With this event wrapped up, Margaret was looking for her next volunteer opportunity. She heard about the Athenian Society, a group in which six Toronto area clubs took turns hosting events for singles. Margaret brought RCYC into this group. Dinners on the front lawn in June were the most popular evenings with spectacular harbour views. This group became a little onerous as 75% of the attendees were female and some of them quite vocal in their disappointment of not meeting their prince charming. 

Margaret was still wanting to give back to the club in a meaningful way, and she was made aware that the Community Interest Speakers Series needed a new organizer. This was the volunteer position for her. In 2011, Margaret started in this role, and she continues to this day.

The Speaker Series consists of four talks a year in November, January, February, and March. They attempted a talk on the island in April, but members were too busy getting boats ready so the talks have been kept to the non-sailing season. The talk is preceded by a dinner which makes for a truly enjoyable evening and a chance for members to gather in the off-season. 

Many varied topics have been explored from health, to cultures, waterfront development to community mapping projects there is something for everyone. It’s hard for Margaret to pick a favorite speaker as they have all been so interesting. When she starts to think about the many presentations, and the ones that stand out for her, more keep rushing to her mind.

Margaret does feel the talks that give the most value to club members are the speakers on health. Margaret loves to share, and when she learns something that is making her life better, she wants to share that information with others. For example, a very memorable and timely series of talks were given by Dr Lionel Mandel, an infectious diseases specialist and club member. The first was in the Sports Hall in March 2020, with everyone sitting two metres apart. Two more talks were given on Zoom, all which helped educate us on what the virus is and how vaccines work. And ask Margaret about how your brain synapses fire. Thanks to the Speaker Series she knows and will share that information with you.

Another highlight for Margaret was the talk given by Commodore Howard after he had celebrated his 100th birthday! Commodore Howard asked Beverley Darville, our wonderful archivist, to scour her records for photos of the war. The Commodore sat in front of the audience in a crowded Sports Hall as Margaret sat beside him in charge of changing the photos as requested. He spoke about each photo in detail as if he were still at sea on the Corvette escorting merchant ships across the Atlantic. A truly memorable evening for all in attendance.

Margaret is motivated by the positive feedback and constructive criticism she receives about the talks. People giving her suggestions on how to improve or topics that would interest them are always helpful. 

That’s where Aileen met John Clarke: she married him, they moved to Toronto, and eventually developed three more avid sailors, Felicity, Richard, and Pippa Clarke, from their house on Algonquin Island. They became part of RCYC in the fifties, even though policies were still strongly “no women.” Aileen sailed an I 14 with John, and competed with Mary McLaughlin, another renowned Toronto island (and RCYC) sailor. She was sailing in a group including Ruth Mills and Mary McLaughlin, and the Kidd family, including Fiona and Joanna.

John Clarke went on to compete in the Olympics in 1972, and Aileen also became one of Richard’s strongest supporters with funding and racing support to create a straightforward pathway to the Olympics for him.

Aileen also sailed Finns—she was a sailing trailblazer for women in her time. She ran the Finn North Americans in 1974, and went on to become an industrious event organizer, and a big promoter of youth and other events.

She started the Canadian Optimist Dinghy Association (CODA), building it from a gathering of parents having Sunday picnics on the dinghy docks while their kids sailed in the Harbour to a significant national organization promoting competition for youth sailors. She had to earn a boat-building license to ensure that Optis built and raced in Canada were eligible for international competition. She was deeply, and enthusiastically involved in encouraging and supporting young sailors to attend Opti and other regattas in the US and beyond.

Aileen raced Albacores with her daughter Felicity regularly on Thursday nights (and weekends too). And she also sailed a Shark with Bill McNaughton for many years (all while raising three children and practicing medicine in Toronto). She eventually took over sailing Bistro, an Alberg 30, from Commodore Drum. She went out for weekend sails with anyone she could find, encouraging many newcomers to the club to begin their sailing journey and go on to buy and sail boats of their own. 

She had a massive love of sailing, says her daughter Felicity, and spent a good part of her life sharing that enthusiasm “and passing it on to others.”

