International 8 Meter Worlds 2005
(Herbert J. Motley Jr.)

While the rest of you were staring out into the fog on Saturday, I was in Toronto to see Bruce at play!

There were 15 8 Meters on the line. There was a category for modern boats including Pleione and one for classic boats which included most of the locals. Within the modern category there were those with winglets on the keel and those without. Pleione was the top modern boat without winglets, which placed her fifth overall. Much discussion beween Taylor and Dyson about how to attach a set for next year.

Bruce will tell you the complete story, but let it be said that there was a sharp learning curve for a new boat and a new team to sail together. And it's a tough circuit! Happily Pleione improved dramatically as the week wore on finishing fourth and third* in the last two races which I watched.

The asterisk on the third has to do with the story of the eventual winner of the World Cup. It was a two boat race for the top money all week with a French Boat and a Dutch Boat trading first and second evenly to the point where the event would be decided by who won the last race on Saturday. France was one point behind going into the day, but would win a tie-breaker on the "last race" maxim if she beat the Dutch. as they would be tied on points. None of the other boats was really close to them all week.

They had a battle royal all around the "double sausage" course with the French in front. It was as if they were tied together. Unhappily, shortly after the first rounding they were so close that when the French slid to the left, the leech of their main made contact with the spinnaker luff of the Dutch boat, who filed protest. After a long hearing the protest was upheld and Hollandia won the event. Tough way to end a wonderful series. Bruce thus moved up to third for the race, though he had been fourth across the line.

The boats are beautiful, some dating back to 1928! Many have black synthetic sails, so they aren't what the purist might like. Bruce's sails are a cream color from a distance, which adds to the classic look of the boat underway, and his spinnakers are all white. The people are wonderful, much like the IOD crowd you meet here and at other venues, and the Royal Canadian YC is a huge impressive building with two story porches located on an island which forms Toronto's harbor.

It was a wonderful event, and it was very good fun to cheer on the Pleione team in their best performances!

Bruce Dyson (skipper) steered Pleione into 5^th place at the 2005 8 Meters Worlds in Toronto, Canada.