The Lake Ontario 300 Challenge race organizers are delighted to have one of Canada’s largest builders of luxury condominiums as a Presenting Sponsor. This sponsorship provides the necessary funds to continue to offer the enhancements that make the Lake Ontario 300 the Greatest Race on the Lakes. The Lake Ontario 300 is Canada’s Longest Freshwater Offshore Race and the first leg of the race passes by the future site of Conservatory Group’s newest luxury condominium, Waterways— a resort-style condominium that overlooks Humber Bay on Lake Ontario and the first turning mark of the Lake Ontario 300 Challenge.

For over 50 years, the Conservatory Group has commanded an enviable record of achievement by creating legendary landmarks that have transformed the cityscape of the Greater Toronto Area. The Conservatory Group is proud to be one of Canada’s largest builders of fine luxury condominium communities. Building with five decades of excellence, The Conservatory Group is proud to be at the forefront of the industry shaping new home communities across the Greater Toronto Area.

This is the first time The Conservatory Group has taken the promotion of a new luxury condominium on the water, but with such a premier yachting event passing by our newest community Waterways, it is an excellent way to showcase the many fine features of this condominium soon to be released in Etobicoke’s premier waterfront neighbourhood.

‘This sponsorship represents a win-win situation for both the competitors, spectators and the organizers of the Lake Ontario 300 Challenge’ said Darren Gornall Chairman of the Lake Ontario Offshore Racing Group, “The Conservatory Group represents everything our spectators and participants are looking for in a lifestyle community and we are excited to be a small part of the launch of the Waterway’s Condominium.’ The Etobicoke and Toronto waterfront are ideal locations to watch the exciting start of this race where we usually see over 150 yachts are going full speed flying spinnakers across this area.

There are many other races taking place in the Humber Bay, it’s a great attraction and should be a huge selling point.” 

‘The Conservatory Group’s sponsorship of the high profile Lake Ontario 300 Challenge represents our commitment to our Waterway’s Condominium and the value we offer with a waterfront community and the associated spectacles that can occur right in front of your balcony. The yachting community represent a demographic that our buildings attract. When sailors are looking for a new community they want a certain level of luxury we provide as well as the association to their passion on the water” Said, Sheldon Libfeld, President, The Conservatory Group.

The 2012 Lake Ontario 300 Challenge Race will be the 23rd running of this high profile event. The race attracts sailors and racers from all of the Great Lakes and Quebec and represents the single most important sailing race held annually on Lake Ontario.

As a result of Conservatory Group’s sponsorship, this year’s race can be watched live anywhere in the world by following the Yellowbrick Tracking system being employed. A transponder will be attached to every yacht in the race and will be tracked 24 hours a day. This technology can be found by visiting the Lake Ontario 300 website during the race.

For information, visit: www.lo300.org

Exceptional Value and Superior Lifestyle Amenities in the Heart of Downtown Toronto

Another one of The Conservatory Group’s many impressive condominium communities is downtown Toronto’s Infinity.  Located between Rogers Centre and The Air Canada Centre, and overlooking the CN Tower, the Metro Convention Centre and the vibrant Toronto waterfront, Infinity offers the ultimate in stylish urban living.

At Infinity, bold, distinctive lines of glass and steel create a stunning profile against the backdrop of Toronto’s entertainment district. Every balcony, every single pane of glass emanates an unforgettable atmosphere of urbane sophistication. Currently in its third phase, and with the final phase coming soon, Infinity is the epitome of what city life should be.

The suites at Infinity offer an inspired selection of features and finishes sure to tantalize even the most discerning palate. Stunning interior design, large windows and spacious open-concept floor plans create living spaces that feel virtually infinite in scale. Wide balconies offer extensive, glamorous views, and with features like stylish kitchens and lavish master suites, luxury is truly infinite at Infinity.

