http://www.cnw.ca/fr/releases/archive/October2005/06/c8514.html

Attention News/Assignment Editors:

Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation - Media Advisory - Launch of Construction
TORONTO, Oct. 6 /CNW/ -

WHO: - Hon. Joe Volpe, Minister responsible for the Toronto
Waterfront Revitalization Initiative
- Hon. David Caplan, Minister for Public Infrastructure Renewal
- Mayor David Miller, City of Toronto
- John Campbell, CEO and President, Toronto Waterfront
Revitalization Corp.

WHAT: Representatives from the three governments and TWRC will
officially launch the construction of the Western Beaches
Watercourse, a multi-sport, flat water facility that will be
completed in time for Toronto to host the International Dragon
Boat Federation Club Crew World Championship in August 2006.

WHEN: Tuesday, October 11, 2005
9:30 a.m.
Marilyn Bell Park
(entrance off Lakeshore Blvd West, near Jameson Ave)

Six barges have arrived in the Toronto area and heavy equipment is being installed to the barges today. The barges and floating plant will be approximately 130 feet long by 30 feet wide and will be moored along the sea wall (where the tires are now) when not in use (they will have flashing markers on them) with the long dimension along the sea wall.

On Monday, October 3, 2005 (during the day) the contractor will start removing the armour stones at the collapsed area of the breakwall commonly called the "800 metre mark" to create an opening out into the Lake for access to the construction site outside the breakwall. This gap will be approximately 100 feet wide. The removed armour stones will be taken back to shore for storage and reused in the new breakwall. To maintain as flat water as possible for the users groups we intend to close the gap in the breakwall with a barge which will moor against the breakwall to cover the gap when work is not taking place. For reference purposes, there is approximately +240 feet between the seawall and breakwall right now. With the barges lined up along the seawall that space will be reduced to about 205 feet. During October when the barge is moored against the breakwall (covering the gap), the space will be down to approximately +170 feet. So it will be narrower than today but, it will be significantly wider than the "narrows" area between Palais Royale and Sunnyside.

On Wednesday, October 5, 2005 the contractor will start taking barges out the gap and will begin construction of the new breakwall.

On water work will take place during the daylight hours. Any crossing of the gap between shore and the breakwall will be announced with a warning horn and visual confirmation of clear way.

Two small loading docks have been constructed against the shore wall on land to load core stone to the barges.

It is not anticipated over the next several weeks that there will on water activity when it is dark or on the weekends.

The temporary bridge between land and the new breakwall has been delayed and will occur in late October / early November.

As you can see from the water or Lakeshore Boulevard the core stone, filter stone and armour stone stock piles have started to arrive.

The contractor has detoured the Martin Goodman Trail in a similar fashion as occurs during the Exhibition and additionally placed protective lane markers along Lakeshore Blvd. to provide a visual separation barrier between traffic and park users. This detour will be maintained for the duration of the project.

We will continue to update you weekly during this start-up phase of the project so that everyone is aware of the changing conditions and allow you the opportunity to advise us of your particular needs and requirements.

Not sure that any of this translates to a "multi-sport flatwater facility". What sports? Duck racing? What events? Neither Rowing, Canoeing, Outrigger or Dragon Boat Canada will use this 500m stretch for events after CCWC unless someone does an annual local community event. $23 million - nice rock breakwall.

It's going to be a great course for kayak polo.

Okay, while the course design and location is probably not the best (too far from shore for spectators, prey to the westerly winds of September, no permanent facilities, too short, etc) if it's just sitting there and not blocked off from use then I'm sure someone will find a use for it. ("If you build it...")

Maybe the teams from Sunnyside and TSCC could form a weekly racing league? Or teams could use it for time trials, pick-up races, practices, etc.

I think I will reserve full judgement until it is complete.

It's a done deal people, stop your crying over spilt milk.

Shame on GWN if they don't use it for 911 in September. If the course is anywhere near fair, how could they justify not using it?

I can pretty much guarentee you will see a few events there within a couple years after the NACCC's.

Ok last poster....I'll go on record saying there won't be any rowing or flatwater canoe events there. DB maybe as we seem to paddle anywhere. What a waste building a "course" that is only suitable for one water sport discipline.

