A team of seven young sailors from Toronto (Etobicoke), including Andrew Kanarek, Andrzej Sienkiewicz, Sean Wylie, Sebastian Nagy, Taylor Knoll, Thea Cheeseman and Tim Morland, won out over submissions from several European countries to represent world youth in the 8-Metre World Championships being held August 17-24, 2024, in Scotland, U.K.
The team will be racing a Classic (all mahogany) 8-Metre class boat named Athena, made available specifically for a team of youth sailors by its owner John Boyle, Earl of Cork and Earl of Orrery, and a member of the British House of Lords.
The Toronto team comprises seven young sailors in their early 20s who honed their sailing and racing skills through the Junior Sail program at Etobicoke Yacht Club (EYC), a self-help boating club based in Humber Bay. Advanced racing, tactical and teamwork skills came through the Junior Sail high performance racing team, and from sailing on board C&C 27s and an 8-Metre boat skippered by Steve Reid, an EYC member who has helped develop competitive racers graduating out of the EYC Junior Sail program.
All seven went on to become sailing coaches/instructors, and all have continued to race competitively with and against each other. Between them they have won dozens of racing awards at the international, national and Lake Ontario levels.
About 8-Metre boats and the 8-Metre World Championships
The Toronto team will be sailing Athena, a 1939 Neptune classic 8-Metre built by Tore Holm, a winning Swedish racer and boat builder of the 1930s. The Toronto team will be racing against boats from across Europe at this year’s World Championships being held on The Clyde just outside Glasgow, Scotland. Host clubs are Royal Northern & Clyde Yacht Club and Mudhook Yacht Club.
8-Metre Class Yachts — whether Classic or Modern have, through the years, always been designed by the best yacht designers of their times. These 45-foot yachts have been a part of the sail racing scene including the Canada’s Cup for more than 100 years, and still are considered among the most competitive and beautiful of racing yachts on the seas today.
