Lake Yacht Racing Association

LYRA 2012 at Oswego Yacht Club

Combining business with pleasure, several Oswego Yacht Club boats traveled to the western end of the lake to promote the 2012 regatta and sail at Levels in Youngstown, and LYRA in Port Credit. In addition to doing quite well on the race course they made many new friends, spoke with several potential sponsors, and observed the operation of the 2011 LYRA regatta.

The LYRA 2012 Regatta Organizing Committee made significant progress in the planning process over the summer. Pending approval at the AGM on November 12th in Oswego, sites for both the Centennial Cup and Founders Cup feeders races have been confirmed. The Rochester Yacht Club has agreed to host the start of the Centennial Cup on July 31st and the Henderson Harbor Yacht Club will be the host club for the start of the Oswego Founders Cup on either the 30th or 31st. The course for the Freeman Cup has yet to be determined but will most likely include a rounding at Ford Shoals, and either the government mark at Duck Island and/or the weather buoy. The race management team is also taking shape. Hank Stuart has agreed to serve as PRO and Wayne Bretsch will be one of the other two race officers. A complete report will be given at the AGM in November, so plan on attending. In the mean time, log on to the official LYRA 2012 Annual Regatta web site . As your class or one design fleet contemplates next year's schedule, consider LYRA in Oswego as the site for a major event. If you have any questions please contact John Gary.

LYRA 2011 Regatta Champions

To win a LYRA regatta championship, a boat must out-perform its competitors based on a weighted average of one feeder race, the Freeman race, and the course racing. The 2011 LYRA Regatta champions were:

    PHRF - Sail a Vie, Francis Enwright
    IRC - Cesan, Paul Delacourt
    One Design - Seaweed, Don Finkle

The course racing overall winners were:
    PHRF - Futures, John Reinhold
    IRC - Hot Water, John McLeod

Full results are on the regatta website at www.LYRA-2011.com.

 LYRA 2011 from a competitor's standpoint

One of the aspects of the LYRA Annual regatta that I look forward to is the moving venue each year.  The opportunity to sample the sailing conditions, local attractions and hospitality of a different club adds spice to the program and avoids the "same old, same old" syndrome.  Add in the fact that the fleet make-up changes as the regatta moves and you have an event unlike any other on Lake Ontario.  Going into LYRA 2011 we had high expectations for PCYC and the job they would do in hosting this prestigious regatta with a history that spans over one and a quarter centuries.  From our perspective they did not disappoint.  If you have not been to PCYC recently you will be pleasantly surprised by the quality of the facilities, with a modern dock system, ample parking, a swimming pool and of course bar and restaurant, etc.  Whatever we needed was there.  When it came to after racing food and beverage the club did an excellent job, the food was plentiful and in our opinion very well priced.  PCYC clearly made a significant effort to provide for our needs.  Toronto and all that it offers is not far away and that was also convenient, especially as we had one crew member flying in.

There were three race course areas, and the distance to each course was not far.  On the Friday two courses were in use, one for the IRC Canadian Championship, the other for the 3 day course racing one design fleets.  On Saturday and Sunday a third course was employed for PHRF and to accommodate 2 day one design.  Race committees did the best they could to get in races in conditions that were not always favorable.  Scoring was posted promptly.  Awards presentations were very well done with photos and even a podium.

I can't think of anything that PCYC could have done to make us feel welcome and provide for a first-rate event that they did not do.  Considering that they had already run the PCYC Open, LO 300, Steerer's and Four Sisters regattas in the month prior, plus providing race committee support for the Youngstown Levels, the job they did was superb.  Congratulations to Don French and the rest of the PCYC team for all of their efforts.

Next year the regatta moves all the way east to Oswego YC, and I for one am very much looking forward to it.  The Oswego gang brought several boats to LYRA 2011 to get a flavor for what was needed when they host and they took home a pile of silver to go along with their experiences. 

I hope you'll be there too.

 Don Finkle, LYRA VP and skipper Beneteau 36.7 Seaweed

LYRA 2011 from the PRO's perspective

From the Principal Race Officer's perspective it was a great regatta. As with any event like this we all wish that the attendance had been a little higher especially in the PHRF and one design classes. That being said, the organizers did a phenomenal job in supporting the Race Committees. The meals were excellent, the shirts were great and the party was superb (at least I am told it was) and, most importantly, it came very close to their attendance goals.

I want to thank all of the attendees for coming to help us celebrate PCYC's 75th Anniversary. Without you none of these things can happen and we want to do everything we reasonably can to make you welcome. If there were things that you would like to see changed please do not hesitate to let me know.

Having said that... there were issues in that the wind was a constantly moving target and it was difficult to keep the racing fair but I was more than pleased with the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the committees on all the courses for the way they handled their respective issues. The Course Race Officers and their support personnel were awesome throughout the whole event.

There were issues ashore as that sometimes come with hosting a larger event and it is unfortunate when the party interferes with the rights of the host clubs members. I heard of several minor things that staff members were called on to handle and there were two major issues, one of which resulted in the police being called and a sailor being charged with an offence.

It has a negative impact on our sport whenever things like this occur but it is, to some extent, part of the "party atmosphere" that engulfs the attendees and like a hangover, it persists after the party ends. I am sure PCYC will recover but it is worth mentioning that common sense when you are visiting another Club is a good thing to keep handy especially during the party.

On the whole, I would rank this as a very successful event and a meaningful way to help celebrate 75 years of excellence at PCYC. We are anxious to improve upon this event and our Race Management practices. It is a goal that cannot be accomplished without your continued support and attendance.

I heard it said during the lead up to the event that LYRA is an "Elite" event. It is to some extent but truly, it is an opportunity to get to know and compete against new people. All of which can only make us better.

Next year the event will be in Oswego which is a gateway to one of the most beautiful cruising grounds anywhere. I encourage everyone from the west end of the Lake to consider attending this wonderful event. I know that they will put on a tremendous show and it will be a fantastic way to get to have a good holiday.

See you in 2012.

Pat Lymburner