Media
Official Midland 2010 Event Photography
Newspaper Articles about the Event
August 18, 2010 – Blue Mountains Courier-Herald
Town truly embraced spirit of Atlantic Challenge
MIDLAND – The spirit of Atlantic Challenge will live on in the hearts and minds of those who participated, volunteered and watched the 2010 International Contest of Seamanship.
The event was a tremendous success as a result of the countless hours volunteers, businesses and town staff put in to making it so. Longboats were treated with care by Vic and Ed at Bayport Yachting Centre, and the marina staff under the direction of Scott Cain tended to each crew with compassion and caring.
The crews were shown hospitality second to none by the community, which included Beausoleil Island, St. Mark’s Church and the North Simcoe Sports and Recreation Centre. Special thanks to Midland Bay Sailing Club for hosting the Canadian crew for the month leading up to the event.
The staff at the NSSRC provided a top-notch “camping” experience for more than 250 participants. With guidance from Lynn and Bob Morton, Larry, Lorraine and Lori from ELM Catering provided food with a smile.
Each night saw the crews come together in the event tent with Linda and Jim Wagg and their group of volunteers. It was great to see the community come out for the opening and closing concerts and interact with the crews.
All of this could not have happened without the board that runs Atlantic Challenge Canada. They include Alain Doutre, Cheryl Keith, Erica Vleer, Greg Morton, Mark Bingham and Susan Reynolds.
It was wonderful to see the community pull together, open their hearts and homes to so many from throughout the world, and truly embrace the youth of the Atlantic Challenge family.
–Scott Wagg, Chairman, Atlantic Challenge Canada
August 9, 2010 – The Press and Jounal (Scotland)
Youngsters sail off with world honours
A team of young Moray sailors has come out on top in an international sailing competition.
The 10 youngsters from the Moray gig, a traditional sail training vessel based at Findhorn, were part of the 19-member British team which won the demanding Atlantic Challenge International Competition of Seamanship in Canada.
Gavin Sim, from Keith; Stewart Samson, from Huntly; Elizabeth Owen, Lewis Owen and Rachel Innes, all from Forres; Ben Stone, from Glenferness; and Robert, Victoria, and Chloe Hunt, from Findhorn, had been training every weekend for several months.
The contest was held at Midland, Ontario, where contestants from Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Indonesia, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Russia and the US battled it out against Britain.
All 13 teams were sailing in replica wooden 1796 Bantry gigs – 10-oared and three-masted boats, each with a crew of 13.
The competition involved demanding sessions of rowing, combined sail and rowing races and traditional seamanship tasks such as ropework and navigation.
Neil Sutherland, vice-chairman of the Moray Gig, attended the event as one of the judging team.
He said: “I have been involved with four Atlantic Challenge Contests now, and this was certainly the best. The town of Midland, Ontario really laid on their support.
“The weather was almost perfect – warm winds and relatively sheltered water, which provided ideal sailing conditions for the gigs. The winds did change both strength and direction quite rapidly though, which was a challenge for the crews.”
Gary Hunt, chairman of the Moray Gig, said it was a fantastic result.
“It shows what teamwork, skill and hard work can achieve,” he said.
“We also have a strong group of youngsters coming up, and we hope that some of them will keep up this excellent record when the contest next takes place.”
The next Atlantic Challenge competition will be at Bantry, Ireland, in 2012.
–Kaye Nicolson
August 4, 2010 – Barrie Advance
International visitors provided boost for stores and restaurants
MIDLAND – The boats may be out of the water and the crews back home, but the impact of the recent Atlantic Challenge International Contest of Seamanship was felt by more than just the competitors.
With so many visitors to the area during the event, Midland businesses reaped the benefits.
“We were really busy,” said Downtown Midland Business Improvement Association (BIA) chair and co-owner of Graffiti Art Karianne Copeland. “The Atlantic Challenge folks were kind enough to shop local, so we were able to get some subsequent work from them.”