One day, in 1977, Fiona received an unexpected phone call from CYA (Canadian Yachting Association) inviting her to sail for Canada in the first Women’s Worlds Championships in England. Of course, she’d go! She recruited her older sister, Joanna, to crew for her and off they went to race in a (very heavy) chartered 420. Fiona and Joanna subsequently competed in another six IYRU Women’s Worlds, their top result a 4th place finish in Mexico in 1982. They were “A” carded athletes and among the first cohort of women on the Canadian Sailing Team.

After retiring from international competition, Fiona immersed herself as a volunteer. She served on the RCYC Youth Committee for many years with Fiona and Nicki Clarke persuading the Club to host a major youth competition every year. Then, from 2000-02, Fiona was President of CYA where she worked closely with Executive Director and fellow RCYC member Marianne Davis. 

Fiona’s main contributions, however, are on the world scene. In 1994, she became a Canadian delegate to World Sailing’s (then called IYRU) Youth Committee serving as Chair of the World Youth Championships from 2000-12. During this time, Volvo was secured as a major sponsor and the 29er skiff introduced as the youth doublehanded boat.  From 2004 to 2012, Fiona Chaired the Women’s Forum and from 2004 to 2020 served as a member of the Events Committee dealing with the Olympic Games and World Cups. For women’s sailing, this was a time of both growth and upheaval. The first women’s event was held in the 1988 Olympics using the doublehanded 470. Since then, events have changed dramatically – keelboats in then out, match racing in then out, foiling catamarans, different racing formats, and more events for women. Much progress for sure, but it will not be until 2024, that there will be full parity in numbers between men and women. Throughout, Fiona has been instrumental in shaping how sailing has evolved and being a strong advocate for women’s sailing.

She has also been a leader in sports management and administration. In 2015, at the Pan Am Games in Toronto, Fiona was Sports Manager for both Sailing and Equestrian. Then, until recently, Fiona was Secretary General for IODA (the International Optimist Dinghy Association), with a membership of 50,000 sailors, 100+countries, 30+builders and innumerable parents and volunteers. One of the contributions Fiona is most proud of is ROPE (Recycled Optimist Parts and Equipment), an internationally recognized sustainability program whereby youth donate peer-to-peer to assist sailors throughout the world.

These days Fiona hopes to find more time for her own sailing. But, she is still very much involved with World Sailing and the promotion of team racing. This format is a big part of the Optimist Worlds - the kids love it. It’s possible that we may see team racing introduced at a future Olympic Games. In the meantime, wouldn’t it be great to put our Ideal 18 or Sonars to use. It’s a fantastic way to build tactical skills while having fun on the water.

As Fiona says, “sailing is a great lifetime sport and we are all so lucky to be part of it.” Fiona, thanks for all that you have done.

2012 was a pivotal year:  the women’s skiff event was announced for the 2016 Olympics. Lauren had the opportunity to compete at the inaugural 49erFX World Championships in Marseille, France. She and her teammate achieved 21st place, qualifying for the Canadian Sailing Team. While an Olympic campaign was alluring, it would mean sailing full-time. It was a tough decision, but Lauren chose to prioritize her education and her love for coaching. For the next four years, the RCYC was fortunate to have Lauren as coach for the 29er team. It was a fantastic experience with athletes such as Will and Sam Bonin, Galen Richardson and Mariah Millen and parents that were super supportive and believed in her and the team. 

During this time, Lauren started sailing the International 14.  Class veteran, Jason Lemieux, was looking for a crew. Dan Cunningham, then RCYC’s Head Coach, introduced them and off they went to a regatta in Hawaii. On the first day, Jason steered. The next day, they swapped positions. It worked, and Lauren has been steering ever since. Jason and Lauren have been teammates for over a decade winning the Canadian Championships five times and competing in numerous World Championships, with their best performance in Germany, finishing 11th overall. They aim to enter the top 10 at the 2024 Worlds in Lake Garda.

In the fall of 2018, Lauren embraced foiling and bought a Waszp, “on the instalment plan”. It has been both challenging and rewarding, pushing her to learn and grow. She’s committed to racing and enhancing her foiling skills.

Says Lauren, “Canada is witnessing an exhilarating era in sailing, with initiatives like the SailGP Team and the Women’s and Youth America’s Cup Team. It's inspiring to see women leading in this sport. I anticipate this momentum will only grow. I cherish sailing and intend to pursue it lifelong. I'm eager for the opportunities it presents, the knowledge I can amass, and the companionship of fellow sailors”.

