Well things have been super busy and once again, blogging is the first thing to be pushed aside.

This past weekend I was in Toronto sailing the Trillium Regatta with Paul Davis and Hal Ebert aboard Shagreen (Peter Van Rossem's most excellect shark).  This was the first time that Paul and I had sailed with Hal, and I think it went pretty well.

The trip down was uneventful and we managed to get registered and have a few beers, before getting a 9:30 launch back to the main land.  I really love hanging out at RCYC.  The facilities are amazing and the sense of history around the place is so strong.

On Saturday we got in three races in very light and variable breeze.  As you would expect the three of us were working out the kinks in our boat handling, but the talk on board was really good.  Paul and Hal are both great big picture thinkers and we had solid strategy.  We were finding that boat speed was a bit of a problem in places, but it wasn't that big a deal.

Unfortuneatly, we had a couple of very unlucky shifts or wind appearing and disappearing at just the wrong times.  In the last leg of the last race we worked our way into a great position on the left side of the course which gave us a commanding position on the rest of the fleet.  But we ran out of breeze and when we tack for the finish line, we found we were headed and almost mid-fleet.  Whatever, you win some and you lose some. After the first day we were sitting 6th in the fleet of 35 boats, with a 6, 8, 15.

On Sunday we were greeted with thick, thick fog that prevented the race committee from sending us out.  We sat around on the veranda and chatted.  It was nice to hang out and talk with people.  I got a chance to meet Martha Henderson, former ISAF president Paul Henderson's daughter, who is in the middle of an olympic campaign and is working with Paul.  Really nice women, really keen and into her program.  Also got hang out with a few of the Defiant crew (Farr 40 that won the Canada's cup), which is always educational. 

As the mist burned off, the wind completely died.  The Race Committee finally called it a day around 1230.  We packed up the boat and won the most important race of the day:  the crane race.  We yanked the boat, took down the rig and hit the road around 1400 and had another uneventful trip.

Sailing with Paul and Hal this summer is going to be a really great learning experience.  Paul's experience with boat to boat tactics, and Hal's insane knowlege of weather systems and strategic talents, are certain to rub off a little.  I feel a bit under qualified to be sailing with these two, but I suppose I have my talents too.

I also wanted to give a shout out to Andrew Morgan and Daina Vagners who not only hosted a great regatta, but also provided a really comfortable bed over the weekend. 

Another big thanks go to Peter Van Rossem for so selflessly lending us his boat and getting everything ready to go.