COLD LAKE - Stephen Marsden, a Cold Lake resident and lifelong sailing enthusiast, recently came in first place at the 25th annual Prairie Endurance Challenge.
The Prairie Endurance Challenge (PEC), which took place in Cold Lake on Aug. 12, involved a 25-mile race around the southern portion of the lake. A total of five boat crews from the Lakeland region, Edmonton and Fort McMurray competed against each other for a shot at winning the Hornet Class Trophy, awarded for the fastest boat in the PEC.
Marsden, a member of the Cold Lake Sailing Association, has participated in the PEC every year since 2006. He is the skipper of the Ragnar Danneskjöld, a J/24 boat class boat, and sailed as part of a five-member crew during the race, which lasted just over three hours.
“This was one of the shortest Prairie Endurance Challenges that I have ever competed in,” Marsden told Lakeland This Week. “My time was three hours, 20 minutes, and 26 seconds, roughly half an hour less than the rest of the fleet. Although the race director was aiming for five hours, there was a lot of uncertainty with the winds, which made the race shorter.”
While the crew of the Ragnar Danneskjöld managed to keep pushing forward until they reached victory, inclement weather on the first day of the race ensured that it would not be smooth sailing. Wind conditions were breezy to moderately heavy, while a storm squall ran through the fleet near the end of the race, which for about 10 minutes was impacted by driving rain, hail, and winds that reached upwards of 55 km/hour.
But before the race even began, Marsden had difficulty getting going.
“On Saturday, I was late out of the marina and my boat had weeds around the propeller and rudder,” he explained, adding that the six-minute countdown to start began as soon as he was out. “I used most of that time dealing with the weeds. I had gotten that dealt with only to discover that I was out of position, which meant with the light winds at the start of the race, I couldn’t even reach the start line until four minutes after the race had already begun.”
During the first leg of the PEC, which ran from the marina to Rocky Point, Marsden had to contend with another sailboat in his blind spot while the two vessels suddenly found themselves on a collision course.
“I was preoccupied and didn’t see him. He had to change course to avoid a collision,” he stated. “As a penalty, I had to do a 720-degree turn, as well as two complete rotations. It was the worst start I have had in years.”
The next leg of the race involved a long northwest run to English Bay. Instead of going directly to the buoy, Marsden and his crew remained further from the shore than their competitors.
“The wind was [coming] from the west, and I thought I would be in stronger wind,” he said. “This seemed to work because we were physically in the lead by the end of that leg. That said, we still had to make up because of the handicap.”
When this was over, the crew of the Ragnar Danneskjöld embarked on a long spinnaker run across Cold Lake to French Bay. As Marsden explains, his crew had been drilling spinnaker changes, which were set as they rounded the mark. By this part of the race, the crew - through good navigation and efficient spinnaker flying – managed to gain a sufficient lead over their rivals.
But, as events unfolded, holding onto this lead would prove particularly difficult. Partway through the trip, the wind strengthened considerably, causing the crew to reef the main sail in a bid to reduce its area to avoid excessive heel.
“While we were in light winds for first part of that leg, during the larger portion, our competitors had the advantage of strong winds, which enabled them to gain on us considerably,” Marsden stated. “I honestly thought we had lost. With the handicap, you never truly know until the times are corrected and the scores announced.”
The crew of sailors returned to the Cold Lake Marina more than a bit surprised to learn that they were about to be crowned victors of the race.
“In the Prairie Endurance Challenge, although the winning crew receives the Hornet Class Trophy for having the fastest boat, there really are no prizes, just glory,” Marsden said. “These days, I’m focusing on building my team. Skippers are always looking for crew willing to commit to regular participation."
