A local graduate of the Gibsons Yacht Club’s Learn to Sail program is taking to the high seas in search of Olympic glory.
Matthew Stranaghan started his sailing career by enrolling in the program two years ago and last year completed his CANSail 4.
He also competes on the BC Sailing circuit and trains weekly out of the West Vancouver Yacht Club. He started out in an Opti and has since moved up to racing a Laser in the Laser 4.7 class, where he now dominates on the B.C. circuit.
In June he competed in the Laser North American championships in Los Angeles where the three-metre swells with one-metre breakers on top combined with 25-knot winds to end the life of his beloved yellow family Laser. Fortunately he was able to convince his parents to pick him up a newer model on the way home and just recently sailed it at Royal Vancouver Yacht Club to win the Canadian Nationals in the Laser 4.7 class — a proud moment indeed to represent Gibsons and the North Shore Sailing Team.
Matthew has succeeded in securing a spot in the 2015 Laser 4.7 World Championships next August in Mendemblik, Netherlands, where he will be up against a fleet of the world’s best.
He would like to thank the Gibsons Yacht Club and his teachers who let him leave early twice a week to commute to Vancouver for training and who have helped make his dreams come true. He looks forward to competing on a world stage and joining the Olympic Developmental Team and competing for Canada in the 2020 and/or 2024 Olympic Games.
