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OAK BAYNEWS WITH FLYING COLOURS Friday, September 27, 2013
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ictoria-born Erin Berry and her sailing partner, Lauren Laventure of Hudson, Quebec, are the current 49erFX Canadian champions. After placing second in the U.S. Nationals in New York in August, the duo is competing in its first 49erFX World Championship, Sept. 24-29, in Marseilles, France. The News caught up with Berry in the days preceding the race to ask about the upcoming competition and challenges ahead.
Elodie Adams Special to the News
These days, 21-year old Erin Berry, who began sailing at the Royal Victoria Yacht Club at age eight, is learning how to navigate the waves of the Mediterranean Sea in a 49erFX sailboat. “The 49erFX is a high-performance skiff, which means it is very difficult to sail,” says Berry. She notes the venue plays a huge part. “The wake conditions and the wind, if there is a tide, a current, any of that kind of stuff affects our racing. “For example, where I’ve been training all summer in Kingston, Ont., it gets windy
Erin Berry, left, and Lauren Laventure during the CORK Olympic Classes Regatta in Kingston, Ont. in August. time on site before a race, which means and there are big waves on the lake when added expenses on an already tight the wind picks up,” she says. “They are budget. She and her partner short waves, and they’re close Lauren Laventure had to be together and they’re pretty “Here in in Marseilles two weeks prior high. But here in Marseilles where we are sailing, there Marseilles … these to the competition to get boat customized and are huge rollers that come huge, huge rollers their to practise in the conditions through. So these huge, huge rollers come through and it’s come through and of the course. But as if the sporting challenge wasn’t like learning how to sail again it’s like learning enough, there is the added in these wind conditions.” how to sail again.” challenge of logistics. Berry says the wind is “We have to find a place always going to be the main - Erin Berry to stay – an apartment – and factor in taking part in any make sure it’s in our price regatta, and the reason why range, and we had to buy a boat here,” she they have to allow themselves plenty of
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explains. Although it meant finding an extra $26,000, Berry says the purchase will actually save them a lot of money over the next three years, as opposed to chartering a boat for every regatta they attend. As members of the Canadian Sailing Team, Berry and Laventure are carded athletes, and receive a monthly stipend which helps them with some living expenses. But for many other costs, she says, it’s their parents who help them out. PlEASE SEE: On the road to Rio, Page A5
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