Ontario Masters Championship, Sturgeon Lake, Ont.

I haven't written for a while, even though I've been sailing. The problem was that my attitude was getting so bad and my sailing so erratic, that I thought it better not to write. You know the drill; if you can say something nice...

I wondered also whether my writing was somehow a part of the problem. It's a bit uncomfortable writing honestly, and I thought perhaps I was being too honest and I was building up some head trash as a result.

Things have turned around, I think. The Ontario Masters ran at Sturgeon Lake this past weekend, with 25 boats registered, and at least three competitors in every age category. I say things have turned around because I managed to win the thing, and can claim again to be the Ontario Laser Masters Champ.

There is an asterisk beside the victory, unfortunately, because Morten Fogh, who scored three bullets on the first day, could not stay for the second. There is a second one, also, for Andy Roy, who could not make the trip.

But I remind myself that 80 per cent of success is showing up, so asterisk or not, I can rightly claim the incredibly large tankard that is now the trophy for the Ontario Masters. And the competition that did show up was very good. Tobin Young, Richard Sewards, Nigel Heath, Richard Roberts, Rick Goldt, et al are no slouches, and they didn't exactly hand the thing to me. In fact, the first race (all races were triangle, windward, leeward, short windward to finish) was a 5 for me, as Morten, Rick, Nigel and Tobin all crossed ahead.

The entire day was tricky. Big shifts came from both sides of the course and you had to be very selective which ones to tack on. Tack on the wrong one, and you were immediately headed again. They were 'shudder' shifts and, if you weren't patient for the solid shifts, were bound to get your head spinning and your boat to the back of the line. Most disconcerting in the first race was that Morten nailed them all and didn't just win, he sailed into a different postal code from the rest us to win by half a leg.

The second race was better. I found some downwind speed and ended up 2, and Morten's win didn't look as devastating. The first beat was an incredible experience. The windward mark was close enough to the shore that the shifts from right and left converged to create lots of holes to go along with the shifts. The fleet arrived at the last 100 feet of the beat in a pack, in different winds, with the boats at various angles to each other that did not in any way resemble the typical diamond shape we are used to. You could easily think you were about to round the mark first, only to be shunted to the middle of the fleet on a huge header, only to pop up again in the top five as the wind came back. Morten said it best at the end of the day when he said it was a day to sail in the wind you had and not to look around too much. Both the discouragement and the elation of seeing yourself relative to the other boats was completely unproductive.

In the third race, I scored another 2 by going deep right on the second beat. I rounded the first top mark near 9 or 10 and did nothing downwind but remembered that the local guy, Richard Roberts, tended to go right on the beats. That's always a good sign for a side so off I went to the lay line, and found the shift I was looking for.

In the last race of the day, Morten showed his mortal side, and somehow got buried on the first beat and never recovered. He ended up 10!! I can't help thinking he was sandbagging to make us feel better. Tobin grabbed that one, and I was chasing him around the course till the last short beat to the finish, when I decided to split with him and the third place boat, Hugh DesBrisay of Sturgeon Lake Sailing Club, in the hopes of finding something. What I found was an easy way to turn a 2 into a 3, as Hugh punched though to beat me at the line. Richard Sewards had a bad day, scoring 9, 9, 4, 6. Tobin Young was middling with a 4, 7, 8, 1. Nigel was quietly scoring well at 3,4,3,11. Those scores, along with Morten's bizzaar 10, actually put me, in straight-up scoring, one point ahead of Morten with a 5, 2, 2, 3, and ahead by four more if you count 'Old Guy Points.'

Now it's Saturday night, and I want to stop for a minute to tell the story of our arrival at our billet. My girlfriend and I were welcomed by Jean, Don and their lovely daughter Meg. After our hellos, shy Meg led us up to our room, which was an exquisitely appointed, large room with a bathroom. After showing us the room and pointing out its amenities, Meg, who might be eight years old, lightly pranced out the door, very happy that she had succeeded in using her exemplary manners. But, as I watched her leave, her faced turned unhappy and she stopped. She returned, having replaced her hopping with her more dignified former gait. She then came back into the room to grab the handle of the bedroom door. Carefully, she pulled the door to half closed, smiled again, and quickly left the room, proper manners restored.

I could tell you how fabulous the hospitality was at Sturgeon Point (and always is). I could tell you how wonderful it was to be greeted by happy young people instead of the sullen, morose black-garbed, tattooed kids of my Toronto streets. I could describe how welcome Alexis and I felt throughout the weekend, but I thought that story would do it for me.

