ST. JOHN’S, NL (August 13, 2025): While most of the 2025 Canada Summer Games’ 4,500+ participants travelled to St. John’s via chartered flights from across Canada, some athletes took a different route. Canadian-Australian sailor Daniel Laverty, along with his longtime friend Taj Penzo, embarked on a ten-day, 6,500+ kilometre road trip from Saskatoon to St. John’s in order to transport the sailing team’s gear, sails and boats to the Games. After the first half of the Games wraps up on August 17th, the two will pack up the gear once more to head all the way back to Saskatchewan. Find photos from their trip here.
Penzo, who lives in Melbourne, explained how the trip came to fruition. “I’ve known Daniel for years, and he just asked me to come and help him drive the boats across Canada for the Games. I’ve never been to Canada before. It was kind of a spontaneous thing – and it was such a contrast to what I imagined Canada to be. We spent a lot of time seeing the lakes and the scenery.”
Added Laverty, “We went to school together and lost a bit of contact once we finished. We reached out again a few months prior to the Games, started to work out the logistics, got out to Saskatchewan and did a bit of training over there. We loaded up a trailer on a van and started the journey. My mum was born in Saskatchewan, and came from a little small town named Wynyard. She’s often brought me back to see my family. In the last few years I've gotten into sailing in the lakes there.”
When asked about his Games experience so far, he said that “It’s been awesome. I’ve been enjoying the sailing. The conditions are lovely, not as cold as people told me about – we’re not racing around icebergs. There’s been perfect wind. Unfortunately the last few days have been called off due to the fire, but hopefully the weather is in place to hit the water tomorrow and get some racing in.”
The sailing competition has been able to complete two races so far, with the last two races postponed due to the ongoing wildfire situation in St. John’s. Laverty said that it’s not unusual for competitors in the sport to be at the whim of the day’s conditions. “That’s just sailing - it’s in the hands of the weather gods. You have to take what you get and not be too down if you don’t get on the water.”
From his spectator’s perspective, Taj added: "I’ve seen the other side of it from behind the barriers, seeing everyone be very serious and clearly work really hard to get here. I’ve just been loving St. John’s. Everyone’s really lovely, really welcoming.”
Nineteen-year-old Laverty has been a competitive sailor for ten years and primarily grew up in Melbourne, Australia, but has been living in Wynyard and Saskatoon with family and friends since graduating high school.
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