[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Lewis_Evan.jpg” caption=”Evan Lewis”]Third-year McMaster kinesiology student Evan Lewis claimed silver in sailing at the Canada Summer Games in Regina, Saskatchewan this month.

Lewis, who was the Laser Male 23 and under competitor for Team Ontario, and was selected to carry the flag for Team Ontario at the opening ceremonies, shares his experience at the Games, an experience he hopes brings him a step closer to competing in the 2008 Olympics.

by Evan Lewis

We arrived in Regina on Monday, August 1. We decided to arrive early for the Games so that I could get used to the local condition on Last Mountain Lake and to also get clock shifted. We had to sail out of the Regina Beach Yacht Club which was across the lake from the Summer Games Sailing site since it did not officially open until Friday.

Tuesday to Thursday had great breeze at times blowing over 20 knots. This was a great way to learn the ins and the outs of the lake by not only sailing but by taking wind readings also. The sailing teams from Saskatchewan and Alberta showed up Thursday afternoon so I finally had to share the lake with other sailors but the rest of the teams did not show up until late Friday.

After sailing Friday I met up with the rest of the Ontario Sailing Team who had flown into Regina and we moved into the Athletes Village at the University of Regina. The Residences had just been finished and we were the first people to stay in them. As the rest of the team was getting settled I was briefed on the opening ceremony and was taken to a rehearsal at Taylor Field.

Saturday we took coach buses up to the sailing venue and had to get our boats measured. After measurement all of our team moved their boats to the Team Ontario tents where we set up all of our spare gear and turned the tent into our 'base camp'.

Once everything was set up we took the bus back to the village to get ready for the opening ceremonies. At the opening ceremonies all of the Team Ontario athletes were organized into their sports for the entrance walk. Since Ontario hosted the last Canada Summer Games we were the first province to walk in.

Because I was carrying the flag, sailing was the first team to enter the stadium. Leading in all of the athletes from Team Ontario was an incredible feeling and as the first person into the stadium it was even more special. Television cameras were all around us and everyone was cheering for us. It was an extremely unique experience. After all the provinces had entered we were treated to a multicultural display from different ethnicities around Saskatchewan including a number of First Nations rituals including a purification ceremony.

After the ceremony was over I was interviewed by the Leader Post (Regina's major newspaper) and a reporter from the Canadian Free Press. They were very interested about the experience of being flag bearer as well as my sailing.

After a late night with the opening ceremonies everyone was thankful that the practice race was scheduled at 2 p.m. After doing some boat work in the morning I headed out on the water for the practice race and was greeted by light and variable winds. After the start, the boats from BC, Quebec and I pulled away from the fleet. We raced for about seven minutes until the race was abandoned due to lack of wind. By the time we were almost at shore the wind filled in so I stayed out on the water to do a bit of extra sailing to get warmed up for the start of the regatta the following day. At 4 p.m. we had an opening ceremony for the sailing venue. This was a great idea but it took far too long and there were a lot of hungry impatient sailors who wanted to get back to the village for dinner. The rest of the night was spent eating and getting ready for the beginning of racing.

When we arrived at the boat park Monday morning we were greeted with more light and variable winds. By the time we reached our course for the start, the winds had stabilized and we were able to get racing.

I started strong and maintained second place for the first leg of the course. On the second upwind I tacked away to the left side of the course which had been favoured the previous time upwind. However, this did not hold true for the second time around, after a 40 degree wind shift to the right I lost five places to finish seventh. This was not the way I had hoped to open the regatta but I dealt with the situation and prepared for the next race.

As the second race started the conditions began to deteriorate. I rounded the first upwind in third and moved into first on the downwind but the wind shifted dramatically and died resulting in the race being abandoned. We were forced to wait on the water for another hour until racing was cancelled for the day.

Tuesday started the same way Monday did with more variable winds. Since the race committee only completed one race yesterday they wanted to complete four races which is the max for one day. The first race was very close to the end and I finished fifth which I was happy with. In the second race, I had a great start and was able to control the fleet by half way up the first leg. On the second upwind my lead was challenged by the boat from Quebec. I held my lead and went onto win my first race of the regatta.

Getting my first win under my belt early in the regatta was good for my confidence and I felt like I sailed better for the rest of the day because of it. The third race of the day was close up to the top of the second upwind where the wind died and oscillated through 30 degrees. This was incredibly frustrating since the race committee would not abandon the race even though the sailing conditions were not very fair. As a result of the wind dying I was unable to gain back what I lost due to the shift and on top of that I lost another boat so I finished fourth.

For the final race of the day the wind started to fill in to about 10 knots which was most welcome by all the sailors. At the first windward mark rounding the boat from Quebec rounded just ahead of me and because of the way the mark was rounded, there was marginal incidental contact between our two boats. The race finished with Quebec ahead of me in second.

Back on shore, he informed me of his intent to protest me because of the contact. After waiting for almost five hours our protest was heard. After presenting a very strong case, I was disqualified from the race. After a very long and taxing night I was absolutely devastated by this verdict. Since we had completed five races we were able to drop our worst race which had been a seventh from the first race up until this point. Now, I had to drop my disqualification and carry the seventh which was very damaging to my series score.