So, suddenly as a teenage girl, Kathy was competing with his all-male crew, steering the boat around the course like it was a big Laser. Some criticism followed, stern looks from the “old guard,” and even a protest. That protest was won, and Kathy continued to skipper. Kathy’s philosophy when it comes to the sport is “fun, family, and friendship. Keep it calm, work it out, and sail fast.”

In 1994, the family purchased a J24 which was raced successfully, with Kathy also campaigning a full female team for 10 years, racing many Rolex Women's Worlds. In 2003, the Pask family got their J/105, the same year Kathy’s second child Megan was born. As life moved on, with two babies and her own landscaping business, Kathy had the full support of her family. She is especially grateful to her mom, Jane, who, before each regatta would say, “Let me babysit, GO, go sailing.” Some club race nights Kathy was out there with the baby in a carrier on her front as she helmed. 

“Full Tilt” usually sails with a crew of seven that includes family (Dad and brother Dave), sometimes sister Gillian, and often niece Ashley, along with more women. Kathy has been the leading female skipper in the Ontario Fleet over the past 20 years. The boat was campaigned for 10 years as a full-female team competing locally, at the Canadian and North American level. 

While reflecting on her success she mentions “In my experience, gender is never the factor to consider when preparing for success in all racing conditions. It’s having a good core reliable crew who work together as a team and know their position and at least one other position on

the boat.”

In concert with World Sailing releasing the Women in Sailing Strategic Review in 2019, the J105 Fleet 4 level was looking hard at encouraging and supporting women, and overcoming some of the barriers for women sailors. A lot of great discussion with Doug Bullock led to Kathy organizing the first J/105 Women’s Championship that took place in 2021 at RCYC, with 100 women sailors participating. This great event has continued into 2022 and 2023.

After the success of the 2021 event, conversations spread to the US. Kathy met with a handful of the top J/105 women sailors from across North America to outline how to create events in Annapolis, San Francisco, and Seattle. She outlined the management of the event, sponsorship, and regatta logos to be used, and secured sponsorship funding from the J/105 Class towards any women's regatta held.  Next to come is the creation of an Invitational Women's North American event for the top competitors from

each fleet. With her business acumen and sailing organization expertise, Kathy is "Making Waves” across North America.

Early in Shannon’s sailing career she decided she wanted to be a world class crew. “I simply got too nervous on the helm on the starting line. As a crew, and a tactician, I loved starts best. The more boats, the happier I was.” She crewed with great success on many different boats – Soling, Lightnings, Albacores, Etchells, Ideal 18’s, C&C 34, IOR yachts Bonaventure V and Mia IV, and, most famously, 8 metres.

In the late 1990’s, Shannon joined Norseman, owned by Cedric Gyles Sr., as tactician. In 1999, they won the SIRA Cup at the 8 Metre Worlds in Rochester with seven bullets – Shannon nailed every shift. Norseman also won the Overall Season’s Champs, Club Championships, NAs, and LYRA.

In 2013, Shannon became co-owner of Bangalore. After being extensively refurbished, Bangalore had a marvelous season in 2015, finishing 2nd in both the NAs and LYRA. 2016 was even better, with Bangalore winning over half the 8 Metre trophies (there are a lot) and the Sira

Cup at the Worlds held at the RCYC. To cap off the year, Bangalore’s crew was presented with the esteemed Haswell Trophy. At the time, the only other yacht to have been so honoured was the renowned Red Jacket.

In 2017, at the invitation of King Harald of Norway, Bangalore was shipped to Norway for the Worlds. The crew consisted of skipper Terry McLaughlin, Geoff Moore, Sandy Andrews, John Millen, Robb Graham, Jeff Gillmeister, Bart Meuring, and Shannon on strategy and backstays. Martha Henderson was tender captain with Mickey McLaughlin as mate. It was an incredibly cohesive team. Bangalore finished 4th overall and 3rd in the Sira Cup. At a dinner honouring King Harald’s 80th birthday party, their Norwegian hosts officially renamed the team’s “house wine,” Tiefenbrunner, Chateau Bangalore!

