At the Canadian Yachting Association’s annual general meeting, which took place on Saturday, October 27th, a resolution to change the CYA’s name was considered by the representatives of the CYA membership.The original motion for Sailing Canada was modified to Sail Canada following a friendly amendment approved by the voting representatives. 

When the amended motion was put to the meeting, it was carried by an overwhelming majority.  The organization will now be known as Sail Canada / Voile Canada, a move that brings the 81 year old organization in line with most of the other Canadian national governing bodies in the sport.

This past weekend Sheboygan, Wisconsin was host to the 2012 US Finn Nationals from Thursday October 11 to Sunday, October 15th. Conditions were on the tougher side of fall sailing for this 35 boat fleet, with sunny but cold weather and 4-8 knots starting the regatta off. Friday saw more wind and tougher conditions for the fleet with big breeze and big sea's.The young guns battled against each other while the older members of the class started to drop out. The wind built to a sturdy 20 plus on Saturday, producing 8-10 foot swells and forcing all races to be called off. Back on course Sunday saw the conclusion of the regatta and winners announced. Canadian Olympic Finn sailor Greg Douglas took 2nd over all, with team mate Martin Robitaille two places behind him in 4th. Congrats to American Caleb Paine from San Diego on winning the regatta. Congrats also to Greg Douglas, who has moved up to 8th overall on the ISAF world rankings in the Finn Class – nice work Dougie! For full results check here and continue to follow the Canadian Sailing Team on Facebook and at canadiansailingteam.ca. Sail fast Canada!

The CYA High Performance review is under way this week with a stacked agenda in Toronto, ON. Discussions will continue from the strategic work already developed earlier this year at the HP summit in Toronto. The spring summit was the starting point for developing a High Performance Plan for the next quadrennial and beyond. Input has been provided by coaches, sailors, PSAs and CYA's High Performance Advisor at 'Own the Podium' (OTP). This initial work will be expanded on by reflecting on the London Olympic/Paralympic Games experience by groups such as the CYA Athlete Development Committee, in association with the HP management team, and will take into account parallel actions of OTP in their independent review of the Games.

The Open 2.4mR Worlds took place over the weekend in beautiful Porto San Giorgio Italy, where 90 boats from around the world raced over a series of 10 races. Competition was a combination of able and disabled body athletes, men and women, making for a dynamic fleet. Canadian Olympic Sonar sailor Bruce Millar was on the scene where he finished 7^th overall! With 57 points in total, Bruce had 6 top ten finishes. His discards were a 21 and a 14. Racing Millar on the course was Stellan Berlin from Sweden who is Canadian Paul Tingley’s Olympic 2.4mR coach. Berlin raced a very tight regatta, with four bullets and a one point loss on taking gold. Conditions were fair for the fleet over the course of the regatta, with races held each day and a practice race before hand.

The former Olympic Class Soling’s are currently battling for the world title at Milwaukee Yacht club, and it’s the Canadians in the top three positions. September 17^th – 23^rd will see 30 boats from 9 countries competing in a fleet littered with World Champion sailors in what’s sure to be tight competition. Measurement was completed over the course of two days and inclement weather prevented racing from taking place on day one. Wind in the 20 knot range forced Principal Race Officer Joe Strassman to abandon the race for the day and avoid any equipment issues or injuries at the start of the regatta. Crews spent the day at the local breweries sampling some of the local tastes. Day two saw a continuation of heavy conditions, with shifty puffy breeze filling from the west. Currently it’s Peter Hall’s boat in the lead, followed closely by Billy Abbot and Hans Fogh. Three more days of racing will determine this years Soling World Champions. To follow the results check the event website here, and at www.canadiansailingteam.ca. Good luck Canada!

With a new Quad already underway it is interesting to see what is the same and what is changing on the international circuit. While many things are still up in the air as ISAF elects a new president in November, closer to the water things are looking interesting.

The 49er class is looking to radically change its format to conform to a TV/internet audience. The European championships will be decided in a 1 hour final series with only the top boats racing. 3 short course (Theatre Style) races will determine the top 4 who will race a single time for the championship… talk about a change from teams having a championship locked up with the medal race (or 2) to go!