Month: January 2021

CanAm Series January Wrap Up

January 31, 2021 – Port Charlotte, FL

January was a very eventful month in the world and in the US 2.4 meter class. We now have Vaccines rolling out to and the world is lumbering awake after a Covid snooze.  On the race course we have had lots of great activity as well. We had 5 days of solid racing and got 14 races in.
Roger Strube, Martin Holland and the entire gang at Charlotte Harbor Yacht Club (CHYC) kept the action going day after day. Fran Nashner Burstein and Tina Weida shot some wonderful images of the racing action and then there was the amazing competition itself. The level of event / race management rivals any club anywhere. CHYC creates a winter home for 2.4 meter sailors that is wonderful.
The efficient RC plotting the days sailing
Dee Smith, purported to be rusty however based on race finishes appeared to be anything but .  14 starts and 10 first place finishes in the month of January.  Clearly Dee is prepping for the Upcoming Worlds. The real question is, who is going to come get him. The challenge has been extended.
Upwind sailing during CanAm Series Event 2
The rest of the podium was filled by amazing talent. Bruce Millar (CAN 39) sailed with a jib boom and seemed to have no problem finding the gas pedal.  For those in need of reduced confusion when sailing, this could be good news.  We thank Bruce for getting over the border from Canada and showing us a new trick.  Jeff Linton came out with consistent sailing and kept people guessing.
Canadian Bruce Millar sailing fast with an experimental jib boom. The results look promising.
US Class President Tony Pocklington gave hard and consistent chase to the leaders. At the same time Tony worked hard to welcome back some long missing 2.4 sailors and new sailors to the class (Julio Reguero and Kathy Breslin respectively)
Tight racing in in Port Charlotte during our busy January
So the month is over, we sailed hard despite the pandemic and we kept the flame alive for competition in the new year.
Podium Recap
CanAm Series Event 1 January 25-26 6 races, 1 throwout
  1. Dee Smith – 7 pts
  2. Bruce Millar – 8 pts
  3. Jeff Linton – 14 pts
CanAm Series Event 2 January 28-30 9 races, 1 throwout
  1. Dee Smith – 10 pts
  2. Jeff Linton – 19 pts
  3. Bruce Millar – 31 pts
Upcoming Events
Sailing is just getting started in Port Charlotte.  There are events planned for February, March and April. There are available charter boats, and plenty of sailing, camaraderie and competition. Contact Tony Pocklington if you want to sail.
Check out the Series Notice of Race for information on upcoming events
Full Results
Check out the links below for full results.

Scenes from the CanAm Series

January 30, 2021 – Port Charlotte FL

The evidence of how life has changed in this pandemic era is ample and hard to ignore. However in Port Charlotte an intrepid group of individuals are working at making life as normal as it can be. Charlotte Harbor Yacht Club, some crazed Canadians and the US 2.4 meter class association continue to run their 5 event winter series.
While attendance is down a bit, There is a diverse group of sailors competing, experimenting, and learning from the each other, the boat and the venue. Here are some headlines so far:
Varied wind conditions

Reports from the event describe a number of different sailing conditions. Port Charlotte continues to serve up light southerlies, followed by heavy northerlies on a day to day basis, challenging the sailors.  After a heavy air day on day one of CanAm Series Event

Heavy Air on the first day of CanAm Series 2

2, the air lightened up for day two.  US Class President Tony Pocklington described the light air of day 2 as follows:

“Pretty light conditions when we got out for a near 1pm start wind was generally from the ESE , 4-7kts for race 1. Race 2 was closer to 4 kts, a shift at the start made port tack interesting enough for several of us to pull it off, the shift came back later and the course was again remarkably well set up. Staying in the pressure was the key to that race until the very end”
Boom Chicka Boom
Bruce Millar, a regular presence in Port Charlotte is experimenting with a new jib configuration using a club foot. He has put a boom along the foot of his jib that he uses to simplify upwind sheeting. Based on early reports and results he appears to be quite competitive with this configuration. While club footed jibs are not new to the 2.4 meter class it is interesting to see one in competition.
Club Footed Jib eases boat handling
Offwind sailing with the jib poled out

Deep Fleet
While the attendance numbers may be a little off due to Covid, there is no lack of talent racing in Port Charlotte. Dee Smith, Jeff Linton, Bruce Millar, Julio Reguero are among the competitors. Each of these sailors has experience competing at the highest levels off the sport. This level of competition is enough to make any sailor sit up and notice.
Its further proof that the 2.4 Meter offers the most “bang for the buck”. While the Star and Etchells sailors spend 10 times our budget, we still get as many as 20 days of winter sailing  in a simple, affordable boat against world class competition.  Come join us, there is plenty of sailing and a number of high quality charter boats available now.
More to come with an event wrap up and full results.
Pictures by Fran Nashner Burstein and Tina Weida

The Ultimate in Socially Distant Sailing

1/26/2021 – Port Charlotte FL.

The singlehanded 2.4 Meter might just be the ultimate socially distant sailing platform.  The sailor is alone in the boat away from any potential Covid germs. 12 of those brave sailors took to the water for the 2021 CanAm Series Event 1.

Dee Smith won the event with an impressive scoreline. After 6 races, Smith threw out a 3rd place for a final score of 8 pts. Canadian Bruce Millar was one point back in 2nd place with 9 pts. Jeff Linton rounded out the podium with 14 pts.

Martin Holmgren, Roger Strube and the rest of the RC members did their usual bang up job with a strong focus on the racing. While the social side of the event was curtailed do to pandemic protocols, the sailors enjoyed the varied conditions, convenience of the venue and the wonderful hospitality from the Charlotte Harbor Yacht Club.

Racing continues later this week with 2021 CanAm Series event 2 starting on January 28. There are 5 events in the series running all the way into April.

As always the fleet is welcoming of newcomers and makes quality charter boats available.

Complete Results

US 2.4 Meter site with links to upcoming events

Photos by Fran Nashner Burstein