Chris Doyle Wins J/22 Canadian Championship(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)- In 1969 a group of enthusiastic sailors decided to establish CORK to host international sailing events off Kingston. The area offers some of the best fresh-water sailing in the world, excellent wind and wave conditions, and a short distance from shore to the race courses. Leading up to the 1976 Olympics, the CORK regatta offered excellent training for sailors, coaches and officials and has since become a fixture on the international calendar. CORK has hosted championships for international classes out of the Portsmouth Olympic Harbour for the past 36 years.
Working closely with the Ontario Sailing Association and the Canadian Yachting Association, the annual CORK Regatta has a total participation of more than 1,000 boats, it is a magnificent two week sailing festival, attracting sailors not only from North America but from all over the world.
This year's event pretty much served up what most expect of Kingston's fabled sailing conditions. Located at the eastern end of Lake Ontario and the head of the St. Lawrence River, the combination of land mass, islands and thermal effects produce excellent wind and wave conditions with very little current. Winds during July/ August are predominantly from a south-westerly direction, with an afternoon wind range of 10-15 knots. The J/22 sailors were got what they expected for their 2012 J/22 Canadian Championship held as part of CORK Race Week. Sailed from Aug 24th to 26th, the nineteen J/22 teams enjoyed six races over Saturday and Sunday on Lake Ontario. In the end, Chris Doyle, Will Harris and Adams Burns finished in first, Michele Cimon, Johan Koppernaes and David O’Sullivan in second and Kevin Doyle, Victor Snyder and their crew in third. Chris Doyle's team was just smokin'hot, scoring five 1st and dropping a 2nd to win the regatta by a landslide with only 5 pts. Hard to beat a perfect score, eh!? Michele Simon's Canadian team wished they could take back their first race, but she and her team fought back hard to hold off yet another member of the Doyle family from Rochester, Kevin Doyle, to grab 2nd overall with a 6-4-2-2-3-1 scoreline for 12 pts net. Third was Kevin Doyle's gang from Rochester sailing to a 2-3-2.5-4-2-17 to finish with 13.5 pts net.
The Canadian teams sailed well, showing they're no pushovers by the top American teams. Other than the two Doyle family teams, the Canadians grabbed three of the top five slots. In fourth was Trevor Collins sailing with Doug Mair and Alexandra Leus and in fifth was Ron Harris sailed with Pete Amos and John Marten. For more J/22 Canadian Championship and CORK Race Week sailing information
