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Events>2003>Invitation to the Worlds

The Vancouver Island Tasar Fleet has done an excellent job organizing this event and it promises to be one of the best regattas the Tasar Class has ever experienced. I can state this with a great deal of confidence having participated in the 2002 Pre-Worlds and the 2001 North American Championships that took place on the same sailing venue and the same time of year for the 2003 World Championship. Here are a couple of insights from those experiences:

People/Conjeniality Canadians to begin with are nice people. Take the Western most Province; find a large Mountainous Island that sits in the Pacific Ocean and you have incredibly friendly people who are helpful, informative, and fun loving.

Location Victoria, BC is a great city that lends itself to walking, shopping, and people watching. A stroll around the inner harbour and Parliament buildings on a sunny evening will be a memorable event. Vancouver Island has outdoor activities in abundance. Hiking, fishing, kayaking, beachcombing, mountain biking, rock climbing, and many other activities are available to those interested.

Climate/Weather June 21 is the longest day of the year in North America. In Victoria, the sun will set after 9:00 pm everday of the worlds. It really does not get dark until 10:00 pm. For those of you who think of Canada as a cold, icy place, think again about Victoria. They rarely get any snow and in summer it is dry, warm and pleasant. On the water, you’ll need your wetsuit, but shoreside, expect shorts and t-shirts, with maybe a sweater or light jacket.

Sailing Venue Awesome! Clean, cold water in an area devoid of other boats and watercraft. During a weeklong regatta we will probably see a little bit of every condition, but the typical breeze is a thermal westerly of about 9-16 knots. Be prepared for fabulous views of Snow Capped Mountains, Bald Eagles and perhaps an Orca sighting.

Race Management The Principal Race Officer, Terry Stamper has run several World Championships, the 2002 Tasar Pre-Worlds and the 2001 Tasar North Americans. He is an accomplished sailor in his own right, knows Tasars, and argueably knows the conditions in and around Fleming Bay, Victoria better than any living human. He’ll send us in when it is bad, and make us wait for the thermal that is about to come, because he knows what those clouds mean over on the Olympic Peninsula.

Shoreside Venue The Canadian Forces Sailing Association (navy) base is a perfect place to host a regatta. They have the requisite bar, food service, and all the facilities a sailor needs including a complete boat shop and boatwrights. (At the pre-worlds, we had a holed bow section of boat that was fixed good as new overnight!) It also sits on a fabulous location with a grassy lawn overlooking the bay to the west. A nice place to have a beer.

So please join us on Vancouver Island in June for the First Tasar World Championships. It will be a great experience for all involved no matter how you place. Please contact me if I can help you in any way of if you have any questions about this regatta.

I’ll see you on the water,

Allan F. Johnson NATA President USA 2687 – Pteranodon allanfj@hotmail.com 206-799-6311

updated 2002-12-18

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