Very light winds would welcome 4 boats out into the SYC bay at 11am October 1 for the start of Enduro 2022. Mattea (Skipper Lynn-Marie Legault and crew Cory Petrie), Knot Normal (Skipper Scott Smith and crew Jeff Ridal), Essoin (Skipper Chris Williamson and crew Nathalie Desrosier) and Sylphide I (Skipper John Becker and crew Matt Becker, Matthew Ogonoski & Gabe Rosenbaum) were ready to get started.
Winds were so light that spinnakers were needed almost immediately. It would be 5 hours before the first boat would make it around the marker in front of the clubhouse.
The winds finally started to pick-up around 8pm and all boats reported great sailing reaching over 7 knots. Mattea crew member, Cory Petrie, reported waves past the markers in Devils Waters. The adrenaline started to kick in!!
By 8:20pm Mattea and Essoin had completed 3 laps. Mattea completed her 4th lap at 9:30pm with Essoin only a couple of minutes behind. It was still a race to the finish!! As we got closer to 11pm a boat crossed the mark but the support crew on the ground could not completely identity which boat. Was it Mattea or Essoin??
After some radio communication, Mattea was declared the winner at 11:10pm with Skipper Lynn-Marie Legault and crew, Cory Petrie. A hot meal was awaiting our exhausted but happy sailors in the clubhouse.
Many thanks to everyone who made Enduro 2022 a great day: to our Rock Star sailors, to Marty, Joy and crew for the great food, Peter for taking care of the rescue boat and taking yours truly out twice to get pictures and to Natalie for keeping the fire going into the evening. Apparently, some of our sailors used it as a marker as they approached the club in the darkness.
Another great SYC event!!
Quotes from our Enduro 2022 Sailors
Lynn-Marie Legault (Skipper Mattea) – Mattea exceeded my expectations and clocked in at 7.3knts SOG! Felt a connection with her and realized for the first time that I am not sailing the boat but helping her to sail HERSELF. Nightime with very high winds, big waves and little or no visibility we were on a run. With an accidental jibe the banging of the boom, the sails lufting, the noise was deafening and it was eerie in the darkness. It was exciting to have Essoin so close throughout most of the race. That kept us on our toes.
Chris Williamson (Skipper Essoin)– We absolutely loved sailing at night on the Enduro and learning how to pace ourselves. Actually, I’m not sure I actually learned how to pace myself, because I found myself getting irritated when Knot Normal was passing us in the cut and we couldn’t figure out why. Well, it turns out it was because they were anchored and we were drifting backwards! Thanks Enduro Race Committee. The exuberant whistles and cheers after each rounding of the SYC mark was verymotivating!
Cory Petrie (Crew Mattea) – from the Skipper: My 1 man crew was the best!!! Did everything I told him to do!!! Lol!!! Cory’s quote of the race is that he realized how hard it is to be crew! Lol!!
John Becker (Skipper Sylphide I) – In early afternoon Matt said “Look at Knot Normal blowing past Essoin and Mattea!” And that was what it looked like, even though Knot Normal was anchored. Similar situation in the dead air of 2019, when Aragorn fell from first to third place, behind two boats, both of which were at anchor in the channel. Can be a slow race!
History of the Enduro race
1970s
The original Enduro Race was a 24-Hour Race in dinghies. It started in the mid 1970s and ran 3-4 years. Usually 6-8 boats participated with boats from SYC and other clubs. In the final year a nasty storm came through during the night and brought the Enduro to a stop.
Early 2000s
Sailors had to wait until the early 2000s before it was resurrected again for wet moored boats with a much longer course – around Croil or Sheek Island.
2019
It came back to life in 2019 by Fleet Captain Paul Rodrigue who took the initiative to get it re-started. The race time was reduced to 9am-11pm. Three boats were excited to participate: Aragorn (Skipper John Becker and crew Matt Becker & Matthew Ogonoski), Beethoven (Skipper Cory Petrie and crew Scott Smith & Jeff Ridal) & Sealestial (Skipper Paul Rodrigue and crew Manon Rodrigue & Kate Miller) participated with Beethoven winning.
2020
Enduro 2020 saw 4 boats depart for the trip around Sheek: Aragorn (Skipper John Becker and crew Matt Becker & Matthew Ogonoski), Knot Normal (Skipper Scott Smith and crew Cory Petrie & Jeff Ridal), R&R (Skipper Robert Zwanenburg and crew Maurice Poulin) and Sealestial (Skipper Paul Rodrigue and crew Manon Rodrigue & Kate Miller). Sealestial was the winner.
2021
Enduro 2021 saw a record of 7 boats participate. Lagan III (Skipper Peter Bray and crew Natalie Bray), R&R (Skipper Robert Zwanenburg and crew Kristan Lan), Sealestial (Skipper Paul Rodrigue and crew Manon Rodrigue, Ann Marie Blinkhorn & Kate Miller), Jenna’s Journey (Skipper Mike Guay), Beethoven (Skipper Cory Petrie and crew Scott Smith & Lynn-Marie Legault), Messia (Skipper Alessandro Commodari and crew Harry Barlow and Jody McRae) and Aragorn (Skipper John Becker and crew Matt Becker, Paul Gagnon & Matthew Ogonoski). Beethoven was the winner.
Article and photos by Ann Marie Blinkhorn