Shannon has also contributed greatly to the Club’s governance and social calendar. She served multiple times on multiple committees – Nominating, Planning, House, and Property and chaired many balls and events. The most spectacular was the Club’s 150th Anniversary celebration in 2002, a black-tie gala complete with special appearances from Spiderman, Sir John A. MacDonald, and Queen Victoria.

Shannon is a generous benefactor to sailing and to the RCYC. She has given generously in support of many of our Olympic sailors, and to the teams representing the Club at the NYYC Invitational and Canada’s Cup. A lasting legacy is her gift of the stunning trophy case at the Island Clubhouse. It’s inscription reads, “gifted to the RCYC in 2021 by Shannon Howard in honour of sailing excellence,” a quality that this “wondrous woman of the RCYC” exemplifies.

That soon changed when a pack of racing-oriented peers joined Junior Club the following year: Ellie Morch, Magnus Clarke, Terry Doyle, and Richard Clarke made her Junior Club experience more competitive and racing-focused for the next several years.

She was immersed in sailing—spending all day at Junior Club, racing Tuesday and Thursday nights and weekends. Because Martha lived on the island, she was called upon to sail with Gordon Norton and Jack Beatson in Etchells during midweek and weekend racing, so her dad thought she was ready to race with him. He bought an Albacore and they spent the next few years racing the boat around Ontario, and beyond. Because Paul was often leaving events early to work on the RCYC City Club or Toronto’s Olympic Bid, Martha was left at regattas to claim awards—thus developing some public speaking skills!

She went on to sail Albacores and Sharks, then Snipes (aiming for the Pan Am Games in 1987), Ideal 18s, and a C&C 41. After she’d completed Junior Club, Martha taught for 2 years at IYC, before returning to RCYC Junior Club moving up the ranks from racing coach to Head Instructor.

Some time after that, Martha met up with Felicity Clarke, who was sailing a chartered J24 along with Melissa Clark, and Margie Brymer. Martha joined the crew. Paul Henderson bought Lady Chablis (bought by a man, sailed by women, and named after a drag queen in the book/movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil) for their use. They successfully campaigned that boat until 2000.

In 2000, the Yngling was chosen as an Olympic class. Martha began sailing with Kari Mackay, and Joanne Abbott—who as a Soling sailor knew something about 3-handed sailing, and traveling and campaigning for the Olympics. Then Felicity subbed in for Joanne and sailed with the team for 2 years, going into the 2004 Olympics, but they didn’t qualify. Martha then sailed with Kate Abbott and Jen Provan. In 2008, the team finished 13th in the Olympic Games in Beijing. They moved into the Elliott 6 m for a few years with Joanne Procop when the Yngling was replaced in the Olympics with Match Racing.

Following the Olympics, Martha went back to sailing Sharks, and finished 3rd in the 2017 Shark Worlds with her 84-year-old dad and husband Jeff Gillmeister!

Over the years, Martha has travelled to different clubs and venues and met many race management officials. In doing so, she has observed race management’s evolving trend of providing a comprehensive and efficient service to competitors. RCYC was not keeping up with the rest of the racing world—a pool of young racing sailors had been diminished, and there was not an enthusiastic group of volunteers for management.

Martha introduced plans to get more people involved—any racing course, she says, takes 6-8 people to run properly. The Board enthusiastically embraced the plan, and a new era in race management at RCYC began. The club benefitted from the goodwill of the race management community around Toronto and began delivering events that local participants could cite on their resumes, while also providing excellent training for club members and management of RCYC sailing events.

Martha has also served on countless club committees. She was involved in the Junior Club Committee very early on, has managed fund-raising committees for Olympians, was Chair of the Fitness committee when it was being established, and at age 28 became the youngest female Board member ever in 1990-1991, rejoining the Board in 2009. She has also served as Vice Commodore of Sports, Vice Commodore Advancement (membership) and is the first woman to be Rear Commodore, Fleet (as of 2019).

Remarkably, Martha still finds time to sail. This year, she raced with her now 89 year old dad winning the Family Day Regatta. She then topped off the season by sailing with Jen Provan and winning both the McConkey Cup for women and Patricia’s Binnacle, the RCYC Champion of Championships. What a wondrous woman of the RCYC!!

