Fall Newsletter

Trophy Upgrade

Our venerable 1971 vintage trophy had a nice upgrade thanks to Michael Butler.  A new identical but larger bottom layer of the "cake" was added sometime over the last year by Michael.



This trophy may take up a spot somewhere in Glenmore Sailboats shop hopefully close to the Canadian Nationals trophy which is a 1969 vintage trophy.

A milestone of 50 event years will happen next year at the 2019 Canadian Nationals at a location yet to be determined.  The North American event milestone would happen two years later in 2021.

We are still fortunate in that we can attract new competitors to our fleet and with the fixing up of a number of Seasprays to a more competitive level the racing has been a lot of fun.

I hope over this fall and winter season you will consider putting a little bit of time into your boat and plan on attending some regattas over the next few years.

Some Trip Highlights

Here are a few personal highlights from the trip to the North American Regatta written by Don Snell:

• Ritzville, Washington: Top Hat Motel - Great price and it smelled clean,  it seemed ok until the trains started to go through town all night long.  Must have been a dozen or more.  Picked better ones after!


• Sailing in fog in one of the races was a new experience for me.  Boats literally appeared and disappeared like apparitions.  You weren't sure at times which direction you were sailing.


• Hearing the waves crashing on the Pacific side while sailing along the sand berm in light wind.


• Hiking and driving in the Redwood forests of norther California


• Visiting Ferndale, California and seeing the Artisan displays in the shops.

Upgrading Your SeaSpray

An example of an upgraded boat.  Improvements include split two piece trampoline, center tube jib cleating, rudder blade through hull downhaul lines, boom end mainsheet system with mainsheet cleat off the boom, rope adjustable traveller line, barber haulers to outhaul the jib sheet for downwind sailing, 2:1 jib halyard system, a lightweight break apart boat dolly and lightening the boat where possible.  This boat was painted with high gloss Tremclad (last of the inexpensive oil based paints) using a foam roller.  Other improvements that could be done to a standard Seaspray within the class rules include smaller higher aspect dagger boards, side stay levers that allow the rig to fall sideways or forward, shortened bridle wires to lower and move the jib forward a bit, remove any waterlogged foam from the hulls, make drainway gaps in the fiberglass hull ribs at the bottom of the hull to allow any water to drain out of the hulls easily and new or better sails.

If you have a Seaspray that needs work, set some time aside in the upcoming off season to work on your boat.  They are always an enjoyable boat to sail.  They say that the bigger the boat you have the less you will sail it.  The Seaspray is just the right size, and weight for most of us to handle easily.

Butler Wins Second Championship

This year's Seaspray North Americans at Big Lagoon, California was a success with 11 races sailed over three days.  The weather co-operated and provided a decent wind on Friday and lighter winds on Saturday and Sunday.

[caption id="attachment_842" align="alignnone" width="3264"] L-R: Jay Gardner, Don Snell, Mike Butler[/caption]

Congratulations to winner Mike Butler from Fort Bragg, California.  Corrected race results had Don Snell in second place and Jay Gardner in third.  There were four competitors from United States and three competitors from Canada.  Thanks to Mike Butler for providing the Seaspray fleet prizes.  Thanks also to all the competitors who made the effort to attend this event.  CLICK HERE FOR FULL RESULTS

Many thanks to the Humboldt Yacht Club for hosting the regatta and giving the Seaspray fleet an extra day of racing over the regular Redwood Regatta.  The overall attendance was in the mid 30's for competitors with Hobie 16's, Hobie 20, Snipe, Pelican, Laser and other fleets competing as well.  Competitors were allowed to camp for four nights maximum at this state owned property and it helped to be close to the venue.  A wonderful Saturday supper and hearty Sunday morning breakfast was provided as part of the event.

Pictured above are most of the competitors and their spouses enjoying the weather.

If you are wondering why we didn't sail on the Pacific side of the big dune the picture below will help explain why. Water temperature in the low 50's Fahrenheit.

One of the side benefits of traveling a long distance to an event is the opportunity to enjoy a few side excursions.  The Red Wood forest is extensive in this area and a drive through the "Avenue of the Giants" afforded an additional opportunity to do some hiking in the Redwoods.

While driving through Eureka, California we passed by the Carson Mansion pictured below. William Carson came from New Brunswick to the California gold rush and ended up making a fortune in the lumber business, shipping redwood to San Francisco and other parts of the globe.

Ferndale, California was another worthy visit and had many interesting and surprising delights.