 |
|
|
|
|
On
the water in style on Canada's East Coast 2004 Nina Parker was 16 years old when she went on a sailing holiday with her father, Captain John P. Parker, Master Mariner, aboard the NIMA, their Baddeck built cruising boat. Captain Parker, used to navigating large ships, plotted his course, over 150 nautical miles across the Cabot Strait from Cape Breton to the French Island of St Pierre. Sure that his little vessel would be treated like a cork by waves and tide, he made large compensation allowances on his compass course. A surprised Nina was awoken at 3AM by the boat gently grounding in seemingly the middle of the Cabot Strait. At dawn, on the falling tide, the boat was lying on its side on a large expanse of fog bound shingle beach. Nina started walking and after several miles she discovered a farmer. The farmer gave her a ride back to the boat on what she described as a homemade motorcycle complete with a hay rake seat for the passenger and helped the boat off the beach. Captain Parker had discovered the isthmus that runs between Grande Miquelon and Petite Miquelon (Langlade), islands which are part of archipelago of the eight small islands of St Pierre and Miquelon, to the west of his intended destination of St Pierre. Jaques Cartier stopped at this same archipelago named Eleven Thousand Virgins and re-named the islands St Pierre and Miquelon. The Islands remained French until the Treaty of Utrecht gave them to the British, but they were returned to France to guarantee French fishing rights in North America. Acadians and people from Isle Royale settled in St Pierre and developed a strong fishing industry and strong religious and trading connections with Newfoundland amid the turbulence of the 18th and 19th centuries. During prohibition, St Pierre warehoused liquor for gangsters such as Al Capone and Bill (the real) McCoy. Now, 'The only fragment of France in North America' uses the Euro for its currency. This overseas department of France, located 2,365 nautical miles (knots) from the west coast of France, approximately 353 knots by ocean from Halifax and 169 from the town of Louisbourg on the former Isle Royale offers real morning baguettes, French coffee and duty free shopping. Recently, this reasonable proximity to Nova Scotia gave ocean racers the idea of creating another international yacht race to compliment the Marblehead-Halifax ocean race. The idea of racing between two countries is an exciting one; yachts constantly cross the English Channel, racing to European destinations, Australians race to Tasmania and New Zealand, Caribbean residents race from country to country; just an island away, Americans race to Bermuda and South Africans race across the South Atlantic to Brazil. The camaraderie with fellow racers that comes with a good arrival in a foreign port is addictive! The first Route Halifax-St Pierre ocean race was held in July 2002. Instigated by competitors Hal Davies of Halifax and Philippe Paturel of St Pierre, the race attracted 21 entries. Winner of the Division 1 PHRF Class was Rob Peters and crew aboard 'Broomstick', a Hobie 33. Rob, the current president of the Premier Class Association, was so delighted with his finish and the reception of the fleet in St Pierre, that he presented the Town Mayor, Karine Claireaux, with the 'Broomstick' battle ensign, as a guarantee for the return of the fleet in 2004. The 2004 organizing committee involves the Yacht Club de St Pierre, the Premier Class Association, a Halifax based organization for performance fast handicap monohulls over 30' and dedicated the improvement of yacht racing, and the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron. Management Chair, Doug Ridgewell of Halifax is expecting upwards of 45 entries for 2004. Managing an event like this requires volunteers and co-ordination; the management team is responsible for finding sponsorship to fund the race, organizing course judging, starts and finishes, shore side services for racers, receptions and planning the day to day management of the event. Key to running a successful ocean race is a good handicapping system. Handicapping provides a competitive environment for yachts that are not the same. The Performance Handicap Racing Fleet (PHRF) rule will be used for the entrants in the Route Halifax-St Pierre. This is an observational rule; the handicap is based on yacht performance and a large database of ratings in maintained in North America. Elapsed time over the course is measured and the PHRF handicap adjusts the time to give corrected time. Division 1 will race from Halifax directly to St Pierre starting from the Maritime Museum in Halifax Harbour on July 8th. This Division will have two Classes, an Open Class open to all yachts, but particularly intended for International Monohull Open Class Association yachts, and a PHRF Class for monohull cruiser racer yachts. Division 11 will start on July 6th and the boats will race a first leg to Louisbourg, Cape Breton. Yachts may join the fleet to race the second leg to St Pierre starting July 10th in Louisbourg. Division 11 has two classes; Class 1 is monohull cruiser racers and Class 11 is for cruising yachts competing with out free flying sails. The finish of the race is scheduled to coincide with annual Bastille Day celebrations on St Pierre on July 14th. The Route Halifax -St Pierre kicks off a great opportunity for a cruising holiday around the Atlantic Provinces. Race organizers hope that racers will take advantage of the Route Halifax-St Pierre impetus and not only cruise, but also participate in other sailing regattas in Atlantic Canada. To facilitate this, they have arranged to ship cruising gear from Halifax to Saint Pierre, and to return racing gear to Halifax. Modern
navigational equipment for yachts makes navigating the Cabot Strait more
accurate for sailors than when Captain Parker cruised the NIMA, but it
remains a challenging stretch of water and entrants must be well
prepared for the conditions of the North Atlantic in July. The Route Halifax Saint-Pierre 2004 offers seaworthy racing and cruising yachts the opportunity to compete in a race to Saint-Pierre. The intention of the event is to create relationships of sailors from France, the United States and Canada to celebrate the sea at the Bastille Day festivities in Saint-Pierre on July 14th 2004. A Cordial Invitation is extended to owners of eligible racing and cruising yachts to apply for entry into the Route Halifax Saint-Pierre 2004 starting on July 6th for Division II and July 8th for Division I. Yachts, particularly from the Cape Breton and Northumberland Strait area, are invited to join Division II for the Louisbourg to Saint-Pierre leg starting on July 10th. Entry
forms are available by contacting the RNSYS
telephone (902) 477-5653. Information and related forms are also
available on the RNSYS web site at www.rnsys.com.
|