Felicity started Junior Club at age 10—and hated it. But, her parents had a rule that if they started something they must finish it. The Kidd family convinced her (and sister Pippa) during the depths of winter to sign up for summers again and again. Finally, at age 14, Felicity was asked to crew for Eric Fredrickson and thought “Maybe I know what I’m doing.” At Junior Club, she was sailing in Flippers, started to win, and started to like it. 

In her graduating year, Fiona Kidd was her coach. Says Felicity “It was the best year ever. Awesome. I’d started sailing Lasers and the single-handed option clicked with me.” The next year, her mother bought a Laser for the family, and Felicity raced the Ontario Women’s event. She finished in the top third and they sent her to Vancouver, to the Canadian Women’s Championship, and then, all expenses paid, to Brazil for the Women’s Worlds. 

Felicity was sailing the full rig Laser, there was no women’s Olympic boat at the time, and she was well suited physically to the challenge. She sailed for the Canadian Women’s team in Brazil in 1998, and at the Women’s Worlds in Greece. “I kept doing it because it was fun,” she noted. She would put the Laser on top of her VW Fox, drive to the next regattas, and thoroughly enjoy her weekends racing. Summers were also for teaching: she moved her way up the Instructor ranks to become an Instructor Evaluator, and a coach at the Ontario Sailing Centre on Lake Couchiching.

Fiona Kidd asked her to start a program for graduates of Junior Club—to address the missing coaching for 16 to 18-year-olds at RCYC. So, Felicity did that, while also sailing in Laser World Open events until 1998, visiting Greece, and New Zealand, among other venues. “You sailed because it took you all over the world,” she said.

In the 1990’s Felicity began racing J24s, first chartering them with Melissa Clark, then linking up with Martha Henderson, for a successful few years on Lady Chablis. “It was an incredible experience of racing and meeting incredible people.” She reminisces about the macarena playing on boom boxes and each boat on the dock pouring a signature cocktail (or filling their cockpit with it). “The Rolex Women’s World in Newport was the big thing,” she says. “Our best result was 5th .”

All the fun included some wild adventures —on the way to one regatta the older van they were driving burned to the ground on the highway. Fortunately, the boat and trailer were saved (along with all the people), and a kind competitor drove up to collect them to race in the regatta anyway.

Felicity and her team tried for the Olympics in the Yngling class, but didn’t qualify. “I’m glad I tried,” she said. “It was amazing to have a year when I was only focused on sailing.”

Felicity has made a significant commitment as a volunteer. She chaired the World Youth Optimist Championship at RCYC in 2017, and the Canadian Youth Championships—the club won Regatta of the Year for that one, and she’s on the Board of Ontario Sailing. She also spent three years on the Board at RCYC, and chaired the Youth Committee, along with many other events.

These days, Felicity cruises her boat S’Fida around Lake Ontario. Her son, Connor, sails ILCA (a far cry from his days as an infant onboard for Tuesday night races) while Felicity is deeply engaged in considering “How to keep youth in the boats and on the island.”

“Promoting competitive youth sailing is my passion,” she says. “It’s important that RCYC understands what competitive youth sailing is really about.”

Jen, an intuitive sailor, attributes her early success and love of competitive sailing to growing up on her Dad’s C&C 34. "Pacemaker". Participating in the first year of Mike Milner’s High-Performance team at RCYC proved her innate abilities on the race course. Jen was keen to take her sailing to a higher level.

To get to thre, Jen credits her experience on the Tufts University sailing team. Sailing practically every day until the water froze, under the exceptional leadership of her coach, Ken Legler, set the foundation for her path to the Olympics. Learning the importance of teamwork was also critically important. Jen feels very lucky to have made such amazing connections with other women throughout her sailing career and certainly would not have had success without each of their unique skills, qualities, and support!   

Also, having a great coach is key. Under the tutorship of Canadian Kelly Hand, Jen learned the benefit of structure, having a plan, and execution. Her campaigns leading up to the Olympics helped her to further develop perseverance, determination, resiliency, and a strategic mindset to overcome obstacles and challenges.   

After returning from her second Olympic Games, Jen continued to challenge herself applying all her learned skills where she acquired an MBA at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management.  

