Winners for Gallagher Skippers’ Plan Athletes of the Year, Volunteer of the Year and Gerry Roufs Trophy also rewarded on Friday during Canada’s Celebration of Sailing
Kingston, July 12, 2024 – Lee Parkhill from Oakville, Ontario, was named Sail Canada’s 2024 Sailor of the Year on Friday during Canada’s Celebration of Sailing event held by Sail Canada and the Ashbridge’s Bay Yacht Club.
During the same event, Sarah Douglas and Parkhill were also announced as Gallagher Skippers’ Plan Athletes of the Year, while Wendy Loat from Mississauga, Ontario, received the Volunteer of the Year Award, and Melodie Schaffer from Toronto, the Gerry Roufs Trophy.
Lee Parkhill: 2024 Sailor of the Year
(Photo: Christian Bonin/TSGphoto.com)
Within the timeframe of January 1st to December 31st, 2023, Lee Parkhill became Pan American Champion in Sunfish at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games.
This is the second time that Lee Parkhill has won this award, having also done so in 2015.
Sail Canada’s Sailor of the Year Award has been presented annually since 1986 to individuals who have provided global recognition to Canadian sailing and Sail Canada, and who are renowned leaders that have attained high levels of excellence with significant results and accomplishments in world events or activities. Along with recognition for exemplary sportsmanship, they have held the respect of their fellow sailors.
Amongst previous winners of Sail Canada’s Rolex Sailor of the Year Award, Canada’s Olympic and Paralympic medalists Evert Bastet (2007), Terry McLaughlin (2001 and 2013), John McRoberts and Jackie Gay (2016), as well as Paul Tingley (2008), are all on that prestigious list, as is Ross MacDonald, who won it three times (in 1990 and 1992 with Eric Jespersen, and in 2004 with Mike Wolfs).
After he took part in the 2008 Sunfish World Championships held in Canada, and then represented Canada in the Laser (ILCA 7) class at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and Toronto 2015 Pan American Games, winning a bronze medal at the latter, Parkhill started training again in the Sunfish class in March of 2023.
But in order to compete once again in Sunfish at the Pan American Games, he first had to earn the lone Canadian spot for Santiago 2023, which he did by winning a tiebreaker against Luke Ramsay at the 2023 Sunfish North American Championships. Ramsay was the silver medalist at the Lima 2019 and Toronto 2015 Pan American Games in the Sunfish class.
After the first day of racing was cancelled because of lack of wind, Ramsay took a six-point lead on Parkhill. But on the last day of competition, Parkhill recorded two third-place results and won one race, which was a turning point, as Ramsay registered two second-place finishes and one fourth-position result. Tied at 30 points at the end of the event, Parkhill finished ahead of Ramsay thanks to his first-place finish in race #6.
In Santiago, in a very tight Sunfish competition where only two points separated Parkhill in the leading position from third place before the medal race, the Canadian sailor was able to keep his position and win the gold medal.
“It is an incredible honour to win Sailor of the Year for the 2023 season and for the second time,” said Lee Parkhill. “Representing Canada is always a privilege and I’m proud to have won a gold medal for Canada! Listening to “O Canada” while standing on top of the podium was a moment I’ll never forget. Thank you to Sail Canada and for those who nominated me for this prestigious award. All the best to the team representing Canada later this month in France!”
Sarah Douglas and Lee Parkhill: Gallagher Skippers’ Plan Athletes of the Year
(Photo credit: Christian Bonin/TSGphoto.com)
Lee Parkhill took home a second award, the Gallagher Skippers’ Plan Athletes of the Year.
The Gallagher Skippers’ Plan Athletes of the Year Awards are given out annually to two current Canadian Sailing Team or Development Squad members athletes/teams of different gender identities.
Sarah Douglas from Toronto was also named as one of the winners of the Gallagher Skippers’ Plan Athletes of the Year.
During the timeframe of January 1st to December 31st, 2023, while competing in ILCA 6, Douglas won a gold medal at the French Olympic Week event and silver at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games, took the 21st spot at the 2023 European Championships, and finished fifth twice over the seven international events in which she took part.
She was also the first athlete to earn an Olympic spot for Canada at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games when she finished 24th at the 2023 World Sailing Championships.
“Wow! It’s an honour to win Athlete of the Year again,” said Sarah Douglas. “This Olympic cycle has been a busy one and I am happy to see some results from the hard work that I have put in. The 2023 season was one of the hardest in my career, but this is a team effort and I’d like to thank everyone in my corner and the community for their endless support.”
Wendy Loat: Volunteer of the Year
(Photo: Christian Bonin/TSGphoto.com)
Wendy Loat from Mississauga, Ontario, received the Volunteer of the Year Award, which recognizes volunteers for their outstanding contributions to sailing activities at Sail Canada member clubs, sailing schools and regattas. The contributions can be related to activities by the candidate(s) over a period of years or to a specific event or program during a particular year.
Wendy Loat has been a dedicated volunteer at the local, provincial and national levels within the sport of sailing for many years. She is involved in her home club of Ashbridge’s Bay Yacht Club, has been a longtime volunteer and committee member with Ontario Sailing and has been the Chair of the Sail Canada Training and Certification Advisory Committee (TCAC) since 2016.
