LO300 Booklet 2010_04_09 Low RES - Lake Ontario 300

Page 38LO300Yacht Clubs with the course direction alternating each year.In 2005, boats sailed from west to east with the prevailing winds. And that windprevailed, giving boats a 20 knot screaming downwind start on a starboard jibewith the wind at about 170 degrees true. Most yachts were clearing Point Peleejust after sunset and jibed there to follow the rhumb. During the jibe, Hiawathamanaged to put her spinnaker pole through the chute and tore about 5 panels.However, the change to the 1½ oz. chute was the right decision as the windcontinued to build. It peaked at about 30 with some 35 knot gusts at just aboutmidnight, then eased and went south. During the next day the wind continued tolighten and when the division leaders were about five miles out of Presque Isle, itturned wildly variable.The Hiawatha crew picked up on the changing wind and executed a jibe and thenwent to a genoa before the fleet knew what hit them. The maneuvers let her sneakahead, crossing the line 17 minutes in front of the next boat in division. An elapsedtime of 25 hours, 12 minutes and 51 seconds gave Hiawatha a division first and 5thoverall.Lake OntarioThe Lake Ontario 300Lake Ontario, like Lake Erie, is oriented from east to west and is about 200 mileslong and 45 miles wide. Although it has slightly less surface area than Erie, itcontains morewater due to itsmuch greaterdepth. It fills withwater from theother Great Lakesafter it passes overNiagara Falls. Boatsmust traverse theeight locks of theWelland Canal tomove from Erie toOntario and back.The east end ofLake Ontario is subject to frequent healthy seas as the prevailing winds can drivewaves its full length.In 2006, the Lake Ontario 300 race began just off the Oakville Yacht Club, 10miles west of Toronto. As now, it had two courses, a 300 kilometer (~180 nm)course for non-spinnaker boats and a 300 nm circumnavigation of the lake forspinnaker sailors. The long course in 2006 headed east to Toronto and duckedinside the Gibralter Buoy just off the Toronto Islands (that form her harbour). Fromthere racers cleared the Toronto headland and followed the Lake’s northern shoreLO300 Booklet 2010_03_12 FINAL.indd 3809/04/2010 9:09:21 PM