Today, she continues to apply this disciplined approach to set her up for success whether it be in competitive sailing, her career in finance, or family life. Because of Jen’s Olympic journey she is always strategic and disciplined in her approach.  What's more, she understands the value of physical fitness and mental health.  You can often find Jenher using the fitness facilities and

swimming laps (shout out to Gary Yang!) in the pool at RCYC, when she is not working or ferrying kids to and from activities.  

Competitive sailing continues to be a big part of Jen’s life. This past September Jen Provan along with teammate and fellow Olympian Martha Henderson made history as the first  all-female team to win the RCYC Champion of Champions 2023. 

Sailing Highlights and Recent Wins:

• Summer Olympics Beijing 2008 for Team Canada - Three Person Keelboat (Yngling) - 13th

• Summer Olympics Athens 2004 for Team Canada - Two Person Dinghy (470) - 13th

• Intercollegiate Sailing Association national championship 1999 for Tufts University – 1st.

• Intercollegiate Sailing Association, All America award, 1999, 2000, 2001

• RCYC J/105 Ontario Women’s Championship 2023 – 1st

• RCYC Women’s Club Championship 2023 – awarded McConkey Cup – 1st

• RCYC Champion of Champions 2023 – Two Person Ideal 18, awarded the Patricia’s Binnacle - 1st

For mid-week club races, there is a rule that the boat must be helmed by a member and Sheila needed a substitute helmsperson. That was it! She was hooked. Kathy wanted her own boat and in 2000 purchased a C&C 27 which she renamed Kat’s-Paw I.

Kathy participated in all Tuesday night races and quickly became a force to be reckoned with. “Kat’s -Paw I” had a stranglehold on the 27 Fleet, representing the C&C 27 Fleet at 10 Club Championships between 2002 and 2011. Kat’s Paw I also saw trophies in Youngstown regattas, the C&C Owner’s regatta, RCYC Open and LORC regattas during the time when many C&C’s were campaigning and the fleet was extremely active. “Kat’s-Paw I” also raced in the overnight Susan Hood Trophy Race a number of times and is proud to have her name on the coveted “Snail’s Pace Trophy”!

Kathy then moved to fully embrace distance and offshore racing on Lake Ontario and transitioned her loyal crew with her. The goal was to participate not only in the Susan Hood but also the Lake Ontario 300 Challenge and the Short-Handed racing series. A boat with more comforts was required! Kathy’s brother Gord suggested a Dufour 34 which she found, purchased, and christened Katbird; in memory of a nickname their father had given her as a child.

Racing PHRF had an adjustment period but since 2012, Katbird has achieved top 3 results in the Lake Ontario 300. She and her brother have won their class in the Lake Ontario Double Handed spinnaker division several times and Katbird has also won her division in the Susan Hood. In 2014, Katbird won the Louise Freeman Cup for 1 st place in PHRF overall. Kathy’s secret to having such loyal crew lies in fostering camaraderie and consensus. “If there is some problem happening on the boat, I let the crew work their way through it”. And the solution happens. She continues, “With respect to the LO 300, if you spend that much time together 24/7 on a small yacht and you are still talking at the end, you are all doing something right”.

Offshore and distance racing has made Kathy a better sailor in many ways, including focusing on safety of both crew and boat, risk management and learning something new every time she and her crew venture offshore.

Kathy attributes her success to boat time and a fantastic group of people most of whom she has sailed with for over 20 years. She is a "repeat offender" and truly a Wondrous Woman of the RCYC.

Sailing came first, starting in RCYC’s Junior Club at the age of 10 and every summer thereafter until six years later, Charlotte graduated the Mills Trophy winner. 

Following a five-year break from racing, her love of competitive sailing was re-ignited by a Women’s Regatta in Toronto Harbour. Charlotte and Dianne Groome of Orilla traded wins throughout the regatta, after which they decided to team up and pursue a campaign in 420s.

Training every night on their own after work, Charlotte and Dianne perfected mechanics with Dianne on the helm and the stronger of the two, Charlotte, crewing. This recipe proved to be successful and resulted in their  8 years together on the National Sailing Team first in 420s and then in 470s achieving four top 10 results at the IYRU Women’s World Championships, including a 3rd   in Denmark in 1980.  

