The horn sounded and with a minute to go before the start and 38 Martin 242’s turned towards the start line in Vancouver, Canada to start another exciting North American 242 Championship Regatta. Once again Western Canada’s premier one design event delivered a fabulous sailing weekend for the Pacific North West, with sunny sky and warm temperatures 25 C and moderate winds. There was everything from Olympic sailors to the brand new MG Marine Martin 242 (manufactered in Marina Del Rey CA) to heat up the California (USA) British Columbia (Canada) rivalry.

10 races were run on Sat. and Sunday under perfect conditions. Boats came from Vancouver Island, Oregon, Alberta, B.C. and California to vie for top 242. A few incidents occurred, the most notable a rookie in her first NA’s managed to catch her Italian Flag spinnaker on the committee boat earning her a 5 foot long screwdriver award for the regatta at the Sunday evening good time gala dinner. The racing was hot and heavy and at least three pulpits and one mast fell victim to close tactical maneuvering and tight starts The” Dirty Dog” Sunglass’s team pulled off a regatta victory with three aces out of ten and only one finish over 10th. This is the first year that an American team did not finish in the top 3 after having taken the trophy last year

This year’s turnout has shown that with the boats back in production the fleet is in a big resurgence mode. With the last 3years roll call at 23, 27, and 38. Vancouver is know as the gateway to the Gulf / San Juan Islands cruising grounds but one design is alive and well. With a fleet of over 40 strong that is having some very exciting sailing upon the waters of English Bay and Vancouver Island bringing new life to the affordable M242 80’s design that was ahead of its time.

Bruce Maxwell

10/02/06