“With the sailing community, you always have something in common,” North Channel Yacht Club - Spragge Commodore Raymond Hortness says with authority. “There’s a thing called the Cruisers Regatta in the Dominican Republic that I attended on my 18-month solo trip. At one point, I’m on the beach, there’s a fire going, and a bunch of us sitting around. The guy next to me asks where I’m from, and I say I’m from Canada. He replies Oh, I’m from Canada! Where in Canada? I say Ontario. He says I’m from Ontario! What’s your Yacht Club? I say Spragge, not expecting him to know where that is. His jaw drops No way! I used to be the commodore! We had a good laugh over that and even found another boat from Spragge there too.”
Hortness was hooked on sailing early. After two trips out with a friend, Hortness jumped into the sport and began racing seriously in his twenties at Sudbury, Ontario.
“I went for a Laser, as everybody young does” Hortness laughs, “then worked my way up the fleet. I really love racing. It’s like meditating; you’re on the water and all your concentration is set on three things. The wind. The placement of the boats around you. And getting your damn boat to sail.”
As life caught up to Hortness, he moved to an O’ Day 22 and taking on the easy racing against day sailors.
“I was really enjoying the competition,” Hortness reminisces, “then ended up with three daughters. That got me into a Catalina 25, where everybody had a place to sleep without spiders! As I moved into retirement, I started looking around at what to occupy my time with. I had a friend who was dying of cancer at the time. About three months before he passed we were talking about sailing the seas, he looked at me and said, ‘Never have a shoulda, woulda, or coulda or you’ll regret it.’ So I bought a little sailboat called a Catalina 34!”
Hortness took delivery of the Catalina in June and by September first of the same year, he was through the Erie Canal and sailing down to the Dominican Republic. The 18-month sabbatical produced no regrets and a 75-page log book detailing the adventures dreams are made of. Upon his return to Ontario province, Hortness wanted to be close to a racing circuit but not in the thick of it. He settled in at Elliott Lake, with the Catalina docked at North Channel Yacht Club just down the road in Spragge.
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NCYC Spragge is one of five legs of the famed North Channel Race Week. Five years ago, NCRW incorporated the long-running MacMan challenge and added a couple interesting stretches that showcase the gorgeous racing grounds of the North Channel. The circuit now covers a whopping 126 nm, carved into five days of 21-29 nm courses: from Hilton Beach to Thessalon Harbour, Thessalon to Blind River, Blind River to North Channel Yacht Club, North Channel Yacht Club to Gore Bay, and finally Gore Bay to Little Current. The 2018 race kicks off Monday July 23 – 27, 2018 with a morning Skippers’ meeting at 8:00 sharp each race day.
“Each race sails a course from one North Channel port to another where a catered dinner is served to racers and friends,” NCRW OC Chairman Gord Simpson tells GLB. “The catered meals arranged at each port have proven extremely popular. These events provide the perfect opportunity for socializing and greatly simplify boat provisioning for the event. The prices are determined by the caterers and serve as a revenue source for them.”
Spinnaker and JAM–jib and mail only—fleets compete both separately and for combined honors. To date the series has attracted entries ranging from 27 to 42 feet in length, and several racers and spectators follow up Race Week each year with a period of cruising around the pristine North Channel.
“We have pump out, potable water, garbage disposal, we sell ice, hot showers, transient dockage, and a small boat launch,” Hortness rattles off NCYC amenities. “We’re a self-service club and we do it that way to keep our rates relatively low. That’s one reason I’m here. The best reason, though, is the North Channel. I’ve been down the Chesapeake. I’ve been down the Islands. I’ve been to the DR, Turks and Caicos, the Bahamas… and the closest I’ve come to the beauty of the North Channel is along parts of the Hudson. Within sight of my dock there are four secure, quiet anchorages. Just a mile and a half away, there are a bunch more. I can go out for a night sail, spend the night and I’ll have either nobody around or someone really interesting.”
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For More Information
North Channel Yacht Club - Spragge
www.ncyc.ca
For Registration and Notice of Race
www.lcyc.ca
