The Canadian Albacore Association is responsible for organizing the annual Ontario Championship Regatta. Responsibility for hosting this event is given to different clubs around the province, as chosen by the CAA.
Date: June 15 – 16
Location: Peterborough Sailing Club, 3121 Cottage Ln, Lakefield, ON K0L 2H0
Club Website: peterboroughsailingclub.org
Notice of Race: 2024 Ontario Championship NOR
Registration: 2024 Ontario Championship Registration
Racing…cruising…learning to sail…
Whatever your priority, the Albacore is the right choice for you!
With over 8,000 boats worldwide the Albacore is clearly one of the most popular dinghies available today. Loaded with features, the Albacore boasts quality workmanship and strong class association support. Few centerboard sailboats available today are as versatile as the Albacore.
Yacht clubs, sailing schools and community sailing clubs have long chosen the Albacore for their junior and adult training programs. In fact, many of the top sailors in North America learned to sail in an Albacore.
The United States Albacore Association supports Albacore Fleets and activities throughout the country. The largest fleets are found on the east coast. Sanctioned events run from March until October. The class association provides a lot of benefits including a regularly published newsletter, seminars, regattas (including regional, national, North American, and international championships), and support of local fleets. Another benefit of a strong class associations is a strong market for used boats. The United States Albacore Association is dedicated to keeping the Albacore sailing fun and affordable.
One year from this October (October 11-17, 2025 to be precise), Albacore sailors from the UK, Canada and the US will gather in Hampton Roads, Virginia for an event that happens in the U.S. only once every eight years — the Albacore World Championships. Not only will this site be convenient for air travelers and boat shippers — just 29 minutes from Norfolk International Airport and 19 minutes from the Norfolk International Marine terminal — we will be supported by the Hampton Yacht Club, a full-service club with a pedigree for one design racing and a strong record of running major dinghy regattas. The club has facilities for both both dolly and crane launching; plenty of parking; a full-service grill / restaurant with glass walls overlooking a beautiful marina; and a membership that enthusiastically embraces the role of host. A world class maritime museum that houses the historic USS Monitor ironclad is just minutes away in Newport News (https://www.marinersmuseum.org/). For travelers with some extra time, Virginia and North Carolina beach resorts are nearby to the south. To the north, the Washington D.C. region is just three hours away (which also makes this site reasonably accessible for the majority of US and Canadian sailors).
As for racing conditions, the racing area is wide open and, when winds are medium or light, is known for great tactical racing for sailors of all ages and abilities (yes, everyone is invited to come and race). Windy fronts sometimes come through in October that will provide wild rides for those eager for it. However, if the wind is blowin’ the oysters off the rocks and the no-racing threshold is reached, we are planning a regatta-within-a-regatta whereby the heartiest-among-us can join together into super crews and race for bragging rights and the best bottle of Scotch we can provide (while the rest of us cheer from a calmer setting like a spectator boat or the shore 🙂
The precise dates are October 11-17, 2025, so start planning now to save up your vacation time — we think you will want to be there!
Conveniently for mid-atlantic USA Albacore sailors, the Canadian Albacore Association chose the prestigious Helly Hansen / Sailing World NOOD regatta in Annapolis as the site of the Canada-hosted 2024 Albacore North American Championship regatta. The Friday-Saturday-Sunday format meant that not everyone could take time off, but 11 USA boats still participated. Canada sent 8 more teams, bringing registrations to 19. This strong showing made for good visibility for the Albacore class – although the majority of the 220 boats in 17 classes were one-design keelboats, Albacores were seen in the company of popular modern dinghies like Viper 640’s, Melges 15’s and the single-handed foiling Waspz’s. Four courses were set-up across the Bay; Albacores were grouped with one large fleet (J22’s) and two small fleets (J24’s and Alberg 30’s). We were directed to the north course situated almost to mid-bay, not far south of the Bay Bridge.