Back to racing. Sunday morning dawned with Morten gone and the rest of us left to pretend we could have beaten him if he had stayed, and fight each other for a now wide-open race to the Ontario Championship for Old Guys in Little Boats. I threw down the gauntlet in the first race with a 1. I rounded the top mark behind Tobin, but as the wind strengthened, he couldn't keep up with my reaching and downwind speed. I passed him on the first reach, and the rest was a matter of covering the fleet, especially Nigel, who was closest. Tobin slipped to 4 while Richard Sewards grabbed the 2 and Nigel the three. Though I made some distance on Nigel, he was emerging as the guy to watch.

Then race six. Oh my. I am happy to say I had the wisdom to make all my mistakes in one race, but make them I did. As I waited for the start gun about 20 seconds out, I saw a patch of speed-choking weeds parked right in front of me on the line. There was just a little room for me to duck the weeds, and I did, but in the process, loaded up too much and popped over the line early. The recall horn sounded, and I hoped I was not it, but, of course, I was, and I had to take the long lonely sail back to the line. I deliberated whether to sail the course, as I was now very far behind, and finally decided to do so. And don'tcha know, I hike hard and picked right and found myself looking at a 5 by the last downwind leg. But I already had a 5 and so I figured there was no point getting another, so I started rockin' and rollin' downwind in 12 knots to catch buddy number 4.

When I want a hairy downwind ride, I like to sit with my knees together at right angles to the midline of the boat. It always feels like you are going to fall backwards into the water, but you also can react very quickly to a deathroll, too, so I think it is safer and faster if you can get the technique right. And it is crazy as shit in wind and waves. It makes the boat actually feel a bit like a surfboard.

So I switch over, and I can tell you it was fuuuuunnnn, but ultimately wet. By the time I got the thing back up and my mainsheet untangled from my tiller, I was back in 9 and stayed there.

That made the final race most interesting. With the throw-out, Nigel was one point behind me, and Tobin 6. Richard Sewards was further back, so Nigel continued to be the guy to watch.

I've seen it before with Nigel. In fact, at the recent Rat Spring WAR, Nigel snuck up on Brad Biskaborn and Ken Walton to win after the two of them knocked noses for the first seven races. He's quiet, steady and consistent. In one race Richard Sewards told me he was not sure which way to go on the upwind, so he just followed Nigel, because, he said, Nigel always knows where to go. I think Nigel likes to race his own race, and doesn't get too fussed up about other boats. He watches shifts, and takes them. Where I will split a tack just to see if I can get lucky, Nigel stays in phase, steers his boat, and lets other's get fancy.

He is also fast downwind. He is one of the few guys who seems to be able to make the boat go fast with the boom further than 90, which amazes me. I remember at the Ottawa Valley Masters two years ago, I was coming to the downwind mark from high right, while Nigel was behind and to the left. I was sure there was no buoy room for him until he gybed, came back to the mark by the lee with his main hung way out past 90 and going like he was being pulled by a motor boat. At the Buffalo Canoe Club the same year for a Gold Cup regatta, you could see him way off in the distance gybing back and forth downwind in light stuff, coming from 20 to 5 or 6 in one leg. He is always a threat and a terrific sailor.

As I usually do, I had made the situation interesting with my 9. It came down to; he beats me, he wins, I beat him, I win (this is without Old Guy Points, which I hate counting until I can't win any other way).

The wind piped up, which added to the interest, and made the conditions ideal for Richard Sewards and Tobin. Sure enough, though I started well, both Richard and Tobin power to the front, and Nigel and I, both lightweights, came in astern. I got out ahead of Nigel, and kept my eye on him to cover him loosely. I rounded ahead of Nigel at the bottom mark, and stay on port, while Nigel, about 10 boatlengths behind, rounded and tacked. I held a bit longer, and got the shift that won it for me by taking me from a few boatlengths to a chunk of boatlengths ahead. He was easier to cover as a result, and, while Richard and Tobin powered away, I was content to watch Nigel.

The finish is Richard, Tobin and me. For some reason that I didn't get to ask him about (he was a little bummed in the boatyard) Nigel slipped back to 7, and ended up third overall behind Tobin (That's without Old Guy Points. With them Nigel slips into 4th behind Richard Sewards as well).

So, for another year, I am officially the Old Guy of Ontario, with respect to absentees Morten and Andy Roy and all the other old guys in Ontario that couldn't make it and could have beat me and the rest. What a great fleet, what a great venue, what a great sport. See you at PCYC next week.

And thank you Meg.