News

Happy Canada Day! This July please join us at:

1. Tuesday Laser & Catamaran races 6pm
2. Thursday Laser races and possible coaching depending upon numbers
   
3. Wednesday July 4 Paddle Night 6:30pm with Sylvia. Chantal may lead other nights
   
4. Thursday July 12 Club BBQ 7pm

Try to keep cool and hydrated as we hover around 29C this week. Watch for the effects of heat illness: swelling, rash, cramps, fainting, heat exhaustion, heat stroke and the worsening of some health conditions.

Notices:

Racks - There are still two boats that are occupying other member's spots. The first one is on harbour rack 1, berth 1, sticker #0883. The second is on south shore rack 5, berth 7, sticker #1073. Please contact: sylvwin2@hotmail.com

Member run socials will happen Saturday July 21, Sunday July 22, and Saturday July 28.

Oh, world politics. Canadians looking to buy a new U.S. made sailboat, as of today, will have a 10 per cent tariff added. If looking to save try other origins as well and the various classifieds online.

May you enjoy the summer from our beach sharing Toronto' beautiful parkland and waterfront with its residents and visitors. 

Skip the 400. Keep an eye on the wind and get on the water! 

Club members are welcome to have socials with their friends who are non-members. The Club must remain accessible to the general membership, of course. Each party must be approved on a one-by-one basis and operate under our set of rules such as leaving the Club cleaner than found. 

Upcoming: 

Sat. July 21 - Sarah Pointer and Greg is hosting friends

Sat. July 28 - Ted Kerr is hosting ten friends 

Sun. July 29 - Bill Spurrell is hosting Ryerson's Trampoline Club

Related: Membership rules

High Fleet

Low Fleet

Posted by John Weakley
www.sailwave.com

2018 Spring War Laser Regatta, June 2-3, 2018

TBA

Tacking for Lasers appeared in The International Laser Class Association's blog on May 30, 2018 

By Jon Emmett, a professional sailing coach in the UK

One of the beauties of Lasers is just how well they tack—if tacked well. Races are anything but a boat speed race to the corner in most venues and conditions, which means those who have their head out of the boat and good boat handling can gain on every small shift and gust, giving some of the best one design racing available. 

Read more in ILCA's blog...

Register now for the Heinz Gebauer Spring War June 2-3, 2018

Registration 9-10am

Skippers Meeting 10am

First Warning Signal 11am

First Warning Signal Sunday – 10:30am

BBQ after sailing Saturday

Save the date! Online registration to come. 

June 2 & 3 - Laser Regatta

June 16 & 17 - Catamaran Regatta

Tuesday - Laser and Cat races for fun. All skill levels. Approx 6pm

Thursday - include Laser training. Several of our experienced sailors will pass along hints, tips, and valuable training points to those looking to improve.

There are three purposes for these group sails.... 
1. To get people out on the water.... and .... 
2. Meet other people in the club (and friends of)
3. Improve our sailing skills!

Many thanks to Mike Doell (our Race Rat) for spearheading this. 

- via Norm's email.

"We need 3 volunteers for each of the 4 summer BBQs. This involves being at the club at around 6pm, helping with set-up, and to clean up afterwards, including cleaning dishes, bowls, utensils, taking out the garbage, etc. Last year the BBQs drew about 50 members and clean-up help was really needed.

For anyone who would like to organize an entire BBQ, it entails choosing the menu, buying all the stuff, meat, veggies, salad, condiments, drinks, etc. Of course I would help out as well and there will be 3 volunteers to clean up. I could also buy the meat of that would help.

This would pay 6 work hours so you’d be done for the season. You’d be reimbursed the same evening, just hold on to all receipts. Let me know if this appeals to you and call me or email me for further details."

Yvonne Pennefather
Party Rat

Our website is still important in this age of social media. In fact, WaterRats.ca can be thought of as a hub of our communications with social media as its spokes. Please continue to share things in Facebook and in Instagram, etc., with the hashtag #sailwaterrats. Your photos, videos, sailing tips, articles and news is wanted. I'll reach out to you to repost items here with your permission and credit. 

With all the recent security and post reach issues in Facebook, trends in technology and design, and the coming neighbourhood along Cherry Street there's an opportunity to improve our community website, email and other social media to highlight our story.

Three quick changes

1) Design update. The third column on the home page was removed to allow for a larger opening photo that conveys the enjoyment of racing with other sailors in natural and urban beauty. The site menu was shortened with links to unused content removed for now. The logo was cleaned and title font changed. Fonts are also larger for easier reading. More design work will be done during the year to make the site more mobile friendly. 

2) YouTube, Instagram & Twitter accounts have begun for members and fans who prefer to hang out in those party lines. When posting please use the hashtag #sailwaterrats and check-in to the location so we can connect with fellow Water Rat members and their news. 

3) A mobile app is now available from Wild Apricot, our online community application. You can: register for events and pay event fees from your phone, update your member personal profile, and find fellow sailors in the member directory.

Check out past versions of our website by adding waterrats.ca on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine. A few screenshots are below.