Alberta:
The Alberta 505 fleet is mainly based at Wabamun Sailing Club with 5 – 505’s. The Wabamun 505 fleet boasts representation from across the province, with members from Red Deer and the newest member from Calgary. There are also a couple 505’s based in southern Alberta. In the past few years, The Alberta 505 Fleet has been reinvigurated and traveled the Alberta circuit of WSC, Calgary Yacht Club, St. Mary’s in Lethbridge and Brooks. We also try to encourage participation in the Pacific Northwest fleet regattas.
Contact: James Brown (403)347-7094
Kingston:
The Kingston fleet sails out of the Kingston Yacht Club, on Lake Ontario. Although not large in numbers, the Kingston fleet has some very competitive boats. Kingston has hosted more major 505 regattas than any other site in North America, owing to the great sailing conditions for which Kingston in known.
In 2001, Kingston will again host the North American Championships, August 8-12. This regatta plans to be a great event, with most of the top US 505 sailors expected, in addition to a good Canadian turn-out. Centrally located, with great winds and a reputation for running first class regattas, most 505ers can only dream of living in Kingston; the rest of us get to travel there for regattas.
Contact: Jeff Boyd
Ottawa (fleet 4)
The Ottawa fleet is strong and growing. We have 17 boats in the Nepean Sailing Club yard and at least 2 of those will be new boats on the line this year for Wednesday night club racing. We usually get about 10 boats for local club racing. The majority of the 505’s in Ottawa are at the Nepean Sailing Club (NSC) http://www.nsc.ca/nsc.htm and there are a few at the Lac Deschene sailing club as well.
The 505’s participate in 2 local regattas put on by the NSC every year. These are the Nepean One Design and the Fanfare Regatta. In 2006 the regattas will be held June 17th & 18th and September 9th & 10th respectively.
Ottawa fleet members often travel to Eastern regattas in Kingston, and the Eastern Seaboard. Some crossed the continent in 2004 for the North Americans and Worlds in Santa Cruz, USA.
Ottawa is active, growing, and would love to include anyone who is interested in 505 sailing in the Ottawa area.
Contact: Tom Janidlo
Quebec:
Sailing a 505 on the St. Lawrence River in Quebec City offers excitement and challenges to any sailor. The sailing sites for dry moored boats are either Beauport Bay or just above the bridge at Cap Rouge. The only active 505 in the Quebec City region normally sails out of Cap Rouge when the marina opens each day for 5-6 hours around high tide. The predominate SW winds are notably steady, and regularly provide enjoyable waves and ideal trapezing conditions. It’s also an ideal location to marvel at the forces of nature as the water level can change by up to 18 ft between high and low tide, and tidal currents attain up to 4 kn.
For class racing, it is necessary to travel to regattas organized by 505 fleets, the closest one being in Ottawa. The lone 505 in Quebec City would like to be joined by others and its owner would welcome and encourage anyone interested in acquiring a high performance dinghy to first take a ride in a 505.
Contact:
James Cruickshank
(418) 872-8561
Toronto;
The Toronto 505 fleet (Fleet 14) continues to be active with some half a dozen boats at the Outer Harbour Centreboard Club (www.sailohcc.ca) and interest from new members and other dinghy sailors wishing to try the best centreboard boat.
Races are held twice a week, on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, in a fleet composed mostly of older 505s but that doesn’t make the racing any less keen. As the fleet grows, so does the competition! Tuesday night’s race is followed by a dinner (with wine) and shooting the breeze with the other racing classes. We also compete in mixed club events both in the Outer Harbour and on the lake.
The club hosts an annual 505 open regatta – for 2006 it is the Eastern Canadian Championship on July 15th/16th – with spectacular views of the Toronto waterfront from out on Lake Ontario. We can also guarantee trapezing conditions! Look us up – there are still a few membership spots open at the club.
Contact: Angus Ross 416-266-2025
Vancouver:
The Vancouver fleet keeps rolling along, we have about 11 boats sailing out of Kitsilano Yacht Club, with a couple of more boats in the surrounding areas. There’s usually at least 5 or 6 boats on the start line on any given race night. www.kitsilanoyachtclub.com
The fleet is integrated quite closely with the other fleets in the Pacific Northwest, including a few boats from BC’s interior, and we try to race as many events as we can with the boats from the Seattle area, which has a rapidly growing fleet sailing primarily out of the Corinthian Yacht Club in Seattle. www.pnw505.org.
Our highlights for the 2006 season include the usual local Kits events, the Kitsilano Invitational July 8/9 and the Bluenose Nov 4/5; as well as a couple of popular long-distance races which offer a nice change from the normal round-the-buoys format. We’re also planning on hosting the Canadian Championships this year on July 29/30, just two weekends before the NA’s in San Fransisco. The plan is to try and race the Canadians out of Squamish again, which gets consistent 15-20 knot + breeze in the summers, a hotspot for kiteboarders and windsurfers. The Pacific Coast Champs should be equally fun, at the windiest spot in North America, the Gorge in Oregon on June 10/11.
The 505 fleet continues to be one of the largest & most active dinghy fleets on English Bay, and we’re always happy to showcase the boat to interested sailors.
Contact:
Reto Corfu
(604)317-3833