In addition to impeccably designed suites, Infinity also offers a wonderful array of remarkable building amenities. An entertainment centre offers a billiards room, home theatre, library, table tennis room, party room and boardroom. There’s also an impressive fitness centre, complete with gymnasium, aerobics room and exercise room. For those looking to relax after a great workout, there’s a spacious indoor pool area, complete with a sauna and a whirlpool. As if the indoor amenity spaces weren’t already enough,  a stunning rooftop terrace offers the perfect place to unwind with a book or entertain friends. With so many excellent amenities to choose from, fun is yet another thing that is infinite at Infinity.

At Infinity, residents can discover all the possibilities offered by life at the inner sphere of Toronto’s commerce and culture. Infinity is just steps to countless gourmet restaurants, designer boutiques and more. Catch all the hottest concerts and sporting events at Rogers Centre and The Air Canada Centre. Enjoy an evening at the symphony or take in a new play at a nearby theatre or concert hall. On a warm summer night, one can even take a short stroll— an even shorter streetcar ride– down to Toronto’s picturesque waterfront to take in all the sights and sounds.

When one considers these incredible suites, world-class building amenities and perfect location, it’s clear that Infinity is the number one choice for stylish condominium living in downtown Toronto.

For more information on Infinity and The Conservatory Group, visit www.conservatorygroup.com

For more information on Waterways, visit www.waterwaysonthelake.com.

Port Credit Yacht Club invites you for “New Crew and Skippers Mixer Night”

Are you a racing skipper looking for reliable crew that is experienced but hasn’t a boat or isn’t experienced, but is enthusiastic about learning to race a sailboat?   Or, are you a sailor looking for a boat on which to crew so you can hone sailing skills or learn to be part of a racing team?  This event is organized for you to meet compatible people before going out on the course.

For those interested in long distance racing, this night is designed for Skippers who would like to race the LO300 but can’t find dedicated crew and crew who are interested but can’t find a boat.  This is an opportunity for them to meet and see if they are compatible.

This evening is also for people who are interested  in ‘around the cans’ racing, PCYC holds regular Monday and Wednesday races from May to September.  Monday night racing is ‘White Sail’ only suited for the beginner or more laid back racer.  Wednesday night is ‘Spinnaker night’ for the more advanced and competitive people.

The timing of this event was deliberately planned such that a team would have enough time to practice a few times before race nights begin.  Alternatively, if they are planning to do the long distance course, the new people would have ample opportunity to race together and try the Susan Hood Trophy Race on June 1.  This race is good proving ground for the LO300.

Experienced skippers and crew will be there to answer questions and provide advice.

When: Wednesday May 2^nd, 2012
Time: 7:00pm to 9:00pm
Where: Port Credit Yacht Club
Lakefront Promenade
Mississauga, Ontario
L5E 3G6
Phone: 905-278-5578

Crew andskipper information forms will be available at the door, but it is preferable if you send it to us before the event so we can forward it to interested parties.

To get the ‘Crew Information Form’ or put your name on the ‘Skippers looking for crew list’: please contact Monica Doedens at mndoedens@gmail.com or Simon de Groot at scdegroot@rogers.com

This event is Proudly Sponsored by

True North Yachts.
Customer Loyalty thru Service excellence

On April 3^rd 2012, the GLSS met and had their Detroit Area Spring Safety Meeting at the GLYC in St. Clair Shores MI.  Forty-One sailors attended the seminar, including 15 potential first timers, who wish to try their hand at one of the GLSS events this year.  To date and in addition to the 6 sailors already signed up for the LO300SC, we have had inquiries Kingston, Hamilton, Bronte, Windsor/Detroit MI, and Cleveland OH.  With 6 confirmed and 7 new potential entrants by mid-April, the LO300 may well be on track for another banner year.

If you have sailed in the LOSHRS series for many years, or have done the LO300 double-handed, this could well be your next great challenge.  For more information on the GLSS requirements for first-time sailors, please go to www.solosailors.org, email Brent Hughes at bhughes@ucci.ca, or give him a call at 416-984-7967 at any time.  We hope you are up to the Challenge in 2012.