Copeland said she has yet to hear anything negative about the event.
“It was a great addition to the town,” she said. “Any time we can have a festival like that, where organizers work in conjunction with other organizations in town like the BIA … it’s always a positive thing.”
Lighthouse Store owner Sandy Templeton estimated her business increased by about 25 per cent during the event.
“It was great. We had a good week,” she said. “I live downtown, so I saw the kids every day and every night. It was nice to see all the people from all over the world. I thought it was a great thing for the town.”
The Southern Georgian Bay Chamber of Commerce also saw a huge increase in visitors, noted Deanna Pearce.
“We had about 762 people come in throughout the week,” she said, adding comparative figures from last year were not readily available. “It was busy, very busy … (with) a lot of them coming in and wanting to do things in this area.”
Scully’s Crab Shack is located right where all the action took place, and owner Sandy Dolman said the event was amazing for business.
“We’re having a wonderful summer, so we’re getting a lot of traffic, but (the Atlantic Challenge) … definitely gave it an increase,” she said. “The kids were awesome. We really took a heart to the Irish people.… They were a lot of fun.”
The international sailing and skills competition from July 24-31 “went well,” according to organizer Scott Wagg.
“I think it was excellent. We had many people say it was the best event they’ve been to,” he said, noting approximately 250 youths participated in the event, with an additional 100 people joining them from around the world. “Everything seemed to fall into place. Not to toot our own horn, but we had lots of great events to look at before ours to see what went well and what didn’t, so we could use those as examples on how to make a better event.”
The nice weather also played a hand in the event’s success, he added.
“We couldn’t have asked for better weather, which allowed us to do all of the events we wanted to do. The support from the town was awesome, and the volunteer base certainly performed above and beyond what we could have expected.”
Like any event of this size, there were a few glitches, including a few minor injuries.
“Nobody was seriously hurt. Mostly it was just strains and pulls, but everyone ended up being fine,” Wagg said, adding the Belgian crewmember injured July 31 was released from Georgian Bay General Hospital the same day. “She was fine. She just basically had a tight back that ended up getting tweaked, (and) I think she was hit by a spar.”
–Nicole Million
August 4, 2010 – Blue Mountains Courier-Herald
Midland met the challenge
MIDLAND – The Bantry boats have left town; the tents have come down inside the arena; and the population of Midland has suddenly dropped by more than 400.
It can only mean one thing: the 2010 Atlantic Challenge International Contest of Seamanship is over.
From July 24-31, Midland hosted more than 400 competitors and support group members, plus numerous family members, from a dozen countries. By all accounts, the event was an unqualified success.
Business owners, especially those within walking distance of the town docks, welcomed the bustling crowds; municipal leaders relished the exposure the event brought to the town; and ordinary citizens enjoyed the spirited competition and the chance to meet youths from around the globe.
The Atlantic Challenge is held every second year. This region is no stranger to the event, as Penetanguishene was the host in 1994. The 2012 edition will take place in Ireland. Wherever future competitions are held, however, Midland will be a tough act to follow.
Most of the credit for that must go to the organizers, including event chairman Scott Wagg, as well as the volunteers who ensured everything ran smoothly.
The event may have lasted just 10 days, but the planning actually started five years ago, and it’s a testament to the organizational skills of Atlantic Challenge Canada officials that the complexity of this large gathering was so rarely evident to the average spectator.
Atlantic Challenge, though, is mostly about the youthful competitors, and they are the reason this event will leave such a lasting impression on Midland. No matter that they came from different cultures or practised different religions, they all seemed to embrace the idea of developing teamwork, leadership and cross-cultural ties through seamanship.
So, while the event is done and the participants have gone home, let’s be grateful Midland had this opportunity to reconnect with its marine past, to showcase the vibrant community of today, and to shape the future in the form of youths from across the world.
It’s not an opportunity that comes along every day, but it’s one that Midland seized with all its might.
