Okanagan Lake was awash with sailboats on the May long weekend near Kelowna.
The Central Okanagan Sailing Association (COSA) held its 39th Annual Springtime Regatta, with 58 sailboats from around Western Canada competing in nine different fleets. The COSA regatta is the Interior’s largest dinghy event, and competitors were not disappointed this year with consistent winds contributing to a busy weekend of face-paced racing.
Bravo Course Race officer Steve Brunsden ran more than seven races on the Optimist, Feva, and Laser 4.7 course, challenging the 22 sailors, ages seven to 14.
Ava Halperin of COSA won the 4.7 fleet, followed closely by teammates Rory Wiebe and Lauren Grey in second and third place respectively. First overall in the Optimist Fleet and first in the Blue Division was COSA sailor Tyler Rubadeau, who took the podium, followed by Max Ramsey and Kyle Wright, also of COSA. Rubadeau’s win was particularly impressive, as he finished ahead of sailors in the Red Division, which is the oldest age category.
Ryan Yan Ching Lai of Port Moody placed first in the Red Division, while Kai Ramsey of COSA faced first in the White Division for the youngest sailors. The Green Division for sailors participating in their first regatta included sailors Fiona Atkinson, Nora Wagner, and Logan Wright.
The main racing course was officiated by race officer Ron Rubadeau with COSA sailors once again demonstrating strong sailing skills. Tiger Xiao of Port Moody finished first in the large Laser Radial fleet, followed by Alizon Littleton of COSA and Victoria Coady of Port Coquitlam, while the Laser Full Rig fleet was won by Josh Dean of West Vancouver.
The X-Class fleet was won by Andrew Parker and Brenda Bouchette of COSA on their Laser Vago XD, while the Hobie 18 fleet was led by William Schwenger and Angela McLaughlin of Cultus Lake.
“There were 13 podium spots were secured by COSA sailors, which bodes well for the coming race season,” said Regatta Organizer and head coach Devin Rubadeau. “I was particularly impressed by Ava Halperin in the Laser 4.7 fleet, Alizon Littleton in the Radial fleet, and Tyler Rubadeau in the Optimist fleet, who preserved against significant competition and challenging weather conditions to finish with excellent results.
Complete results of this year’s Springtime Regatta are available at: http://cosa.bc.ca/racing_regattas.php
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