Brent Hughes
Pearl – FBYC
LO300-GLSS Liason

One of the primary areas of concern for the Lake Ontario Offshore Racing Group is racers safety. Our improvement efforts in this respect are two-fold for 2012; we have standardized the published Minimum Equipment Requirements across all events and we are introducing the racing community to Minimum Stability Requirements for monohull yachts.

During this introductory year, the Organizing Committee will review entries for all races, determine a yacht’s Stability Index value based on sistership data and communicate with the owners of yachts that appear to fall below internationally accepted stability requirements for offshore events. A minimum Stability Index is not a requirement in the Notices of Race but will help race organizers and boat owners assess a yacht’s ability to resist capsize.

Whereas formal stability screening has been used in oceanic races for years, the screening used for freshwater offshore races has tended to be less rigorous.  A significant hurdle is the lack of Stability Index value for boats in the types and size range in our fleet; high performance rating systems such as IRC, ORR and ORC already assign a Stability Index on the boat’s rating certificate, all other entries will be assigned a Stability, Safety and Screening Numeral (SSSN) calculated by an engineer.

Background Information

There are many types of races ranging from trans-oceanic races beyond the reach of any outside rescue facility to inshore races of short duration where rescue boats are available along the entire race course.

ISAF, the sailing sport authority, has divided offshore races into 7 categories; in the Offshore Special Regulations they strongly recommend that for Categories 0 through 4 races the race organizer should require compliance with a minimum stability/buoyancy index.

Crafted as a yacht manufacturing design tool, the International Standards Organization (ISO) created the ISO 12217-2 standard for sailboats longer than 6m, with design categories (A to D) for different types of sailing conditions as they relate to wind and waves. These are used as a general guide to suitability for meeting the OSR categories as per the following table:

Summary of Maximum Design Category Conditions under ISO 12217-2

* Height in metres. Some waves will be double this height.

Stability/Buoyancy Screening Systems

The preferred systems for stability/buoyancy screening are:

ISO
Any boat, no matter where she was built, sold in the European Economic Area (EEA) since June 15, 1998 is required to have undergone a certification process involving many ISO standards. The standard germane to this discussion is ISO 12217 Part 2. These boats will carry an ISO Category label.

STIX
Boats independently verified as meeting the minimum sailing weight, STability IndeX (STIX) and Angle of Vanishing Stability (AVS) under ISO 12217-2 and meeting the other standards are assigned an ISO category as summarized in the table below. A STIX value is typically obtained via the IRC Rating Office or a naval architect.

Since this is the most recent and arguably most sophisticated screening tool available to date it is the preferred method.

IMS, ORC and ORR
In addition to using hull shape to determine the yacht’s rating, the International Measurement System (IMS) based rules such as the Offshore Racing

Council Congress (ORC) and the Offshore Racing Rule (ORR) offices calculate a STaBility IndeX (STBIX) that appears on the yacht’s rating certificate.

Stability, Safety and Screening Numeral
The Stability, Safety and Screening Numeral (SSSN) is an older system developed by the RORC in the early eighties; the same input parameters as required for a PHRF certificate can be used to calculate a stability value, thus for almost any sailboat.

Unlike the STIX and STBIX values, SSSN estimates stability from rather basic parameters as compared to the more rigorous and detailed process used by the other systems. SSSN is not intended, nor should be used, for unconventional boats including those with moveable ballast, wings or excessive flare.

Corresponding ISO 12217-2 Minimum Values

Summary

As a best practice, the Lake Ontario Offshore Racing Group has adopted a minimum stability values associated with OSR Category 3 events for all overnight events (Lake Ontario 300 Challenge, Susan Hood trophy Race and LOSHRS 100-miler) and a minimum stability values associated with OSR Category 4 events for all LOSHRS daytime races. Note that the Minimum Safety Requirements for all races remain the same and are based on OSR Category 3.