August 3, 2010 – Barrie Examiner
Challenge a ‘success’
It’s time to drop the sails and put away the oars. Atlantic Challenge 2010 is over.
The weeklong sailing and rowing competition for youth from around the world concluded on Saturday with the closing ceremonies and a street concert in downtown Midland.
“It was definitely a success. We had lots of positive comments all around,” said Atlantic Challenge Canada chairman, Scott Wagg.
This year’s competition marked the second time the area has hosted the Atlantic Challenge. Penetanguishene hosted the event in 1994. Once again, Georgian Bay made for a great host. Visiting teams marvelled at the preparation, organization and overall support Atlantic Challenge received.
“We really enjoyed Midland and meeting the Canadian people. With the Canadians, you really get a sense of hospitality. We felt so welcome,” said Charles Leten, the trustee of the Belgian team.
This was Leten’s sixth Atlantic Challenge and he couldn’t have been happier with the event and his crew’s performance. His favourite event was the oars and sails race because he believes it is a true test of a crew’s ability. “It tests the maximum of what you can do and what you can take out of a gig, it includes every manoeuvre,” he said.
Great Britain came away with the Atlantic Challenge Cup, finishing atop the 13-crew rankings.
July 29, 2010 – Midland Free Press
Atlantic Challenge marches into town
You could call it Midland’s mini World Cup, without the vuvuzelas.
At least that’s what downtown resembled last weekend as the 2010 Atlantic Challenge competition officially kicked off. On Saturday the opening ceremonies were held, with the teams taking part in a parade down King Street alongside local dignitaries: MPP Garfield Dunlop, MP Bruce Stanton and Midland Mayor, Jim Downer.
The young crews -Atlantic Challenge gathers youths between 15 to 21 years of age -were the stars of the show, though. The crews danced, sang and waved flags to show their national pride.
“It was great to see the team spirit. The Indonesians and Irish, and really all the teams showed great pride,” said Erica Vleer, a board member for Atlantic Challenge Canada.
As the crews walked down King Street you could hear them chanting and singing. Whether it was Great Britain with their “Oggy Oggy Oggy” chant or France’s “Ole Ole” chant, it was clear that the crews were excited to be in Midland to start the Atlantic Challenge.
The teams got right into competition, too, as Saturday afternoon saw the first event take place, the captain’s gig.
In this event crews had to pick up a captain and row him back ashore.
Since then the crews have competed in two events a day and will continue to do so until the Atlantic Challenge wraps up on Saturday.
One of the most talked about events will take place on Friday. The man overboard event promises to be an exciting and fun event to watch. The boats will head out to a designated rectangular area in the Harbour and at some point while in the designated area a crew member will jump into the water. The crews must then -by using either sailing or rowing techniques -recover another team’s man overboard and cross the finish line.
Luckily for everyone involved the weather held out for the opening weekend. On Sunday, the first full day of competition, weather conditions were ideal, with warm weather and mostly sunny skies and enough wind to propel the sails.
The only hitch in an otherwise perfect opening weekend was the Danish boat that was missing in action. Because of a labour dispute in Montreal where the boat was being transferred through, Denmark’s gig was late arriving.
While there weren’t as many spectators out for the opening as organizers hoped, Vleer said that those who did come out seemed very interested in the event.
“People are asking a lot of questions, there’s a lot of interest,” she said.
Everyone is welcome to come down to Midland Harbour to watch the rest of the Atlantic Challenge. Events typically start at 9:30 am and around 1:30 pm, and there is a beer tent for spectators.
Stellula Music will also be presenting musical performances on Thursday and Saturday. The Tom Fun Orchestra will be playing at a BBQ on Thursday at the Midland Town Dock, which starts at 5 pm. On Saturday Kim Wempe, Ian Foster and Grand Analog will open for Radio Radio at the closing ceremonies. On Elizabeth Street by the Midland Library. That concert starts at 8 pm.
