Last weeek, a group of Tiddlies traveled to Seattle to attend the 2010 Safety at Sea seminar. They all played hard (some more than others!) and worked hard to complete the two day event. All passed their exams with flying colors!

Timed to coincide with the biannual Vic Maui and Pacific Cup sailboat races, the Sailing Foundation conducts a two-day seminar on safe boating practices and safety equipment.

The seminar, designed and conducted by sailors, all experts in their fields, provides novice and experienced mariners with information and skills required to prepare for sailing offshore, boat preparation, handling heavy weather, recommended safety equipment, and emergencies at sea.

...   ...   ... [ Read More >> ]

TCYC 2010 NOR, ver. 1.1., updated March 1st.

The TCYC 2010 Racing Series schedule has been revised as of February 28. We are looking forward to a great season with several new boats competing this year. Please read below for important updates to the season.

1. There will be an entry fee for all the races (except the New Years Day Race which has already been run). These fees are to enable the club to acquire and renew racing equipment such as marks, mark anchors, flags and such (see below for exact fee amounts).
2. As always, there is fame and glory associated with winning any individual race. In addition, for boats campaigning in at least three races there are fleet championship prizes at the end of the season.
   For 2010, there are three championship awards:
   • Fleet Champion Boat, Div 1
   • Fleet Champion Boat, Div 2
   • Fleet Champion Sailor

Including the English Bay Scramble, there are seven races in our regular racing season. Five of these races will count towards Divisional Championship points, and two will not.

The two non-counting races are
• the Sailpast Race (which is intended as a fun exhibition race with its own trophy) and
• the Summer Solstice race (which is intended as a strictly double-handed race and is part of the separate Sailor of the Year championship).

The Divisional Championship

The Divisional Championship races (for Div 1 "performance" boats and Div 2 "cruising" boats) are as follows:

• New Year's Day race
• Spring Tune Up Regatta
• Passage Island race (includes optional single-handed challenge)
• English Bay Scramble
• Last Chance Regatta

Scoring will be based on the low-point system and there are no crewing restrictions for any race (for the Passage Island race there will be separate starts for single-handed and crewed boats). There will be two throw-outs allowed, so consistency is rewarded and most TCYC boats should be able to get into contention. Note that boats must compete in at least three events to be counted towards the Divisional Championship. The results of non-contending boats will be removed for the purposes of calculating the final standings.

Sailor of the Year Award

The Sailor of the Year award has been simplified to include just three races, as follows:

• Passage Island SINGLE-HANDED
• Summer Solstice DOUBLE-HANDED
• Either Spring Tuneup OR Last Chance as DRIVER (crew allowed)

All three races must be completed to be be in contention (if contenders complete both Spring Tune Up and Last Chance, the best result will be used). Results for Sailor of the Year will be scored on the low-points system, using PHRF handicaps with no division breaks. Contenders can use different boats for each race (borrow a Cal 20 for Passage Island, get a Martin 242 lined up for the round-the-buoys action, and get aboard a well-equipped Beneteau for the Summer Solstice!). Two contenders can share a boat for the Solstice double-handed race (while this means two contenders may get a tie result in the Solstice race, normal tie-breaking rules will determine the ultimate winner using the other two races).

Of course, you could also do it all on one boat, and then if you were really brilliant you might be able to win Fleet Champion Boat and Fleet Champion Sailor!

Boats and sailors do not need to officially register for the Championship awards, but will be automatically scored provided they compete in the required minimum number of races. (Note that sailors contending for Sailor of the Year must have their name included on the registration documents for the Summer Solstice race and the applicable Spring Tune Up/Last Chance races, and should indicate "single-handed" on their Passage Island registration).

Race Registration & Fees

FEES will be payable by cheque, cash or Paypal. They are

• $10 for individual day races ($15 for non-members) and
• $25 for the entire Summer Shorts series ($30 for non-members).
• The English Bay Scramble is $45.

Members are also encouraged to take advantage of a discount for boats wishing to register in all races at once (either including or excluding the Summer Shorts). More details on the fee payment and registration process will be made available on the payments/registration page.

Our monthly meeting will be held at 7:30PM at the Maritime Museum (South Entrance) Thursday Februay 18th. Guest are welcome.

We are pleased to have John Horton, a marine artist who is well known to local sailors as Captain of the British Columbia Squadron of the Royal Naval Sailing Association.

Immerse yourself in an exciting power point presentation by John Horton describing Captain George Vancouver's exploration of the west coast of North America - the longest voyage of discovery, ever,under sail!

Included in the presentation are images of over 25 paintings produced by Horton to recreate this extraordinary voyage; historic and current maps;and photographs of sketches made by officers aboard Captain Vancouver ships. Not only is this an interesting historical talk, but it is also a creative and geographic delight as we explore the coast of Washington State, British Columbia and Alaska through the eyes of this talented and well known artist.

From left to right: Teresa Dobson, Peter Heiberg and Christy McLeod. Welcome!

For our January 21st Meeting at the Maritime Museum we are pleased to announce that the presentation will be by: Dr.Douw Steyn Professor of Atmospheric Science Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences, UBC

Dr. Steyn's topic is "Wind for Sailing" • Scales of atmospheric dynamical phenomena and resultant wind patterns. • Wind patterns associated with synoptic scale weather features (airmasses, fronts, cyclones, anticyclones and ridges; typical BC inner coast conditions). • Local wind patterns encountered along coastlines, and around islands (how to exploit local wind patterns to your advantage.

This is a great way to start off our speaker's series and prepare for the sailing season.

The meeting will commence around 7:30PM with the presentation at 8:00 PM. Guests welcome. Entrance at south side door.

TCYC and the Fleet Captain are currently seeking a boats to act as Race Committee willing to run one or two races each over the remainder of the 2010 season (final dates to be determined).

Please contact the Fleet Captain (Simon Hill at 604-733-9004 or shill_edit [at] telus.net).

If you are willing to act as committee for a race later in the season, drop the fleet Captain a line at your leisure, indicating which races you'd be willing to cover. Currently Ted Sharplin with Trigger (Cal 20 Race Committee) has volunteered for New Years Day, Fancy Free is Race Committee for the Spring Tune Up, Pegasus has agreed to committee the Passage Island Race and Krikkit will be covering some of the later Summer Shorts races (but not the early July races).

Blow away your New Years Eve hangover and start the New Year off right with a sail race in English Bay! Race runs at 11:00 a.m. January 1st and typically ends in time to watch the Polar Bear Swim (or retire to Wicklows public house and trade stories).

Non-TCYC boats are welcome to participate after signing a release and indemnity form. (fax to 604-733-9013)

TCYC Boats: The NYD race will count towards the 2010 TCYC Fleet Championship. But if you can't make it out, don't panic -- there are two throw-outs allowed this year so you can still make a competitive bid for the 2010 Fleet Championship come springtime. For tentative details on the 2010 Fleet Championship series, log in and see the "TCYC Racing" section of the Forum. The full race schedule will be posted early in the New Year.

For the Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions, click the "Racing" tab, above. Any questions, contact Simon Hill, TCYC Fleet Captain, at 604-733-9004 or by email at shill_edit [at] telus.net.

Boats Registered so Far..

Div 1

• Fancy Free
• Krikkit
• Lithium
• J
• Aqua Perla
• Havoc
• Allons Y
• J33(no name yet)Sail 42433
• Brigadoon
• Woodstock
• BoatFormerlyKnownAsCarene
• Windyfeat

Div 2

• Nebo
• Volare
• Salus

2008 New Years Day Race Video

2009 New Years Day Race Video