Annapolis Yacht Club’s Sailing Center in Eastport was the center of ceremony & festivities, as well as the assigned home of the Albacore fleet. Cars were banned from the parking lot, affording us plenty of space for our base of operations (street parking in the nearby neighborhoods turned out to be not much of an issue, either). Crane and dolly launching were both available; however, the latter turned out to be a challenge because just one boat at a time could fit on the float (unusually, people who brought their crane slings were sometimes able to jump the dolly queue and get launched more quickly).
Most contestants were able to arrive and set up by Thursday evening. The Canadian contingent rented an Airbnb down the street, which, predictably, became the local Albacore social center. Barney Harris positioned his Keelbnb on a mooring ball nearby in the harbor, so we all could admire it while sailing by twice a day.
We had wind all three days, although temperatures were on the cool side – wetsuits were mostly worn Friday and Saturday. The air was 60 degrees with a few showers and 15 knots on Friday; it was about 5 degrees colder on Saturday, with 10-15 knot winds, rain and fog. Some forecasts Sunday morning were dire, calling for unpredictable waves of nastiness. This convinced some of us to pack boats and take refuge in nearby coffee shops. However, the weather system actually delivered only light and relatively warm winds all day (5-8 mph), eventually climbing to 68 degrees.
As far as notable participants, the Byron family was the most strongly represented: David flew in from the west coast to race with Barney all three days; Optimist stand-out Jake Beaver raced with Grandmother Daphne on Friday; and Mom Joanna took his place for Saturday and Sunday. Chris Maslowski completed all races Friday even though it was his birthday; and Henry Pedro earned the travel award (had one been given) for trekking down from Nova Scotia. Mike Scardaville’s adventure turned unhappy during the 2nd race on Friday when a J-22 sailing blind on port tack delivered a taco-crunch blow to his port gunwale. The wound may prove to be fatal for 7104, but Mike — with a check-in-hand from the offending J-22 — took it in stride while packing up, sounding determined to try again on another day.
Eventual winners Barney Harris and David Byron were as fast as anyone on the water (or very slightly faster most of the time, in the opinion of some observers), while doing their usual job of consistently picking smart routes up the beats — this made it hard work for anyone in the fleet to keep up. Still, although they won all three races Friday when the chop was most difficult, the fleet got faster and more compact on the weekend. Raines Koby and Stephanie Mah were consistent all three days, and especially strong while mastering the patchy winds on Sunday to win 2 of the 3 races (and 3 of the last 5 overall). In the end they finished just four points behind Barney and David. Paul Clifford and Mia Brandt posted high finishes in all races and won one, finishing close behind in 3rd place. JJ and Tracy Hall also had a terrific series, locking in 4th place after having won one race and finishing just once out of the top 5 (not counting the last race, which was optional for them by that point). Henry Pedro and Chris Gorton rounded out the top five, having perfected the art of footing for speed and hanging it out there for leverage at just the right times. Notable also on Saturday: Tyler Philips and Eliza Pearce had a strong 3-race string of 5-6-6. Also notable on Sunday: Mike Heinsdorf and Jill Williamson wrapped up with a 2-5-5 – without a broken jib car on Saturday, they would have been strong contenders for a top-five finish.
Photo below: Albacore race leaders Gale Warning and Fire and Ice were fast enough to have to duel with a tight pack of J-24’s at the windward mark on Saturday, as captured by the official drone video footage shown during the evening social events (highlights from all three days can be found on YouTube, and are highly recommended)
So congratulations to Barney and David for holding off Raines and Stephanie to become the 2024 North American Champions (and earning a slot in Sailing World’s championship regatta in the Caribbean later this year). Thanks also to AYC and the Helly Hansen / Sailing World organizers for running the most ambitious of regattas. Everyone there was encouraging us to come back next year; hopefully we will be able to swing it and make another strong showing!