–Luke Edwards
July 29, 2010 – Midland Free Press
Bands perform at Atlantic Challenge
A weeklong sporting event on the waters of Georgian Bay wouldn’t be complete without some music. Luckily for the organizers of Atlantic Challenge, Deborah Northcott and Stellula Music are helping.
Northcott and the Atlantic Challenge organizers have joined to bring some music to the Atlantic Challenge -a competition that tests seamanship skills among youth from 15 different countries -which is being held in Midland Harbour this week.
There are two big concerts yet to come with the Tom Fun Orchestra playing tomorrow (Thursday) during a BBQ at the Town Dock starting at 5 pm, and Radio Radio headlining the Saturday night concert during the closing ceremony.
Radio Radio will play alongside Grand Analog, Kim Wempe and Ian Foster on Elizabeth Street, by the Midland Library, beginning at 8 pm.
Last Friday things got started with a performance by Matt York. Northcott said that there were close to 350 people at the pre-opening ceremony concert and everyone seemed to have a good time.
On Saturday David Celia arrived -albeit a little late due to a problem with traffic -and played a solo set in the afternoon and another with his band Saturday evening.
Celia just returned from a tour in Europe where he played in many of the countries now competing at the Atlantic challenge. Although he admits that he is not familiar with the competition, nor is he terribly familiar with rowing and sailing in general, he was excited to come up to Midland for the event.
“It looks like fun, there’s a nice vibe here,” he said. “(The nice thing about touring is that) you find out so much about different people and places. But whenever people get together it’s always fun.”
In addition to the concerts, Stellula Music will also be hosting youth song writing workshops at the Midland Library. Workshops will take place on the day of the concerts, Thursday and Saturday, starting at 2 pm. The workshops are free but you must register, and can do so by contacting Stellula Music at (705)327-4303
–Luke Edwards
July 23, 2010 – Barrie Advance
Atlantic Challenge returns to Georgian Bay after 16 years
MIDLAND – The waters of Georgian Bay will once again play host to an international event that will bring hundreds of youth people together to showcase their seamanship skills and teamwork.
For more than 25 years, Atlantic Challenge has been trying to bridge oceans to bring youths from around the world together. From July 24-31, those efforts will continue in Midland.
American Lance Lee and France’s Bernard Cadoret initiated Atlantic Challenge in 1986, when gigs from their two countries competed under the Statue of Liberty. Since then, the organization has grown to include at least a dozen nations.
In 1994, Penetanguishene hosted Atlantic Challenge as part of Georgian Bay ’94.
“Back then, there were six or eight boats, whereas this time there will be 13,” said Atlantic Challenge Canada chair Scott Wagg.
The event is held every other year, and 2010 will be the first time in 16 years it will be held in this area.
“Typically, there are two events on the eastern side of the Atlantic Ocean and then there’s an event in North America. The last time it was in North America was in 2002 in the United States.”
The purpose of the Atlantic Challenge, said Wagg, is to host a friendly contest of seamanship.
“The focus of the event is to bring together crews from around the world and allow them the international interaction they might not otherwise get,” he said, adding there are competitive events, but the idea is more to encourage the mingling of the crews.
A variety of events have been scheduled, including the specially designed Esprit, in which crews are mixed up and forced to work together.
The opening ceremonies are scheduled for Saturday afternoon, which will be followed by a Captains Gig event.
“Crews will be taking an honorary captain from shore to ship and ship to shore, and coming into the dock gracefully and not dumping the captain in the water. It’s to show the control the crew has over the boat,” said Wagg.
All the events, he pointed out, will be held in Midland Harbour or in the outer harbour – all within sight for spectators.
While most of the youths’ time will be spent on the water, they will have a bit of time on dry land, which is where they will have the chance to interact with crews from around the world, enjoy some activities and experience a little bit of nightlife with live music.
Crews are expected from Ireland, Northern Ireland, Denmark, Finland, Great Britain, Italy, Belgium, the United States, Canada, France and Indonesia.
With so much hard work having gone into organizing the event, Wagg said officials are excited to see it finally come to fruition.