Their most memorable race, however, came in 1978 at the Women’s Worlds in Holland. Charlotte and Dianne  went into the final race tied for the lead with the French. With 18 knots of breeze and 80 boats on the line, moments after the start gun fired  they heard a horn signaling that there was at least one premature starter. “Were they over; were the French?” Neither boat went back. The Canadians spent 3.5 hours match racing the French boat, finishing the grueling race in a dead heat on opposite tacks. The gun went off to signal a winner; but, no horn followed. One of the boats had been disqualified at the start. Our team sailed 1.5 hrs into shore only to find out they had been over early and disqualified from that race. Instead of a podium finish, this left them with  an 8th place  overall; and, an enduring memory of a hard-fought battle, lost before it even began.

Decades later, Charlotte found her way into competitive tennis almost by chance. While she had played recreationally as a teenager, after a 40 year hiatus, a half-hour lesson with the Wards Island pro ignited a new passion. Impressed by her natural groundstrokes, the coach suggested that at 58, she should aim to go to the Nationals in two years when she turned 60. This goal became Charlotte’s single-minded and all-consuming focus.  Two years later, she succeeded in not only making it to the National Championships, but took a set off the #1 player. From there, her confidence grew as she played in tournaments across Canada and Europe – reaching #1 in her age category (now 70+) in 2022. Invited to join the Canadian National Tennis team, Charlotte will be in Mallorca this October representing Canada at the International Tennis Federation Masters World Championships – good luck Charlotte, you make us all very proud!

In 2016, at age 17, she teamed up with skipper Ali ten Hove in the 49erFX. In their first regatta, the North Americans, the pair finished 2nd.  In 2017, they posted a 5th place finish at the 49er FX Junior World Championships and won the Canadian title. 

Mariah and Ali made their first appearance at the ISAF World Sailing Championships in 2018, qualifying for the gold fleet and a spot on the national team. An early highlight in 2019 was a 15th-place finish at the European Championships (7th in 2022 – hurray!!). They would go on to record a 4th place finish at the 2019 Pan American in Lima, Peru.  In February 2020, they earned a career-best world championship result, finishing 18th at the 49er FX class worlds in Australia. 

Then… Covid struck. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics in Tokyo were delayed over a year. When they were finally held in July 2021, Mariah and Ali finished 16th overall.  

Following Tokyo, Mariah came home to the RCYC. Here, she and Ali joined fellow Olympian and skipper Sarah Douglas and teammates Ingrid Merry and Jenny Farrand to sail with Mickey McLaughlin aboard WoMandate winning the inaugural J105 Ontario Woman’s Championships. She and Ingrid then went on to sail on the IC 37, Defiant, becoming the first Canadian women to compete in the Canada’s Cup.  Defiant won. It was a joy for Mariah to race, for the first time, with her father, and to witness firsthand his tremendous skill and unfailingly positive attitude. As Mariah, said, “if she was ever yelled at on the boat, it wasn’t by her dad!” The team then went to on to compete at the Rolex NYYC Invitational at Newport, Rhode Island finishing 6th. 

After considerable soul-searching about taking yet another four years away from education, jobs and “real life”, Mariah and Ali are determined to compete again in the 2024 Olympics. They are working with three top coaches each focussed on a different aspect – boat speed, race specifics and team dynamics – and have put together an intensive training program. All of this costs money and Mariah is grateful for the support provided by the RCYC Athlete Development Fund, donors and sponsors. Olympic qualification will be based on results at two events including the 2024 Worlds in the Canary Islands and the Princess Sofia Regatta in Palma de Majorca. Mariah and Ali’s next big event is representing Canada in the 2023 Pan Am Games in Santiago Chile, Oct. 25- Nov. 4. 

Stay tuned………We expect still more great things from this 25-year-old “Wondrous Woman” of the RCYC. 

In 2021, Melodie purchased a Class 40, Whiskey Jack, a 40’ monohull used primarily for shorthanded ocean racing and capable of speeds in excess of 25 knots. She competed in the international Trans Jacques Vabre race, with fellow Canadian sailor Ryan Barkey, from Le Havre France to Martinique, a distance of 5,400 nm.  

Then in 2022, Melodie entered Whiskey Jack in the inaugural Globe 40, a doublehanded around the world race. Hers was the only Canadian boat, and she was the only female skipper for the entire race. She still managed some 'Mom' moments, seeing her two sons graduate from high school and university just prior to the race start, and taking three days away at the first stopover to see her daughter graduate from medical school. The kids had flown the nest to take on the world, and she was doing the same! 