The course won't be fair with the current sloping bottom so why would GWN move? I'd advise them to stay at Ontario Place and I'll bet the TCBA stay at the island. So this is what us taxpayers get for $23 million? A weeknight race league? Yikes. I think i have to agree with some previous posts. This is a federally funded breakwall fix being justified by, and at the expense of a decent CCWC. Isn't politics fun?!

I'm confused what's the difference between seawall and breakwall?

Is this course going to be on the outside of the current breakwall we have? Is it going to be approximately where the Summer Sensation races used to be held?

I'm guessing that GWN will stay at Ontario Place. The site lines for watching a race are much better there.

If I had to guess, TIDBRF will stay at the Island as well.

"This is a federally funded breakwall fix being justified by, and at the expense of a decent CCWC."

Exactly. Nothing more, nothing else.

To answer some previous questions....

The seawall is the shore (there is a wall there). Break wall is the concrete wall off shore.

If you check another thread there is a link to the plans. The new course is mostly farther off shore then the current break wall. Location is near Marylin Bell (?) Park just West of Ontario Place. It also looks like they are going to attempt to make all the lanes the same depth (get rid of the slope).

I will let you get back to whining and fighting now.

Actually they decided they don't have any money to dredge the bottom so if you look at the drawings closely you can see lane 1 in about 2.5 metres of water and lane 6 in about 5.5 metres of water. Maybe they can use just lanes 3,4 and 5. They seem to be fairly even.

> The Project will comprise of the following:

> • 650 metre long (500 m long racing lanes with staging areas at either end), 135 metre wide paddling course
> • Approximately 650 metres of new breakwater, removal of existing breakwater
> • Temporary event based ancillary facilities
> • Constructed aquatic habitat

>A budget of $23,000,000 has been established for this Project.

Wait, $23 M budget, and they can't afford to dredge for a fair race course?? What are we missing here?

That's outdated information.

To come in on budget:

The breakwall is now only 600m with a smaller cap
There are no additional land or regatta course facilities being built
They are also attaching it to the old breakwall so there is little chance they will ever expand it.

I'd like to know what canoers think about all this. Since it is a multi-sport flatwater course I assume that includes for canoeing. Larry, didn't you support this project at some point?

Larry supports the idea of a "world class race course" in the city. When he discovered what this course was all about he bailed. It is far from world class. His name has been used by some who are behind this course without his permission. I guarantee you'll never see him paddling C1 on it.

I took a look at the lane depth buried in page 11 of this link: http://www.towaterfront.ca/dbdocs/42ce7ca474175.pdf

The course may not be as terribly unfair as everyone thinks. For the most part all of the lanes are over 3 meters. There are some patches of 2.25 meters for lane 1 in the first half of the race course. Beyond lane 1/2 all lanes are pretty deep.

There is some maximum depth where a dragon boat is not slowed down at all from the lake bottom. For example if a lane is 20m deep or 21m deep it won't make a difference. The IDBF specification is that all lanes be 3.5m minimum depth so I assume deeper than around 3.5meters depth all lanes are pretty much the same. On this course I'd say lanes 3/4/5/6 may all be fair. Lanes 1 and 2 have some slow spots but it never gets extremely shallow. At least compared to where Summer Sensation was held this course seems pretty good.

I do agree that for 23 Million seems like a hell of a lot

Ideal depth is half boat length, or 5m in our case.

You think there isn't a big difference between depth? think again.

olympic basin 2.5-3m deep: fastest mixed times 2:06-7

Welland - 10+m: fastest mixed times: low 1:50s

There is up to a 10 second difference between 2.5m and a deept course. We're not talking about a little... this is huge.

as long as we all paddle in same depths, it doesn't matter, so what if finish times are 15 secs slower.

In that case... damn!

The lanes appear to vary from about 2.5m to 5.5m

just looked at the specs.... this is pretty bad....

Of course they have to attach the new breakwall to the existing one. It wouldn't be much of a course with a big gapping hole in one end of it that lets waves roll through the races now would it?

Just a question here.

After seeing the comparison of time above I went and checked the time for NACCC's and the Welland Sport Regatta. The GWN senior mens team did a 1:50 at the sport regatta and a 2:06 at NACCC's in the final.

Was it a different race course or were the locks open for the first regatta?

pretty much sums it up

not to mention Jim's crew just went down the course to qualify for 2006. not like they were paddling hard as I recall.