“At the end of the day, if (the participants) have a good time and go away having had a good time and no one gets hurt, that’s what it’s about.”
As for how 2010 Atlantic Challenge will help the community, Wagg said the answer is obvious.
“We’re bringing several hundred people here associated with the event for a week or two weeks,” he said. “This goes across the country and gives people a better idea of what we do.”
Wagg is urging the community to come out and support the Canadian crew and the rest of the youths while also taking in what could be a once-in-a-lifetime event.
“It will be more than 16 years before it’s here again,” he said. “You’re not going to get an opportunity to see it unless you start travelling around the world.”
Admission to the event is free.
–Nicole Million
July 22, 2010 – Barrie Advance
Jackstay Transfer a spectator-friendly event
MIDLAND – The teams that will descend on the waters of Georgian Bay from July 24-31 have been honing their skills for months in preparation for the 2010 Atlantic Challenge.
However, there is one event in particular that will test nearly every skill they’ve learned. Taking place just outside of Midland Harbour, just past the grain elevators, crews will be forced to prove they know their stuff during the Jackstay Transfer – an event that tests rowing, knot tying and boat control.
The Jackstay Transfer was historically used to move cargo from ship to shore when crews were not able to tie the boat up, said Scott Wagg, chair of Atlantic Challenge Canada.
“You would put a line from ship to shore and put a pulley system on there, and you would move cargo across that line without dropping that cargo in the water,” he explained. “In our event, the gigs will come in either two or three at a time. They come in rowing at speed and, part way through, they throw an anchor down. At that point, they will actually turn their boat around and back in.”
A line located 10 metres from the shore will indicate the spot where crews must not pass.
At the bow of the boat will be their anchor, and six oarsmen will be left out who will hold the boat in position tight against the anchor, but without crossing that line. The balance of the crew, noted Wagg, will raise the mast.
“While this is all happening, someone has thrown a heaving line to shore to one of the crew members,” he continued. “That person grabs that line, which is attached to a bigger line, and they start pulling that larger line to shore.”
The line is then tied to a post they will use with a pulley line to move a bag from shore to ship and ship to shore.
“It combines a lot of activities together,” Wagg said. “It combines rowing, controlling the boat (and) there are specific knots they have to use…. It challenges the crew a bit more than if they had to do all the tasks separately.”
Each crew will be scored on the various aspects of the tasks, as well as their overall time.
From a spectator standpoint, said Wagg, the Jackstay Transfer is likely one of the best events to watch.
“It’s one of the more involved, and where it’s going to be – near the three concrete piers beside the grain elevators – it will be relatively easy to see all of the different stuff that’s going on.”
–Nicole Million
July 22, 2010 – Barrie Advance
Midland welcomes youths from around globe
MIDLAND – Midland will be a home away from home from July 24-31 for hundreds of youths from across the globe.
Young people from the United Kingdom, Indonesia, the United States and Ireland, to name just a few, will be in the area to participate in the 2010 Atlantic Challenge, a multi-event seamanship competition.
The event will make use of replica 18th-century longboats that can either be rowed or sailed by a crew of about 13.
Julian Whitewright is a trustee and trainer of the Great Britain team, which will boast 19 youths from across the country.
Whitewright said the best bit about Atlantic Challenge is the people and the friendships that are formed over the course of the eight days.
“The racing will also be brilliant. Being one of the judges is like refereeing a football match – you are right in the middle of it. All the judges are former skippers, so we all love to talk about and discuss what is going on, and we know all of the tricks, so there is no hiding for the crews,” he said, adding he is looking forward to seeing his team utilize the skills they have acquired.
“I also get a real buzz out of watching the gigs racing from the middle of the racecourse. I have been on a gig at every level and know what they are going through.”
Like their Canadian counterparts, the British team has never actually trained together.
“The crew has been selected for a year, but, because they come from all over the country, they have never all trained together until one week before the contest,” Whitewright said. “Compared to most of the teams, the U.K. does not get to train together very much.”
