Beneteau 36.7 First Today
© Tim Wilkes
"I have sailed with a very consistent crew for a number of years and this definitely played a role in our win," explained Tisdale who bought his boat brand new in 2002. "We have raced in every North American championship in the past ten years except for one and with 19 boats racing in this year's regatta, it was exciting and a lot of fun for everyone," Tisdale explained.
The regatta started with light to medium breezes on Thursday and Friday but by Saturday, a front rolled through and brought heavy wind and big waves to Lake Erie causing racing to be canceled. On Sunday, the wind was light and finicky with some left over chop from the day before. "Going into Sunday, my crew was just fantastic," said Tisdale. “We were able to keep the boat going the whole time despite the drastic wind shifts and lumpy water. My tactician (Adam Burns) did an awesome job keeping us headed in the right direction and the crew kept the boat going where Adam wanted throughout the entire regatta. We didn't have one boat handling mistake over three days which was very impressive.”
Although First Today was not originally outfitted with North sails, Gary decided to switch to North two years ago. "I am very happy with the performance of the sails. They definitely gave us an advantage because they are so flexible across a wide range of conditions," he explained. "We can use them in lighter conditions but when we start to get more breeze, that's where they really excel," he explained. "These sails are very dynamic in terms of their adjustment range also. We can make them full if we need to or flatten them out which is a huge advantage for us." Class rules allow boats to race with a total of five sails and Tisdale is now armed with a full set of North Class Sail Development sails including an MN-2 3DL Carbon/Technora mainsail; AP-2 3DL Carbon/Technora 155% Genoa; and an AirX 600 0.5 ounce V-Series spinnaker.
While Tisdale and his eight Corinthian crew members race primarily in the Great Lakes, they took First Today to Annapolis for the 2010 North Americans and Tisdale has chartered other 36.7s to race in both San Diego and Newport, RI. When not racing, he and his wife Melanie cruise the boat quite a bit. "This year we cruised to Thousand Islands (located on the US/Canadian border) at the end of August and when we were down in Annapolis for the 2010 North Americans, we did quite a bit of cruising on the Chesapeake. The 36.7 is such a great dual-purpose boat, it's very quick and it's also very comfortable, we have been very pleased with it overall," Tisdale said.
Although Team First Today is finished racing for this season, their calendar is already full for next year. "We had an awesome season in 2012, winning every regatta we entered including the Toronto Hospice Cup (which also served as the Beneteau 36.7 Canadian Championship), ABYC Open, Niagara Hospice Cup, Youngstown Levels Regatta and finally the North Americans," explained Tisdale, who will next race at Key West Race Week onboard Bob Hesse's J/111 Lake Effect. "We hope to do many of the same events next year and we definitely plan to try to defend our North American title in Chicago in late August/early September," he concluded.
The team at North Sails wishes Gary Tisdale and his crew much success in the 2013 racing season. For complete news, results and photos from the Beneteau 36.7 North Americans, visit: http://www.2012beneteau367northamerican.com
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