with a friend who had a homemade dinghy made of recycled plywood with tattered canvas sails whenever the family visited their summer place in Brigus Newfoundland. In her early 20’s she returned to her love of sailing when she moved to Ottawa and joined the RA Sailing Club and learned to sail (and race) Albacores on Dow’s Lake. The most memorable ‘lesson learned’ in those formidable racing years was not to let yourself get ‘covered’ by a bus or big truck driving along the road close to shore!
Soon after this modest start to her racing career, Vicky joined the Britannia Yacht club where she raced in the PHRF fleets and crewed (mainly foredeck) on many different boats over the years including: Hobie-Wan – a Hobie 18, Raison D’Etre – a C&C 25, Wham Bam – a Kirby 30, Black Magic – a C&C 27, Thumper – a C&C 27, and Simply Grand – a CS-30. Vicky joined the Nepean Sail Club in 1998 when she and a sailing buddy, Jackie Malboeuf, decided to purchase a Tanzer 22 so they could experience class racing on the Ottawa River.
After 6 very enjoyable years racing her Tanzer 22, Vicky moved on to class racing with her husband Ken on their Ultimate 20 sportboat. Vicky and Ken participated in many one-design regattas in the US over the 7 years they raced in this very competitive one-design fleet and have many fond memories of the wonderful people they met, the interesting places they visited and the many adventures they experienced along the way.
Their current sailboat – an Alerion 28, arrived at the NSC from Annapolis Maryland last June and so far has exceeded their expectations with respect to how easy it is to sail and maneuver in heavy winds and how fast it sails – especially when they feel the ‘need’ to pass the boat in front of them while out for a relaxing afternoon cruise!
Vicky’s presentation is part of the NSC Winter Speaker’s program, which promotes ongoing learning about all things nautical, as well as cruising and competitive sailing. Our contributors and organizers are all volunteers, and they and our audience come from clubs and organizations bordering both sides of the Ottawa River.
The meeting is free to attend, but we ask that you consider making a small donation. All proceeds will go to the NSC Legacy Fund, which supports competitive sailing for youth and Able Sail members.
Please register here.
After registration, you will receive an email with a link to attend the Zoom meeting.
The meeting starts at 7.30 pm, but we recommend that you check in to the “waiting room” up to 15 minutes early to check your connection for good quality video and sound. We will be playing content that will enable you to test.
During the webinar, you can use the Q&A button to ask questions at any time. The moderator will relay any questions to the presenter at the end of the presentation.
You can find the full Winter Speaker schedule here.