Sunfish Worlds 1984 report

Sunfish frostbiter, Andy Pimental of Laser and Finn fame, handily won the 15th Sunfish World Championship held in Kingston, Ontario, June 10-16. With 3 firsts in 8 races and an overall score of 39.25, Pimental topped his closest competitor by more than 20 points. Great Britain representative, Mark May who resides in Ossining, New York was second with 60 points. One point behind May, in third place was the 1982 North American Sunfish Champion, Leonard Ruby of S. Brookline, Massachusetts.

Rounding out the top five were Jeroen Mustert of Curacao with 64 points in fourth and Don Brennan of Mobile, Alabama with 65.5 points in fifth.

Nine countries were represented at the 15th annual competition. Kingston, Ontario site of the 1976 Olympic sailing events, was an appropriate setting for the premiere regatta of the Sunfish Class in it’s first year as a recognized International Class. Kingston Sailing Services was the chief organizer of the event. Ross Cameron provided superb race management while Bud Gormley managed the shore activities.

Eighty degree days and 50°(F) water set up perfect conditions for the regatta. The Lake Ontario winds kept the competitors guessing for the entire week and the traditional “go left in Kingston” did not pay off for the first half of the 8-race, one throw-out series held in shifty 8-10 knot winds. In fact, the reliable thermal did not arrive in Kingston until the final race when sailors finally enjoyed a nice 18 to 20 southwesterly, the strongest winds of the week. Full Olympic courses approximately 8 miles in length were the standard, taking anywhere from 50 minutes to 2 hours to complete. The rigorous 4-day, 3-race-a-day schedule was enough to tire most competitors. Waldron Towers and Kingston Yacht Club provided a relaxing atmosphere after racing as did many of the numerous pubs and restaurants in downtown Kingston. A great time was had by all!