– Greg Jordan
The Chesapeake Yacht Racing Association (CBYRA) has resumed awarding an overall High Point Awards for One Design Dinghy racing. 2024 will be the second year in a row for the Albacore class that the regattas held by CBYRA member clubs will count as part of an overall circuit. Last year 9 Albacore class members participated with Barney Harris, Michael Heinsdorf and Greg Jordan securing the top 3 slots.
This year we will join 14 other classes in seeing who the best dinghy racers are on the bay. Details on what events count as High Point events and the specific rules for CBYRA One Design and High Point events can be found in the CBYRA Blue Book. CBYRA membership is required to participate in the series so please join or renew your membership today! CBYRA members should also expect registration discounts at most if not all eligible regattas.
Tyler Phillips
CBYRA Albacore Representative & One Design Division Chair
The Albacore Class tried a new venue for Midwinters this year, the Clearwater Community Sailing Center, and I am happy to report that all who participated seemed delighted with the facilities, regatta staff and race management, and with the raw natural beauty of the area around the Sailing Center. More mixed were our feelings about the air temperature — it struggled to hit 60 degrees formost of the weekend, although that was much warmer than the teens and snow blankets back home (still, a far cry from the mid-70’s of the week before and now the several days since.) In any event, it felt more like Rehoboth in October than what we normally get in Florida during the winter.
Racing on Friday involved only our 8 Albacores, but on Saturday and Sunday we shared the course with two dozen 420’s having their 420 Midwinters Open regatta (complete with four coach boats following along on the water). The winds were about 15-20 knots most of the time on Saturday and Sunday, until gradually easing Sunday afternoon. Gusts and shifts were not extreme, so feeling secure and keeping upright was not a problem (except that boat handling mistakes could still generate capsizes, as three Albacores reminded everyone on various occasions).
DAY ONE Three W-L (x2) races were completed on Friday, in relatively light south breezes (5-10 knots). Races 1 and 2 were highlighted by duels for first place between Barney Harris & Rob Koci (a Toronto Laser sailor) and Paul Clifford & Mia Brandt. They each had three points going into Race 3, when passing light rain showers began to produce squirrelly winds. Soon after the start, Team Barn was right while nice pressure came left, and later they were caught left while a big righty swung through. Paul and Mia rode Fire and Ice to their 2nd bullet of the day, and returned to the clubhouse with the overall regatta lead when the last race of the day was abandoned due to large shifts. Another highlight of Day 1: Team Bear (Bob Bear and Morgan Rathjen) were indefatigable, too, as they cranked out two 3rds in the three races.
DAY TWO With strong but steady north winds early on Saturday (~15 knots), RC decided to send both fleets back into the Gulf, while declaring neoprene mandatory for all sailors. (For a few Albacore sailors who didn’t have neoprene because they had expected to be bathed in Florida sunshine and warmth all weekend, Bob Bear and Dave Huber graciously lent out their extra wetsuits.) Aboard Big Bad, skipper Jeff Kraus had to leave the regatta after Friday’s racing; he was replaced for the duration by another Canadian who flew into Tampa late Friday. This new guy’s name was Darren Monster from Toronto, and he also seemed to know his way pretty well around an Albacore 🙂
For Saturday’s first race, Gale Warning was anxious to make up for its bad luck late on Friday, and in the breeze and 2-foot waves convincingly led Fire and Ice around the first three marks. But then, reminiscent of the Springsteen lyrics ‘…made a wrong turn and just kept go-in‘, they turned for the leeward mark not realizing that the unusual trapezoidal course called for Albacores to plane over to a tight reach mark (this was done to separate the two fleets). Without Gale Warning to show the way, Paul & Mia romped for what was now their 3rd bullet in 4 races. Meanwhile farther back, Darren Monster gave Greg Jordan a lesson in steering through the waves as he slid past for 2nd. Also of note, the Wild Thing team of Dave Huber and Lars Rathjen scored the second of what would become four straight 4th-place finishes.
