May 24, 2013 - Kingston, ON
Sail Canada is pleased to announce that Alexander Heinzemann and Steve Mitchell are recipients of the Petro-Canada Fuelling Athletes and Coaching Excellence (FACE) program. Petro-Canada, a Suncor Energy business, awards 50 athlete and coach pairings with $8,000 to help fuel their sport dreams. 

The FACE program has provided more than 2,400 Canadian athletes and coaches with over $8 million in direct financial support. The 2013 recipients include pairings from six provinces and represent both winter and summer athletes and teams. 
 

Executive Director, Paddy Boyd reacts, “This is great news – the award will allow Alex, with Steve’s support and guidance, to close the gap and achieve carded status – another couple of steps on the road to his Olympic dream”.

May 24, 2013 - Medemblik, Holland
Medemblik served up a fine winters day on the 3rd day of racing. Greeted to 6 degree temperatures that reached a balmy 8 degrees including a cocktail of hail and rain. The breeze ranged from 8 to 15 over the course of the day with significant oscillations. 

For the Radial team, a minor postponement allowed the Laser and Finn sailors to enjoy the worst of the weather and more variable conditions. The delay created a long day yet solid in many respects for the Radial team. A steady left trend in the breeze and pressure coming off the land made races 2 and 3 on the day somewhat of a drag race although opportunities did exist to make your moves.

May 22, 2013 - Medemblik, Holland
Big wind Wednesday at Delta Lloyd Regatta. Strong North Westerly winds greeted the sailors as day broke, the slate grey sky, single digit temperatures and breeze in the 20-25 knot range promised for much entertainment on the race track. For both the Laser and Radial classes the race format called for a split to a 25 boat Gold fleet following todays racing so the stakes were high in an effort to strike gold. The Radial squad was first up with a 9:30 start and true to form the Dutch did not disappoint starting at 9:30 on the nose. With the wind having blown consistently in the 20s since early the previous evening the "square waves" that Medemblik is renowned for were ever present creating mayhem for all. 

May 21, 2013 - Medemblik, Holland
Challenging and cold conditions greeted the sailors on the first day of the Delta Lloyd Regatta in Holland. The wind began in the 10-12 knot
range and built to 17 to 19 knots by the days end. Olympian Greg Douglas sailed in his element in the Finn class today to earn the lead in this qualifying series with a 2, 2, 1. Fellow Canadian Finn sailor Martin Robitaille sits in 9th, Rob Hemming and Jeff Roney are currently sitting in 13th and 18th respectively. National team coach Chris Cook is pleased saying, "Day 1 in the Finn was a great one. The team came here to check in on their training to see how things are moving along. So far so good.  Focusing on process the boys are all seeing improvements in their sailing and are looking forward to the rest of the event."

The 29th edition of the Delta Lloyd Regatta is just a few short days away. A long time stalwart event on the European circuit has continued to thrive and evolve as the years pass. Most recently the evolution was from the ISAF World Cup circuit to the newly created Champions Sailing Cup. Medemblik and the Delta Lloyd event joins Faglia Vela Riva, ITA, Kieler Woche GER, Sail for Gold GBR and Semaine Olympique Francaise in La Rochelle to for the new Champions Cup circuit.

This edition of the Delta Lloyd event includes many of the top players from the successful Dutch 2012 Olympic Team as well as an array of 2012 medallist from other countries. Olympic and Paralympic Champions competing include Gold Medallists; Dorian Van Rijsselberghe, NED (RSX),  Helena Lucas GBR (2.4mR), Lijia Xu CHN (Radial), Matt Belcher AUS (470), Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie NZL (470 w), 2012 Silver Medallists: Marit Bouwmeester NED (Radial) and 2012 Bronze Medallists; Allan Norregaard DEN (49er) Peter Lang DEN (49er) each sailing with new partners, and Przemyshaw Miarozynski POL (RSX).