The best windsurfers in the world are going to converge on the windy waters of Howe Sound once again this summer.
Canadian windsurfing expert Sam Ireland is bringing the 2005 Men's North American Windsurfing Championships to Squamish in July.
This event comes after a quiet summer without any major events in 2004. Squamish's first attempt at hosting a major international event was in 2003 when the Women's World Cup and the Canadian National Windsurfing Championships were held here.
Unlike the event in 2003, which was based at the end of the Squamish River Spit, the event this year will be headquartered on the former Nexen lands.
"We estimate 40 to 60 competitors from all over North America and a few from Europe and will have more than enough parking for these numbers," Ireland wrote in an e-mail message to The Chief.
The event is scheduled for July 20 to 23 with July 24 set aside as a reserve day in case there is bad weather. The competition will begin each day at 9 a.m. and continue until 7 p.m. for the first three days. Sailing will be complete by 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 23 with an awards ceremony and party to follow at the Howe Sound Inn and Brewing Company.
According to Ireland, toilets will be brought to the site along with a dumpster and garbage cans.
There will be a small rigging area and that spot will be located close to place where parking is to take place. The rigging area is going to be surrounded by plastic fencing.
Ireland said the sailors will marshal on the beach and racing will be run from a start boat offshore.
Other event details are still being worked out.
Ireland is from Vancouver and he knows Squamish well. He won the Canadian National Windsurfing Championship here in 2003.
The event in 2003 attracted about 400 spectators. John Barson, the organizer of the event two years ago, said those who watched the freestyle competition were able to get a closer than usual look at the competition because the sailors were very close to the shore. He said most windsurfing events are held on sandy beaches and the competitors are always a long distance from the beach so it is difficult for spectators to see the action.
According to Barson, the conditions in Squamish are also unique in that high winds blow consistently over flat water.
The organizer estimated that about 400 people watched the event at the spit.
Barson is helping Ireland with the event this summer.
"We also have the 2007 Canadian Nationals," Barson said. "It will be a pre-Olympic event so Canadian team selection will take place here."