In Race 5, with the wind now in the forecasted 15-20 range and waves building, Team Barn shook off the DNF by scoring what would be the first of 9 wins in 10 remaining races. Fortunes also reversed for Fire and Ice when Paul missed the hiking straps on the 2nd beat (while in 2nd place). He and Mia executed a capsize recovery operation, and then headed home to the warmth of the club for safety and mourning. Greg Jordan and Andrew Scheuermann had been close behind, so they defaulted into 2nd place.
For the last two races on Saturday, Tyler Phillips and Eliza Pearce were flying around the course with perhaps the flattest main on the water. They traded 2nd and 3rd places with Big Bad, while Gale Warning was winning both races.
DAY THREE Sunday dawned at an agonizing 36 degrees, but was forecast to warm quickly with strong sunshine. The RC kept all racing inside the bay on W-L (x2) courses, and this turned into the best racing of the weekend. The water was flat, and winds gusted and oscillated in a regular fashion. Line sights of the starting line were made easy by nearby condos. Each of the 7 races took about 30 minutes; Barney & Rob won six of them in Gale Warning. Greg & Andrew won the other one, Race 9, overlapped at the finish with Big Bad and just feet ahead of Gale Warning. In Race 10, Darren and Colette had a mishap near the weather mark that led to a capsize, and they retired for the day. As the wind eased a little and the day grew warmer, Greg and Andrew dialed into their best relative speed of the weekend, placing 2nd in the last 3 races, each time just ahead of Fire and Ice. Last but not least, the Deplorable team of Jim Schuster and Eva Hogan were alternating at helm and now in the thick of every race; they likely would have won most improved had that been awarded.
Kudos and thanks are due to our local hosts at the Clearwater Community Sailing Center, and congratulations to Barney and Rob for their win. Overall, all who participated seemed to have had a terrific time. The club said they really liked having us there, so it seems likely that we will decide to return again in 2025.
(by Greg Jordan)
Corsica River, Last Race of the year for the Albacores. Without a doubt, this last race was filled with adrenaline. Saturday was a rainy day with little wind. On that day only 4 Albacores of the 5 that were planned ran. Barney with Jim, Dan with Kaityn, Tyler with Eliza and Elvin with Rachel. Lloyd couldn’t run this time. In the first race the results were: 1st place, Dan 2nd place, Barney 3rd place, Elvin and 4th place, Tyler.
For the Second race everything changed. The weather got worse. The rain started intermittently plus the low temperatures, certainly not pleasant for sailing. The RC decided to cancel the races for the rest of the day. The results for the second race were totally different than the first race. This time Barney came in first place, followed by Dan, Tyler took third place and Elvin came in fourth place. By Saturday we are all in the fight. Dan and Barney were tied fighting for first place as were Elvin and Tyler who were also tied fighting for third place.
Sunday, the rain finally went away, but this time we had extreme conditions with a strong wind that reached 25mph at its maximum. It wasn’t very safe to run the boats, any mistake and you could end up in the water in just seconds. Dan and Kaityn made the decision not to race for Sunday. Only 3 Boats remained. Barney, Tyler and Elvin. The three agreed to go sailing. The conditions were extreme sailing upwind, you had to be very careful, the strong wind was changing direction all the time. The most exciting thing was the triangle course. The boats reached impressive speed as we navigated between the Beam Reach and the Broad Reach. The final results were: 1st place for Barney 2nd place for Tayler and 3rd place for Elvin. It was a weekend full of adrenaline and very exciting sailing in such extreme conditions.
