This Easter weekend, 15 athletes were grouped at the Corinthian Yacht Club in Cape May, NJ, for a spring training camp aimed to get a jump start on the season. Record lows and a strong 25-30 knot northerly wind created “interesting” conditions for the athletes and their coaches. However, after having removed all the snow from their boats and dressed in several layers, the team was ready to take on the cold shifty gusts and large rolling waves of the open ocean.

A journalist from the Cape May Star and Wave, Christopher South, showed up to take pictures for an article to be published in the Cape May newspaper regarding these « crazy Canadians » sailing in the snow. Here is the article:

Quebec sailing team tests Cape May waters

By CHRISTOPHER SOUTH

Cape May Star and Wave

CAPE MAY – Fifteen members of the Quebec Provincial Sailing Team who came to Cape May for warmer temperatures got chilly temperatures and gusty winds.
But that's okay. In their home province they won't be able to sail for three more weeks because of the ice.
Sailing team coach Nick Kim, 24, was familiar with Cape May because his parents used to have a time-share on Ocean City. He figured Cape May would be an ideal spot for training because of the facilities, sailing opportunities, and quiet.
"I wanted (the site) to be in small town so they could be independent, be able to go around town and not necessarily be in Atlantic City…to be safe. Here it's perfect for all needs. This whole setup is perfect for what we need," he said.
Kim found the website for the Corinthian Yacht Club of Cape May and communicated with Rear Commodore Rick Coale. Coale said the yacht club agreed to provide the team with the use of its facilities.
"It's a part of the mission of the yacht club to promote sailing and we thought it was the right thing to do," he said.
Coale said hosting the team would also help prepare the club for hosting the national Men's Single-handed Championships being held July 24 to 28. Eight individuals competing in the same class boats will qualify for the Olympic trials.
The 15 Canadian youths, mainly from Montreal or Quebec City, are sailing Laser, Radial, or 29er class boats. Each is an Olympic class boat – the Laser is a single-handed sailboat, 13-feet long, with a fiberglass hull and a Dacron sail. The women sail in the Radial class which is the same boat but with a smaller sail.
The 29er is a junior class, double-handed skiff boat with Mylar sails.
Kim said generally the team members' goal is to compete in the Olympics. However, there are 30 members on the Quebec provincial team alone, and only 14 Laser/Radial slots on the Olympic team. So for now they focus on competing at the provincial level. However the provincial government provides the team with a lot of support.
"The Quebec government funds a lot of their training – the camps are free for them, transportation down here is free, the coaching is free," Kim said.
They do have to qualify for the team to have the benefit of so much sponsorship. Kim said the team members, who range in ages from 15 to 19, have all been sailing since they were very young; which is when they have to start to be at the level they are now. He said if they continue their training they could be on the national team by the time they are 21. Being on the national team has even more benefits, including university tuition, a monthly stipend of about $1,500, as well as being eligible for numerous grants.
"If they live in Quebec they get $10,000 on top of that, so they are looking at about $45,000 net, per year just for sailing. And they are traveling all over the world Europe, Spain, France, so they live a nice life," Kim said.
When Kim said "just for sailing," he didn't mean it was for doing nothing. There is a lot of physical and mental strength required for sailing. Kim said he played rugby, hockey, and has snowboarded, and sailing burns more energy than any of those.
"Especially on the Laser. When you hit those waves going upwind, you are using legs, upper body and trunk," he said.
Each race lasts for anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour, although local events might be shorter.
While in Cape May, the team was training three hours per day, plus an additional hour of fitness training. Kim said a typical race will start with up to 90 boats on the starting line, which requires technical and tactical skills, but strength is important as well. "That four hours will usually wipe them out," Kim said.
Kim said the team spent the winter training in Miami, and once a year goes to Cabarete in the Dominican Republic. The team also travels to competitions across North America throughout the year. Kim said sailing is generally a year 'round sport, but the Canadian season stops from December until April, when the ice melts. So they must travel to train and compete to stay on top of their game.
"And that's why we go down to Florida. It's really important to be competitive with all the Americans and people from other countries. Canada is pretty much the only country where you can't train in the winter. And you can't tough it out. That is why we are really pushing these camps. We came here to get a three-week jump on the season, and its worth the 10-hour drive," Kim said.
Coale said Cape May's location made the Corinthian Yacht Club the right choice for the Quebec team and for the championships they will host this summer.
"Location and venue made us the right choice. We have the ability to have races in the harbor, in the bay and in the ocean, which is pretty much unlike anywhere else on the east coast," he said.

The training group consists of: Laurence Bonneau-Charland, Chanel Beaudoin-Cloutier, Maxime Gagnon, Martin Robitaille, Phénix Beaudoin-Cloutier, Katie Yeo, Caroline Morgan, Cedric Campbell, Martin Lefevbre, Alex Chouinard, Eric Chouinard, Nick Kroeger, Peter Soosalu, Rachel Bussin, and Lauren Laventure. Coaches Nick Kim, Genevieve Gagné, and Genevieve Bougie-Bastien.

Photos from the article can be seen at

http://quebesailingteam.myphotoalbum.com/

Nicolas Kim

Entraîneur Chef