Wednesday was a whole new day and I was treating it as so, putting the events of the previous night out of my mind. We waited on the water for two hours hoping the wind would build but nothing happened, so we were sent ashore to wait. Since nothing filled in, the day was cancelled. The ironic part of the day was that the wind strength was relatively the same as Monday and Tuesday but the race committee decided to wait for better wind since half the regatta was completed. For the entire day as we waited a rumor circulated that there was going to lots of breeze Thursday, so I was very content to wait another day for racing hoping that the rumor would materialize.

As anticipated, Thursday started off with a decent breeze, not as much as people were predicting but more than we had seen to this point in the regatta. Since no races were completed Wednesday we expected the race committee to complete four races to put us ahead of schedule going into the last day.

The first race I was in second for the first leg of the course but worked the shifts on the left side of the course on the second upwind and moved into first and led to the finish. By the start of the next race, wind had started to build which had me very excited to race. I led off the line and protected the favoured left side of the course. By the first downwind I had established a solid lead and was able to protect it downwind and for the remainder of the race, for my second win of the day. I started off the third race of the day with a mediocre start and was unable to get to the left side of the course. Because of this I was forced to work the right side of the course. Luckily I worked the shifts on the right very well and used my speed to cross the back to the left side of the course at the top of the leg in the lead. Downwind I was challenged for the lead by the boat from BC and was able to extend my lead on the second upwind and won my third race of the day. As we were preparing for the fourth race of the day the wind built to its peak just over 20 knots. These conditions were identical to those I had been training in the week before and I felt totally comfortable. Off the start I powered away from the rest of the fleet and led everyone around the course and won my fourth race of day.

This was a great day for me winning all of the races and vaulted me up through the standings to second place and tied in points with the boat from Quebec. John from BC finished second in all of the days races and had few enough points that he was able to claim the gold medal with a race to spare. This was great for John as he sailed a very strong and consistent regatta. My focus for the next day was to make sure that I beat the boat from Quebec to keep my second place standing.

Friday started windier than Thursday which was great for me. Before racing I was interviewed by CBC television. This was a really cool experience. They asked me about how I got into sailing, my campaign, sponsors, my website and my future sailing goals. Finally they touched on my disqualification from Tuesday which was still a slightly sensitive issue for me. I explained the situation and explained that now it was between the two of us to see who won silver and bronze medals. Knowing exactly what I needed to do to win my medal, I was eager to get out on the water. I was the first boat off the beach and was well warmed up by the time the rest of the fleet got down to the race course. The wind had built to 20-25 knots which was windier than Thursday and completely favoured me.

In the pre-start the Quebec boat tried to take control of me but I was always able to sail away. Off the start he forced me to tack away to the right side of the course which was the way I wanted to go. After sailing away for a minute or two I tacked back and as right of way boat I forced him to tack and then sailed overtop of him. For the rest of the upwind I was ahead and extended my lead downwind. For the second upwind I covered him for the entire leg to ensure he could not pass me. On the last downwind I sailed very conservatively to make sure that I did not make any mistakes. After what felt like the longest downwind of my life I rounded the bottom mark and sailed to the finish line in first place. This win secured my silver medal and after crossing the line I launched myself out of my boat in celebration.

Back on shore CBC finished their interview by discussing the race with me. After the interview I packed up all my gear and got ready for the medal ceremony. With the medal ceremony we had the closing ceremony for the sailing venue. As a team we placed second in my class and the male double handed class. After everything was packed up we headed back to Regina for a celebration dinner which was well deserved.

Now that my campaign is over, looking back at the past two years this has been quite an epic journey. At the games I won six of the 10 races which makes a strong statement about my sailing and I am very happy taking home a silver medal. There have been many emotional highs and lows throughout my campaign but it has been completely worthwhile.

“Nothing worth doing is ever easy” – this seemed very fitting as our team motto. From the start, when I launched my website, to winning the qualifiers, to carrying the flag, to having my medal placed around my neck, I have enjoyed every minute of this experience. My sailing skills as well as my results have improved dramatically; I have learned a lot about sailing, training, campaigning, sponsorship and most importantly life as an athlete and sacrifices that must be made.

At this point I would like to thank a whole bunch of people for helping me along the way. Thank you to: everyone who has coached me along the way especially Tim Bishop, Tommy Wharton, Rob Fox, Conner Higgens, Alex Himmelman and Ashley Lethbridge; my personal trainer Matt Sharpe and all of my training partners both on the water and in the gym, everyone who bought T-shirts your generosity has not gone unnoticed, my friends and family for supporting me with encouragement and trying to understand what it is that I do, the Ontario Sailing Team and the Team Ontario Mission staff for their support through the games. Finally I owe a huge thank you to my parents. For their continued support, advice and encouragement, the countless days and weekends on the water at regattas through hot, cold, rain and snow all around North America and of course acting as my primary sponsor, this would not have been possible with out you, thank you.

Next, I will be taking some time off to recover from the Games and to also take some time for myself. I will be keeping my website going to keep everyone informed with what I am doing with my sailing. My next goal is to qualify for the National Sailing Team which will be decided after Miami in January. I will also keep the emails since they seem to be quite popular but they will be a little more spaced out.