NSC Speakers Series – 2019 Season
January 23 – April 17, 2019
Events are open to members and non-members alike!
Members of local sailing clubs obtain a discount on food purchases by showing a valid club membership card
The bar and kitchen open at 5:00 pm
Talks start at 7:30 pm, and are held in Harbourview Hall
Nepean Sailing Club, 3259 Carling Avenue, Ottawa
updated as of April 1, 2019
This series of talks is open to the entire sailing and boating community of Ottawa, is volunteer run and is donations-based. Donations support the NSC Legacy Fund. This is one of the best kept secrets of winter for sailors and boaters!
The following schedule is subject to change. Please check back regularly in case a speaker has to reschedule
January 23 Geoff Green: Sailing from Pole to Pole – cancelled due to weather conditions
Geoff Green will entertain us with tales from his many expeditions to the Arctic & Antarctic regions on sailing and motor vessels with a focus on the environmental issues he champions. Expect great photos and videos in addition to tales as colorful as the Northern Lights. [Regrettably, this talk had to be cancelled due to a winter storm.]
January 30 Christine Winiarz Searle, Cyndie Eedson, David Searle & Ted Eedson: Retiring to Lake Ontario – Expanding Our Horizons
The Searle & Eedson families, long time NSC members, moved to the Prince Edward County & Kingston areas several years ago taking their beloved sailboats with them. Our panel will provide an entertaining overview of the highs and lows of moving houses & boats into new communities. Their focus will be on their sailing experiences in these new waters but will include a broad overview of such a move from Ottawa.
February 6 Matt Davidge & Doug McGahn, Competing in the I14 Worlds in San Francisco
Matt will, in his extremely entertaining manner, take us to the 2018 I14 Worlds in the notoriously wicked waters of San Francisco Bay to experience what it is like to compete at this level with the world’s best !!!
February 13 Barry Lovett, Buying a Boat – cancelled due to weather conditions
Barry is an active boat surveyor in the Ottawa area & has surveyed many boats for insurance & purchase purposes. Barry is a retired RCMP officer will provide us with an overview of what to look for when buying a boat to realize the dream. How to decide whether to buy or run.
February 20 Mike Landreville, Sailing the West Coast of BC: Powell River to Bella Bella
Geographically this region includes (from South to North): the Sunshine Coast, Desolation Sound, the Broughtons and northwest coast of Vancouver Island, and a small part of the north coast of BC. The presentation will cover such topics as trip planning, provisioning, fuel and water, winds, tides and currents, tidal gates and tidal bars, weather, marine and wild life, the stunning scenery, the BC communities we visited and the interesting people encountered. Mike and Sue are long time members of NSC, currently sailing Wanderer: a Catalina 320.
February 27 Tig Shafto, Sailing from the Falkland Islands to Cape Town
Tig sailed as crew from the Falkland Islands to Cape Town in 2018, and will take us along on this daring & exotic passage with his wonderful slides and video footage !!
March 6 Commissioner of the CCG, Jeffery Hutchinson, Coast Guard Plans for Addressing the Safety Needs of Canadian and Foreign Small Craft and Harbours
This presentation will address such topics as CCG fleet expansion, advances in electronic aids to navigation, AIS systems, etc.
March 13 Peter Falus, Polynesian Sail Craft Construction, Navigation and Seamanship
This will be Peter’s 4th presentation in the Winter Speaker’s series. In the previous 3 seasons Peter has delivered highly entertaining presentations on the history of sailing and sail craft – a subject in which he has amassed immense knowledge. This year Peter will provide a detailed overview of the amazing sailing technologies, knowledge and skill sets that allowed the immense Pacific Ocean to be settled by the Polynesian people.
March 20 John & Eleanor Tutton, Sailing the Greek Islands in a Flotilla
Long time NSC members John & Eleanor will take us along on a sailing boat flotilla through the Greek Islands, embellished with their photos. If you have ever dreamed of sailing the fabled Grecian Islands, come to obtain insider information and advice for realizing your dream.
March 27 Advantage Boating Ron Schute, Doris Parolin & Panel, Sailing along the Croatian Coast in a Flotilla in the Adriatic
In September 2018 Advantage Boating hosted another successful flotilla; this time sailing the Adriatic sea along the Croatian coastline. They explored ancient medieval ports, gorgeous islands, crystal clear waters and numerous UNESCO heritage sites. Over the two weeks they leisurely covered over 300 nautical miles! Starting near Split, we first sailed north to explore Krka and Kornati National Parks. They then altered course south and meandered through numerous picturesque islands along Croatia’s breathtaking coast finally arriving in the famous port of Dubrovnik.
April 3 Matt Davidge & Doug McGahn, Competing in the I14 Worlds in San Francisco
Back by popular demand, Matt and Doug will Matt will reprise their earlier presentation with stunning video and photos, taking us to the 2018 I14 Worlds in the notoriously wicked waters of San Francisco Bay. They will share their experience with what it is like to compete at this level with the world’s best !!! Weather conditions prevented many from attending the earlier presentation, so don’t miss this opportunity!
April 10 Mike Thomson and panel: One Design Racing on Lac Deschenes
In Ottawa we are blessed to enjoy a vibrant sailboat racing scene in the form of the Interclub race series. The premise of this discussion is that One Design racing is one of the series’ principal anchors, and the goal is to get you thinking seriously about joining one of the established 1D classes or creating your own. This presentation will be of interest to anyone who is interested in getting into racing, either as crew or as a boat owner.
April 17 David Neasmith/Dominic Goodwill, Getting into and onto the Water this Summer
Options for Getting in & out of the water – service providers, commercial cranes, “do-it-yourself”, crane operation, co-ops, pump outs, fill ups, etc. Other Fun stuff group activities this summer – Bring on the Bay Swim & The Mobility Cup, Get out on the Water, Baskins Beach, Sunday Funday & Regattas
April 24 Ken Aalders, Cruising and Anchorages on the Ottawa River
Details to follow.
Saturday May 11 Art Grant, The Ropeman: Splicing Workshop
Art will return for his ever popular splicing workshop at 1pm. He will be onsite in the parking lot outside the clubhouse from 11am to 2pm with his trailer full of bargains on lines and ropes.
2019 Speakers Coordinator: James Kelly.
Web page updates by: Tony Wright.
Check out the Speaker Series from previous years: 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 (missing), 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, & 2009.
Page updated: 2019-01-29.