Katie May
Northern News Services
Published Monday, Friday, June 27, 2008

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Eight boat crews tested their sailing techniques at a race course on Great Slave Lake last weekend - but the top prize didn't go to the fastest skipper.

The Cup went to the top fundraiser, skipper Ian McCrea, sailing Ice Cubed, raised $2,500.

The NWT Council of Persons with Disabilities and the Great Slave Cruising Club opened the boat racing season with their 17th annual Abilities Cup race on Sunday at the Giant Mine site cruising clubhouse. The race raises money for disability services.

As of Monday the council had raised $5,200 and was still waiting for more pledges to trickle in.

McCrea said most of his coworkers pledged him for the race. This was his second time vying for the Ability Cup and he said he'll try to raise even more money for the cause next year.

The weather conditions on Sunday were ideal for racing, McCrea said, even though it was all for fun.

"There is always a certain degree of competition but I don't think any of us aspire to be Olympic class racers," said McCrea.

"We all do our best without getting caught up in it."

The overall winner and winner in the fastest dinghy category was Greg Littlefair with his boat PDQ (Papa Delta Quebec).

Littlefair said he thinks he'll get more pledges for next year's race when he tells people he was a winner this year.

"Beating the keelboats is always fun, it's challenging," he said, especially since the wind's direction and speed changed several times during the race, at one point stalling the boats as it slowed down.

"It was technically challenging getting through that section of calm," said Littlefair. "That was difficult."

Skipper Terry Pamplin's Red Shift won fastest keelboat.

The Ability Cup race, like all Cruising Club races, uses the portsmouth yardstick handicap scale to deduct points from bigger, faster boats and adjust finishing times so all types of boats have equal chances of winning.

Iain McPherson, a crew member on Yola, one of the largest boats in the race, said the event is always a fun way to spend the day, including musical performances, a barbecue and draw prizes.

"We do this every year - take a group on board, take them out for supper, show them around the race course and try to lose a few over the side," McPherson laughed after the race.