By Elvin Aponte
Photo Credit to George Linthicum
Big breeze and rain for day one met Canadian and American Albacore sailors at Miles River Yacht Club for the start of the 2023 North American Championships held in St. Michaels, Maryland October 7-9. Six Canadian teams traveled south to compete in the event from Toronto for a total of 19 boats registered. After a short onshore postponement, the race committee headed out to set the course for what would be a fresh and fast three races. The wind increased as the day went on, with the last race seeing a sustained 20+ knots. Double triangles were the course du jour which fed the adrenaline loving sailors of the fleet. Blast reaching and sketchy jibes allowed for a most exciting and tiring day of Albacore sailing. There were several capsizes, which showcased the breezy conditions. Gale Warning (Barney Harris, Ernest Ayukawa) and Strung Out (Darren Monster, Mabel Chan) were in a league of their own sharing first and second in each race. Back on shore sailors warmed up, de-rigged, and headed inside the MRYC clubhouse for a fantastic dinner. During a brief intermission from refueling, a couple of daily awards were handed out. The “Middle of the Pack “award and the “Dumb Decision of the Day” award were given to Dave Tingle and Albert Chau and the DDD award went to Bob Bear and Michael Tellep.
After dinner, the US Albacore Association held its AGM and nominated its executive board. Two board members stepped down allowing for a new Secretary and Vice President to be elected. Greg Jordan was elected secretary and Tyler Philips was elected Vice President.
As the sun rose on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, it became clear another windy day was upon the sailors for day two. Four races were held on Miles River in 14-16 knots. Olympic and Triangle courses were sailed. The race committee did a great job of firing off the races and keeping things moving along. Back on shore sailors gathered at Foxy’s for dinner and Albacore trivia. Leading the trivia was Master of Ceremonies, Ralph Glass. Saturday’s winners of the daily awards were Marty Minot and Jordan Minot. The DDD award went to Stephanie Stalinski and Mr. MC himself, Ralph Glass who did a fantastic job!
There was a lot to play for on Monday as 2nd and 3rd place were still very much up for grabs. An offshore breeze meant the day would be all about connecting the dots, going from one puff to the next. The Albacores, now very much used to ripping across the river, were at times becalmed. Skippers and crews spent a great deal of time searching for the next zephyr to pass a couple of boats before the next mark. Back on land, sailors worked together to de-rig and load up boats onto trailers. After the awards were handed out, Chris Bennett made an incredibly generous offer to the American Albacores. He gave a burgee from J-Town, a sailing club in Toronto, to Eva Hogan and said if she makes it up to the Mecca of North American Albacore sailing and presents the burgee, she would be provided with a boat for three days of racing.
Congratulations to AL 8261 Barney Harris and Ernest Ayukawa on winning the 2023 Albacore North American Championship. Rounding out the podium were Darren Monster and Mabel Chan in AL 7363, and Stephen and Ian Duncan sailing in AL 8199. Top female helm went to Stephanie Stalinski, who sailed in AL 5009 with Ralph Glass.
2023 North Americans Photo Album
Photo Credit to George Linthicum
The 2023 annual 94th Billy Heintz Regatta held at West River Sailing Club was a great event for Albacore class. The regatta brought two days of planned racing from September 2 – 3. Day two of racing was canceled due to a lack of wind. Conditions Saturday were sunny and wind ranged from 4 to 11 knots. The Albacore sailors showed up in force by being the largest fleet with 13 boats competing in the regatta.
The racing was fierce and competitive, with each boat jockeying for position to be where the wind pressure was during the first race of the day raced in 3 to 5 knots. After the first race the postponement flag went up as RC waited for more wind. The fleet moved from the West River into the Chesapeake Bay. This change allowed racing to be held in 7 to 11 knots of wind. The southerly wind direction brought a steady breeze with small wind shifts. A short race course brought congestion at the leeward mark and gaining inside overlap was key to gaining on competitors. There were a few contentious leeward mark roundings with multiple boats involved. Upwind playing the 5 to 7 degree shifts made a difference with the top boats able to extend leads. Downwinds legs saw many boats change positions throughout Saturday with the left side of the course downwind often being favored.
Congratulations to Barney Harris and Ernest Ayukawa in AL 8261 for winning the event. Second place went to Mchael Heinsdorf and Eva Hogan in AL 8125. Third place went to Greg Jordan and Scheuermann in AL 8256. The Billy Heintz Memorial perpetual trophy was awarded Barney Harris and Ernest Ayukawa as the first place finishers in the class with the largest number of registered competitors at the regatta. Hapco Marine Albacores took the top three positions.
