Light winds couldn’t dampen the University of Victoria Sailing Club’s biggest Western Canada Cup regatta to date, with 72 sailors competing on the waters of Cadboro Bay this past weekend.
The regatta was hosted out of Royal Victoria Yacht Club, with 16 teams from as far as UC San Diego, UC Davis, Arizona State, University of Washington, Western Washington University and the University of British Columbia. Racing went Saturday and Sunday for the Intercollegiate Class Flying Junior class dinghy.
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Winds were light both days, with a maximum of five km/h, however, limiting the regatta to 12 races. UVic Sailing Club race team director Shawna Eggleston praised the principal race officers David Berry and Reid Cannon for their efforts.
“I was really impressed with how many races we saw this weekend despite the light conditions,” Eggleston said. “Dave and Reid did a wonderful job of setting the race courses and keeping the races competitive.”
“I’m thrilled to say that the showing at this year’s Western Canada Cup was the largest we’ve ever seen,” says UVic Sailing Club president Colin Bishop, “It’s incredible to have such a strong showing from Northwest Intercollegiate sailing teams as well as from our friends from California and Arizona.”
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The University of Washington Huskies won the cup, narrowly beating the UBC Thunderbirds. The host UVic Vikes took seventh place in the tightly contested collegiate fleet.
“The regatta was a resounding success and we are incredibly grateful to everyone who was able to support us,” says club vice-president Charlotte Clark. “In particular I’d like to thank Royal Victoria for accommodating our fleet on and off the water, as well as NoodleBox for feeding our sailors and Mark It With Ink for handling the trophy.”