2018 Optimist Canadians to be held in Squamish, BC
After delays and several date changes, the Canadian Optimist Dinghy Association has announced the Notice of Race for its 2018 championships, to be held in late August in Squamish, British Columbia. The Canadian Optimist championships were held in 2015 in the same venue and attracted 57 participants, mostly local ones (as compared to some 150 participants in Halifax in 2017). In 2015, sailing was only possible in Squamish one out of the 5 days of the championships, because of bad weather. High costs are probably a key reason for the low participation. One can also compare that past participation to Optimist CORK (in Kingston, ON), which attracted 128 participants in 2017 - even the less-attended Fall CORK regatta attracted more sailors) Some clubs, for example in the Montreal area, presently don’t have advanced Optimist teams and are unlikely to be present. This year, it is already known that some of the best sailors in Canada will be absent from the national championship, ...