Despite that, he is confident his team will fare well.
“Everybody is fresh and raring to go,” he said, adding it helps having a few members who have participated in the event in the past. “They drive all of the others along and make them realize how important it is.”
The Northern Ireland team is 16 strong, noted crew member Naoimh McSparron, adding as a team they have been able to do quite a bit of training leading up to Atlantic Challenge.
“Being part of a crew that has trained together is very rewarding. We have made friends. We have spent a lot of time together at this stage, so we know each other very well. Everyone has a role to play and it’s lovely to be a part of that,” she said.
“Atlantic Challenge is about developing yourself through a team doing rowing and sailing, and I think all our crew members would say that it has allowed them to develop new skills. I think we are all surprised at what we are capable of.”
McSparron said apart from actually putting all their training to use in competition, the crew is really looking forward to meeting other participants.
“The backgrounds and cultures of all the teams are diverse, and it will be a great opportunity to meet people. Also, we have looked at pictures of the venue on the Internet, and Midland looks like a beautiful place,” she said.
For McSparron, her favourite aspect of the event is also the most difficult: rowing.
“It is physically very challenging and we have to practise it a lot. But, if you work properly as a team, the boat goes really well and that is a great feeling.”
Ipin Gustian is the leader of the 17-member Indonesian team and its gig, Garuda. The crew – all of whom attend Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology – has been training together for the past five months.
Indonesia first competed in Atlantic Challenge nearly a decade ago, and the spirit and achievements of that team are still inspiring its members, he noted.
“I believe every contestant would be glad if we could (bring home an award) from this upcoming event,” he said, “but the most important is not the award or trophy. The great struggle with a warm spirit of friendship is one thing that (is) embodied in this event in Midland.”
–Nicole Million
July 22, 2010 – Barrie Examiner
It’s Georgian Bay vs. the world
MIDLAND — Young sailors and rowers from around the world have arrived for the 2010 Atlantic Challenge.
Midland will be hosting the biannual event this year. Thirteen crews from around the world will be competing in the event that tests the rowing and sailing abilities of youth.
The Canadian crew has been hard at work preparing at the Midland Bay Sailing Club for the past three weeks. For some members of the Canadian crew, this is their first experience with Vitalite, the replica of the 18th century French naval boat that all crews will be using.
One such member is 19-yearold Raquel Blackwood, from Toronto. And while this is Blackwood’s first experience sailing — let alone sailing on an 18th century naval boat — she’s impressed with how much they have learned and how quickly the crew has come together.
“It’s really interesting how we all came together to work as a crew,” she said.
“It feels more like a family,” added Matt Schaap, a 16-yearold from Wyebridge who has been patiently waiting for four years to get his opportunity to participate in the Atlantic Challenge.
Now that the time is here, though, Schaap is making sure he enjoys every second of the experience. “I’m just living in the moment,” he said.
Coaches for the Canadian crew have been making sure everyone is prepared for the event, because once it starts, the crew will be on their own. Anne Wilcox is one of the coaches and said that, despite the lack of experience among some of the crewmembers, she’s confident that they’ll do fine, and, most importantly, have fun.
For three weeks, the crew has gone out three times a day to practice. Schaap said that each morning the coaches and trainers brief the crew on what they need to work on, and in the evening they do a debriefing to discuss how things went.
Scott Wagg, chairman of Atlantic Challenge Canada, said that the crew is incredibly lucky to be able to work out of the Midland Bay Sailing Club.
That allows the crew to get extensive experience with the special conditions in Midland Harbour, where the events will take place.
For instance, coaches have already noticed that there’s a spot in the harbour where there never seems to be any wind. Wilcox said that it doesn’t matter how windy it elsewhere, there is never any wind at this particular spot.
The Atlantic Challenge will span seven days, with opening ceremonies taking place this Saturday. Various events will take place in and around Midland Harbour throughout next week before the contest wraps up on July 31.
–Luke Edwards