Required values will be in the following order of preference for OSR Category 3:

• minimum ISO Category B
• minimum sailing weight of 1500 kg
• minimum IRC STIX of 23 and minimum AVS of 130-0.005m but always ≥95°
• minimum ORC or ORR STBIX of 103
• minimum SSSN of 15 except for boats with moveable ballast , wings or excessive flare.

Required values will be in the following order of preference for OSR Category 4:

• minimum ISO Category C
• no minimum sailing weight
• minimum IRC STIX of 14 and minimum AVS of 90°
• minimum SSSN of 10 except for boats with moveable ballast , wings or excessive flare.

Note that compliance with any of the screening systems mentioned herein does not guarantee total safety or total freedom of risk from capsize or sinking.

With special thanks to Richard Hinterhoeller for his efforts at researching the various screening systems.

Since its introduction in 2008, the IRC Class has grown from six entries in the original year to two separate divisions to accommodate 14 yachts in 2011. It has been exciting to watch the tight level of competition within the IRC class; with over 100 IRC certificate holders on Lake Ontario, competitive yachts owners have clearly expressed their desire to race in this growing class. In anticipation of additional IRC divisions in upcoming years, the Lake Ontario Offshore Racing Committee, which is also responsible for the traditional Susan Hood Trophy Race and the popular Lake Ontario Short Handed Racing Series, has taken steps to properly recognize an overall IRC Champion.

In 2008, Sperry Top-Sider donated the Sperry Cup to be awarded to the overall winner of the Lake Ontario 300 Champion. At the time, a handful of yachts in the IRC Class were rescored under the PRHF rating in order to determine the best corrected-time overall. Following the Lake Ontario 300 Challenge organizer’s commitment to IRC, Sperry Top-Sider has offered a sister trophy to the Sperry Cup, the Gold Trophy, that will properly recognize an overall IRC Champion for the race.

Still in the design process, the Gold Trophy will sport a similar prestigious look as the coveted Sperry Cup, which will remain the top award for the PHRF Class. Sperry Top-Sider remains strongly committed to performance racing and has been a major sponsor of the Lake Ontario 300 Challenge for over eight years, recognizing it as the ultimate challenge in offshore racing on the Great Lakes.

Darren Gornall, Chairman of the Lake Ontario Offshore Racing Committee and past Sperry Cup winner states: “ The Lake Ontario 300 Challenge boasts an excellent record of continually improving the quality of the race experience; we now seek to increase the competitiveness at the top level. We feel this new trophy will be a reason for IRC yacht owners to put the Lake Ontario 300 Challenge on their race 2012 calendar. We also believe it will help convince current top-level PRHF yachts to consider a switch to IRC for this race”.

The race organizers are also extending an invitation to help Lake Ontario 300 Challenge participants with logistics around popular IRC events such as the LORC PCYC Open and Youngstown levels by keeping their yacht at the Port Credit Yacht Club.

About the Lake Ontario 300 Challenge, started 22 years ago as a double-handed event, the 300-mile circumnavigation of Lake Ontario has grown to become one of the premier offshore races on the Great Lakes. With 170 yachts participating in the past three years, the “Greatest Yacht Race on the Lakes” now offers a shorter 200-mile course for slower yachts. Whether single-handed, double-handed or fully crewed, the popular event hosted by the Port Credit Yacht Club is always full of challenges.

About Sperry Top-Sider, an American Original since 1935 when Paul Sperry invented the first boat shoe for sailors, Sperry Top-Sider remain water enthusiasts creating high performance footwear for people that are passionate about the thrill of pursuits on the water.

