The Canadian Albacore Association publishes results from the Friday Night Race series, held in Toronto Harbour most Friday evenings during the sailing season.
It's not uncommon for a typical race to have over 40 boats on the startline. It's been said the Friday Night series is the Largest Scheduled One-Design Fleet racing in North America.
Friday Night Race Series Results
Overall Results, with all boats included
Club Boat Results, with private boats excluded
Club Aggregate Results, with top 8 finishes for each Community Club in each race
Responsibility for hosting these races is split between the 5 organizing clubs:
- Mooredale Sailing Club (Community Club)
- St. James Town Sailing Club (Community Club)
- Westwood Sailing Club (Community Club)
- Toronto Island Sailing Club (Community Club)
- Outer Harbour Centerboard Club
The specific location of the race depends on the club hosting. Four of the hosting clubs are located adjacent to Cherry Beach, so races are held in the Outer Harbour.
Races hosted by the Toronto Island Sailing Club are run in the inner harbour, between downtown Toronto and Toronto Island.
Races are targeted to last 40 minutes, and generally begin between 6:45–7:00 PM, depending on date. For specific locations, times and dates, please check the Event Calendar.
The CAA maintains overall standings for each sailor who takes part, with separate classifications for Helm and Crew.
A sailor's overall score for the season is taken by adding up their best finishes. The number of races included in this score depends on the number of races run. If all 19 Friday Night races are run, the season score takes a sailor's best 8.
Sailing Instructions
Open Racing
Racing is open to all class-legal albacores who have signed up and paid the registration fee.
In the open category, teams are allowed to use their own boats and pair up themselves. 1st place is awarded a commemorative mug, which has a design which changes every year.
Because of rules against high-tech materials, wooden boats remain competitive in the Albacore class— often winning races!
Club Racing
Most of the participants in the Friday Night Race are members of one of the four Community Clubs. Each club randomizes the pairing of Helm and Crew for Friday Night races, and the pairing changes every week.
The CAA records results for club boats separately from the open category results, and the top 5 club boats are all awarded a commemorative mug.
Spanish Donkey Award
The 4 Community Clubs also compete to have the best aggregate results for each race over the entire season.
In each race, each club receives points equal to the finishing position of its best 8 boats.
At the end of the season, the club with the fewest points is awarded the Spanish Donkey.