This year, the OMDA executive decided to rename the Provincial Championship Regatta in memory of Graham Pilling, who recently passed away. Graham was a long time member of OMDA, and no stranger to the Provincial Championships: his name appears on the Provincial Championship trophy more than any other. This year Regatta was held on September 14-15 at Sibbald Point Provincial Park, its usual location.
It was a sunny but cold morning, and the competitors were busy rigging their boats. After a while, it was apparent there has been some mixup or miscommunication - our race committee wasn't showing up. We convened a skippers meeting and came up with a workable solution thanks to the volunteer efforts of Roseann Pikelin and Bill Kominek. First, Steve and Don went out in Charger and laid out a race course. They returned to launching ramp and launched their boats. Bill and Roseann took Charger out to the course and managed the races.
The wind was a little light when first started, and the first two races were sailed with a shortened course (just a triangle). However, the wind picked up later on and we did the full course (triangle-sausage).
The weather was a bit grey and overcast Sunday morning, but warmer than Saturday morning. The wind was coming from the south, pretty much the opposite of the previous day. We got an early start after Steph and Steve laid out a new course and sailed another two races.
Then it was time to get out on the water for some more races.
| Place | Sail No. | Crew | Race 1 | Race 2 | Race 3 | Race 4 | Race 5 | Race 6 | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 36476 | Sue Pilling Steph Romaniak |
2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| 2 | 70098 | Don Alp Jonas Pikelin |
3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 10 |
| 3 | 530050 | Stephen Steel Wyatt Beaumont |
1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 13 |
| 4 | 51161 | Marika Beaumont Kaiden Beaumont (races 1-4) |
4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3* | 3* | 20 |
| 5 | 63840 | Steph Alp Brendan Kominek |
5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 24 |
Note: Those sailing single-handed (marked with *) were assessed a penalty of 1 point per race, and each crew's worst result was discarded.
Appropriately enough, for the first year under its new name, the Graham Pilling Provincial Championship Regatta was won by a boat skippered by Graham's daughter Sue. Sue and Steph have had a good season of sailing, having also placed third at the Wayfarer Worlds in August!
Of course, Sue is no stranger to the Provincial Championship Trophy - She's been on familiar terms with it since the 70's!
And of course, many thanks to Roseann and Bill for stepping in at the last minute to serve as the race committee. They did a great job!
Thanks to all those who provided photos:
© 2013 Ontario Mirror Dinghy Association