One Girls Ocean Challenge

August 30, 2012
Off to Plattsburgh New York tomorrow morning to race on Etoile D’Argent with our great friends of Aquafolia.  At the Omnium Champlain Regatta.  It should be tons of fun…particularly for the competitors on Saturday night, as I’m telling them the story of One Girl’s Ocean Challenge….in FRENCH!  I’ve been practicing rolling my rrrrrs all week and I think I’m almost
tolerable!
Diane

August 27, 2012
Thank you to everyone who came out to see us at the Port Credit In Water Boat Show.  It was fantastic to see you all and to share some exciting stories!  We also got to catch up with our friends at UK Halsey, The Store, CMC Marine and Bristol Marine, all of whome have been instrumental in keeping OGOC running hard and fast.  Up next is the Omnium Champlain Regatta this coming weekend with Aquafolia on Etoile D’argent.  We’re the returning champion….no pressure!

Diane

August 24, 2012

August 23, 2012
We got the boat to the , only she’s not sitting on her keel.  Small dilemma with the new glass work fitting.  No problem, we’ll have her all sparkly for you tomorrow….just without the keel.  See you at the In Water Boat Show!
Diane

August 23, 2012
Today’s mission……get this mini’s keel up off of the ground and onto the trailer for the ride from Kingston to Toronto.  The problem……the crane operator is on holiday!  Plan B is being attempted.  Comeon, it’s only 975lbs…..can’t be that difficult to lift!   This is a picture of the Mini in question just before it came out of it’s shipping container.  The owner is graciously letting us use his mini for the .  Stay tuned for further developments 🙂

Diane

August 21, 2012
With my crazy schedule, I’ve missed my workout over the past two weeks.  Last night I was back at it though, and wow, could I really feel it.  Punishment in a good way for the missed days.  It’s critical that I stay in shape while I’m away from Mini sailing.  Good thing I’ve got to keep me going!

See you at the this Weekend!  I’ll be there with a boat that looks just like mine.  See what it’s like to spend thirty days alone in a tiny little cockpit and hear all the stories of racing in France’s Bay of Biscay and the gruelling Fastnet Race!
Diane

August 17, 2012

The LOORG 100 mile race is this weekend!  I’ll be racing on Sheila’s J109 – Phoenix.  The race course will take us from Port Credit to Gibralter, to the Burlington Weather Mark, to Niagara’s R2 and then back to Port Credit.  It’s a circumnavigation of the west end of Lake Ontario.  This is going to be a race of patience and finesse, with light wind less than ten knots all the way around the course.  This kind of racing certainly builds our tolerance levels!!!!  Phoenix is in first place right now, so we’re feeling a little  pressure to do well 🙂  Cross your fingers and hope for a good night breeze to get us through the tough stuff!
Diane

August 6, 2012
The Saturday racing of LYRA was full of hi winds and exhilaration.  The competition was tough in our IRC fleet with a wide range of ratings, rig styles and boat speeds.  We worked our way through our entire wind range of sails, finishing up with our number 3 head sail and fractional spinnaker.  We ended up in fourth with only one point between each of 2nd, 3rd and 4th.  Sunday we were looking forward to going out after our target boats to gain a podium position when the weather Gods decided differently.  With our boat needing to get back to Toronto for Monday night and a strong storm scheduled to come through on Sunight, the boat opted to head to Rochester.  They would wait out most of the storm Sunday evening and then head to Toronto as soon as the storm broke.  We’ll fight for a prize again another day!
PS, our Freeman win got downsized to a third place, due to a recalculation of the finish times.
Diane

August 3, 2012
Xoomer Xpress wins the Freeman Cup! We had a great team and a great time!  Our corrected finish time was a little over half an hour ahead of second.  Thanks to everyone who made it such a fantastic event!
Diane