Ware River Governor’s Cup 2023
Ware River Yacht Club welcomed us with their wonderful hospitality for the 59 th Virginia Governor’s Cup Regatta the first weekend in August. With several of our ace crews in Wales for Internationals, some of us were thinking we might have a shot at some silverware!
Natalie and I arrived Friday and camped out for two nights. We don’t have stars in DC, so it was a real treat when the skies cleared and the Big Dipper, Cygnus, and Scorpio lit up the sky. The club included breakfasts, lunches and dinner in the registration fee which made for an easy time off the water. Maize colored technical shirts for all and engraved pewter cups for the winners rounded it out. And a good-sized sea turtle joined us briefly on the water during Sunday racing!
Both days of racing saw light to moderate conditions, so boat speed did make a real difference, though, of course, a good start and clear air always helps. It was hard to keep track of Dave, Jim, and Scott since they were all sailing yellow boats! With the varying wind speeds, crews were moving their body weight all the time and the lighter among us sat on the rail.
On Saturday, Marty Minot shot out to an early lead, taking a number of firsts, while I trailed a bit, being challenged by Dan/Kaitlyn and Dave Huber. Elvin made the trip down for this away regatta and was first to the weather mark in the fourth race while Jim Englert, a returning Albacore sailor now at WRYC, made a strong appearance. Scott Titus was a genial host, and it was good to see Suzanne Morgan (she crewed with me two years ago) along with the other active sailors from WRYC.
Natalie and I were in striking distance of Marty and Jordan after the first day, and when we managed to just beat them in the first race on Sunday, our hopes soared. We had a bit better boat speed than on Saturday, having tweaked our mast adjustment, but the excitement came when Marty engaged us in a tacking duel near the finish line. We went back and forth at least five times, neither boat losing speed nor focus while rolling our boats. Finally we were able to break off toward the line and get the needed first. Alas, in the next race we did lose focus on the leeward rounding and Marty slipped away for the win. And Dan, going out to the right in clear air, also picked us off.
The Hapco boats were all set up differently. Dan pinned up for really light air on Sunday and shared the helm with Kaitlyn, who powered to second place in the sixth race and Dan matched her with a second in the seventh and last race after being first to the weather mark. Marty, Lloyd and Tom caught up downwind in that race. Marty gybed to pass behind Dan but Tom on the right got to the leeward mark first then went right and won going away. Dan and Dave went right with clear air.
Natalie and I cleared our air after the leeward mark and got left, where we thought the wind would be coming from the bay. Marty followed us, though he was ahead, and every time we tried to break contact, he covered, closely. We even tacked into headers to avoid him, but to no avail. Ugh! When the left and the right converged at the finish line, Dan crossed ahead of Marty to gain second behind Tom, and I was able to just barely tack toward the finish on Dave’s bow.
Marty and Jordan won overall, Natalie and I finished second, and Dan and Kaitlyn came in third. Jill Williamson, who had come down to enjoy the scene and help out, won the Congressional Cup, awarded for best sportsmanship at the regatta for helping launch and recover all the fleets each day. Congrats!
Saturday evening before dinner, a grand buffet, Natalie and I had a nice swim with no sea nettles, but we did miss Celeste, Farley and our usual WRYC swimming buddies. And guess what? The club has resurfaced their tennis courts (and added pickle ball lines, of course). So Natalie and I hit the tennis ball for half an hour before heading home on Sunday, completing a summer vacation trifecta of sailing, swimming, and tennis.
Next year is the 60th Anniversary Governor’s Cup Regatta so we are especially hoping to have a good turnout, with our returning friends from Wales and even more sailors from Ware and the DMV. That way we can beat out the Hamptons, who won the actual Governor’s Cup this year with strong participation.
Lloyd, with Dan and Kaitlyn