Nature Category

Jeffrey Dimitru, Sassafras

Andrew Newbury, Southern Cross

Team Category

Brian Townsend, Folichon

Jeffrey Dimitru, Sassafras

Humor Category

Greg Yaneff, Sassafras

Ted Crouse, Iliad

Video Category

http://youtu.be/o2gqLxeP9ms
Chris Watkinson, Afterburn

Scotch Bonnet Island Course

PHRF-LO NFS – Double Handed
1. Naxos, CAN33052, Mark Boudreau
2. Southern Cross, CAN37, Mike Newbury
3. Bow Movement, H 36, David Medhurst

PHRF-LO NFS – Full Crew – 1
1. Abracadabra, CAN41888, Klaus Noack
2. Seaforth, 54388, Andrew Gustajtis
3. DJ CATS, CANB461, Duncan Smith

PHRF-LO NFS – Full Crew – 2
1. Allegro, USA174, Marty Cameron
2. Ticker Tape, 34811, Donald Lounsbury
3. Ola, CAN27, Mario Perez-Perez

PHRF-LO NFS – Full Crew – 3
1. Gypsy Wind, USAT3500, Ernest Pipiles
2. Keego II, CAN687, Peter Chalkley
3. SeaCastle, CAN20286, Craig Castle

PHRF-LO NFS – Full Crew – 4
1. French Vanilla, CAN14, Harvey Ostrander
2. Wind Dancer, CAN4500, Kevin Williams
3. Kalona, CAN131, Philip Meiliunas

PHRF-LO NFS – Full Crew – 5
1. Iliad, CAN13, Roger Petersen
2. Escape, CAN720203, Mark Nalewajko
3. Temerity, CAN425, Peter Vetter

PHRF-LO FS 171 and greater – DH
1. Skeena, CAN1483, Rick Veenhuizen
2. Doralla, CAN54048, Kirk Allan
3. Apres Vous, CAN155, William Davidson – 4/DNF, ; 4

PHRF-LO FS 171 and greater – FC
1. Sebana, CAN102, Stewart Lindsay
2. Distant Thunder, CAN69, Bob Gauthier
3. Airborne 2, CAN102, Bob Hickson

Main Duck Island Course

Solo Challenge – Single Handed
1. Mythos, CAN6204, Ted Spanos
2. Striker, USA53534, Jan Steyn
3. GL3, USA1, William Tucker

IRC – Full Crew – 1
1. Happy Puppy, CAN29, Daniel McKindsey
2. Kaizen, USA27, Oleg Melnikov
3. IMXtreme, CAN69937, Joe MacDonald

IRC – Full Crew – 2
1. Blue Streak, CAN314, Robert Eckersley
2. Jeager, CAN25202, Leszek Siek
3. Lively, CAN265, Murray Gainer

PHRF-LO FS 183 and less – DH – 1
1. Nemesis, CAN18, Mike Innell
2. MacIntosh, CAN34539, Durk Steigenga
3. Demon’s Dance, CAN51, Ric Doedens

PHRF-LO FS 183 and less – DH – 2
1. Gizmo, CAN177, Brent Hughes
2. Emerald, CAN24200, Paul Willis
3. LES, CAN1111, John Hagen

PHRF-LO FS 183 and less – FC – 1
1. Shorthanded, CAN43635, Michael Pietz
2. Tango, CAN156, Pierre Savard
3. Star Chaser, CAN008, Ken Martin

PHRF-LO FS 183 and less – FC – 2
1. Encore, USA60145, Tony Byrne
2. Setanta, CAN227, Bob Bugbee
3. Sassafras, CAN3100, Colin Brown

PHRF-LO FS 183 and less – FC – 3
1. Tracker, CAN84717, Ken Graham
2. At Ease , CAN15, Jonathan Bamberger
3. Liberte 39, CAN009, Martin Lachapelle

PHRF-LO FS 183 and less – FC – 4
1. UMI TAKA, CAN32835, Dennis Dice
2. Ragtime, CAN34432, Michael VanderVaart
3. Sumac, CAN4141, Peter Smith

PHRF-LO FS 183 and less – FC – 5
1. Folichon, CAN34888, Ian McAllister
2. Nick’s Café, 4721, Patrick Muise
3. Aponivi, CAN3312, Eric Neate

PHRF-LO FS 183 and less – FC – 6
1. Rebellion, CAN44138, Michael Kahu
2. Silver Bullet, USA32965, Torsten Doering
3. Seajay, CAN218, James Johnstone