Through all these roles, Wendy Loat looks at situations and opportunities objectively, striving to ensure fairness and equality within the sport.
An active Thunderbird and ILCA sailor and certified as a National Judge (since 2011), she supports the development of youth sailors from local club regattas to National Championships, as well as at events held outside of Canada. She is supportive and encouraging of new Judges and those developing in the system. Through her work with the Ontario Judges Sub-Committee, the Sail Canada Judges Sub-Committee and the Training and Certification Advisory Committee (TCAC), Wendy has contributed to the Sail Canada Judge Program Criteria, training and resources, while also delivering Judge training seminars and development sessions annually.
Wendy’s work on the TCAC has expanded her reach within Sail Canada, ensuring that program criteria and standards are met within the CANSail, Cruising, Power, Navigation and Officials programs. She has been a dedicated leader and committed to her role with the TCAC for the past eight years. Her term as Chair of the TCAC will come to an end in October of 2024.
She has recently taken on a role with CORK to lead the recruitment and development of Judges through the events hosted annually at CORK. In taking on that role, she is sure to have a strong positive impact on many events, sailors, and opportunities for Judges in Canada.
“I am honoured to receive this award,” said Wendy Loat. “There are so many people who contribute so much. I have had several mentors over the years, and many people are willing to step up and make sailing a better sport. There are plenty of opportunities to get involved at your club, to help your province and to step into a role at Sail Canada. Volunteering your time and your skills for any purpose can be truly gratifying.”
Melodie Schaffer: Winner of the Gerry Roufs Trophy
(Photo: Christian Bonin/TSGphoto.com)
Melodie Schaffer from Toronto received the 2024 Gerry Roufs Trophy.
The award is presented to the person whose achievement in international offshore racing has had a significant impact on the recognition of sailing in Canada.
This award was established in 1998 by the Canadian Yachting Association to honour the memory of Gerry Roufs, the internationally renowned Canadian sailor and single-handed offshore racer who was lost at sea in 1997.
Over the timeframe of January 1st to December 31st, 2023, she took part in the Globe 40 race while the last three legs were held in 2023 in this 35,000-mile, eight-leg, double-handed competition that takes sailors around the world in Class 40s. Seven teams took part in the 175-day event which started in Morocco and had stops in Cape Verde, Mauritius, New Zealand, French Polynesia, Argentina, Brazil and Grenada, ultimately ending up in France.
During the Globe 40, Melodie, the skipper, and her teammates set three speed records during the race, in legs 1, 7 and 8, the last two having been held in 2023.
From January to March for the final three legs, she raced from Ushuaia (bottom of South America) to France with co-skipper Tom Pierce. In leg 6 to Recife, Brazil, she battled 60 thunderstorms in 48 hours. Leg 7 was a highlight of the race for her, as she won the leg and also set a leg speed record as well as an overall speed record of 347 nautical miles in 24 hours for an average boat speed of 14.3kn. Leg 7 was the first time in the competition that she was not starting the race with a new co-skipper, so she was able to focus on the race and not worry about building the team dynamics, as she had done up to this point. In Leg 8, she faced a problem with her starboard rudder and had to do a short stopover repair in Guadalupe. She pushed hard to make up the time and catch up to the other racers, and in doing so set another speed record for the leg.
In June 2023, she raced in the Class 40 Normandy Channel Race as a co-skipper with Juliat Virat on a French boat, Chinook, and took 24th place.
“It is truly an honour to receive this award and be recognized in Canada for my offshore racing,” said Melodie Schaffer. “Offshore sailing is a unique sport, as you are pushing yourself and your boat to be their best 24 hours/day for days and weeks on end. Much of the time, you are alone, far away from your competitors, trimming sails at night by flashlight/torch, navigating, interpreting the weather, reefing sails ahead of storms, appreciating the small moments like a beautiful sunset, dolphins or the night sky, and all the while doing what you love – sailing.
“Offshore has given me a new challenge, a new way to grow as a person, a new way to appreciate sailing, and an amazing way to see the world.”
“I am very proud to be flying the Canadian flag as I race offshore, and compete internationally.”
The awards were handed out during Canada’s Celebration of Sailing reception, where performances and experiences of Canada’s high-performance sailors of the past, present and future are celebrated. This year’s reception was attended by over 125 sailors of all ages, including members and alumni of Sail Canada’s National Team and Development Squad members, and several supporters of Canadian sailing.
About Sail Canada
Established in 1931, Sail Canada is the national governing body for the sport of sailing in the country. Sail Canada is a leading international sailing nation, proud of its world class athletes, lifelong participants and inclusive culture. The organization and its members are committed to excellence by developing and training its leaders, athletes, sailors, instructors, coaches and officials. With the valued support from our partners, the Provincial Sailing Associations and our member clubs, schools, organizations and stakeholders, sailing is promoted in all its forms. By setting standards and delivering programs from home pond to podium for Canadians of all ages and abilities, from dinghies to keelboats, cruising to navigation, windsurfing to powerboating and accessible sailing, Sail Canada sets sail for all, sail to win and sail for life.
A sport in the Olympic program since the first Games in 1896, except in 1904, the pursuit of success in these Games is what fuels the focus of Sail Canada as Canadian athletes have so far achieved nine Olympic and five Paralympic medals.
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