There were 8 legs and she sailed all but one with a new (always male) teammate. This required clear communications (no “mansplaining”), a learning curve and time to build together as a team. Melodie completed the race in 174 days and covered 34,353 nm winning the fifth leg and finishing 5th overall. Throughout, she raced in some of the most difficult sailing conditions imaginable – high winds, huge waves and cold temperatures while surviving on freeze-dried food and only 3-4 hours sleep each day.  She set speed records on three different legs and the overall record for the race, sailing 347 nautical miles in 24 hours.

Melodie is keen to do it again and plans to compete in the next Globe 40 in 2025. This requires both money and dedication. She is hoping to acquire increased sponsorship and an experienced ocean racer committed to doing the whole race.

Melodie recently became the  first recipient of the Tilly Trophy. Donated in 2023 by Edda Stockton-Hotop, longtime club member and enthusiastic prompter of the Club’s heritage, the Tilly Trophy is to be awarded annually at Last Mast Blast to a female RCYC Member who has achieved excellence in the sport of sailing. Melodie has also received the Graham E Crate trophy for navigation, the Transoceanic Pennant and Fleet Captain’s Award.

In offshore sailing, physical strength is an advantage but what matters most is internal strength, the drive and determination to carry on. Melodie has that in spades, a truly wondrous woman of the RCYC. 

Karen worked four amazing summers at the Ontario Sailing Centre at Geneva Park where she coached all levels from youth to the National Sailing Team. The highlight was a week-long clinic for top and aspiring Finn sailors from Canada and the USA led by Paul Elvström.

In 1982, in her first year of sailing in the I14, Karen won CDA, the Canadian Championships, the first woman to do so. She won again in 1984 and 1986 and was second in 1983, 85 and 88, behind I14 World Champions, Jamie and Hugh Kidd. In 1983, she competed in the Worlds in England, finishing 4 th overall, a fantastic result especially given the strong winds. “In the POW Race, I sat on the rudderhead to keep from nosediving as boats capsized around us.” In 1985, in an incredibly intense and exciting contest, Karen and her fellow teammates on Team Canada - Terry McLaughlin, Martin Ten Hove, the Kidd brothers, Jay Cross, Rod McIvor and John Bleasby - defeated archrivals, Team UK, to win the Team Racing World Champs, at the RCYC. Hurray!! “We won due to team captain Terry McLaughlin’s persuasiveness in the protest room and the Kidds’ “stealth” tactics on the race course - they led the Brits to the wrong mark and our team went from 6,7,8 to 1,2,3!”

Karen then finished 5 th in the Worlds in Kingston. Karen won the Norman Gooderham Cup, the RCYC Club Championships in the I14 four times (in four different boats – Bruce, Bob, Suffragette and Rosebud). In 1983, she became the first woman to win the Patricia’s Binnacle for the RCYC Champion of Champions, a feat she repeated in 1984.

In 2013, Karen became the first woman (and only one so far) to be inducted into the Canadian Dinghy Association Hall of Fame. After leaving I14’s, Karen competed in C&C 34 Cosmos and J35 Conspicuous winning many regattas including CORK, the Club Championships, the Boswell Trophy and Earl of Dufferin Cup. 

She also won Club Championships in the Ideal 18 and RCYC Women’s Championships. In achieving these victories, Karen always benefited from sailing with top-notch crew, with a big shout-out to Melissa Clark, a constant throughout.

In 2022, Karen and her teammates on Hey Jude – Charlotte Scythes, Stephanie Hardes, Pamela Campbell, Janine Clarke, Laura Chalmers and Briar Robertson - won the J105 Women’s Championships.

These days, Karen actively races Ideal 18’s. She and her husband, Bob Becker, own and cruise a Niagara 35, Fakir Dan. Karen has served on the Women’s Committee of the IYRU, the Sail Canada board, the board of the RCYC and is currently Chair of the RCYC Heritage and Archives Committee.

Karen has raced sailboats for over 50 years. As someone once said, “it sure shows”. With her wide-brimmed sunhat and SPF 50, Karen is most surely a wondrous woman of the RCYC!