2011 Big Pond Calendar Highlight - Big Pond Regatta
It has been quite some time since there has been a formal gathering of sailboats on the lake. well it happened on July 18th. As you sailors know, attempts to restart sailboat racing were not successful. Jack Barter and others, however, felt it would be great if lake sailboats could get together for a leisurely sail around the lake, and the first regatta was planned. The plan called for sailboats to gather at Rose Island at 1:30 for a sail around the lake, and ten hearty sailors and crews arrived with mainsails flying to enjoy the experience. However Jack Barters’ desire for a “good gentle breeze” and a “leisure sailing experience” actually ended up being a rather exciting day with stiff winds and unpredictable gusts – real exciting sailing. My crew consisted on my Granddaughter and Daughter-in-law (non sailors) to whom I sold the sail as a real opportunity to learn of sailing and the lake. They were initially terrified, but eventually got used to the conditions. Even so, they were real glad to get back to shore.
The plan of getting all the boats together for a unified start at 1:30 was almost impossible as some folks “did not have watches,” and I did not have a horn to gather the boats. The Rose Island starting point also made things difficult as the location was in the lee of the Big Island. The gusts coming over big island resulted in lulls in the wind and inconsistent breezes. In spite of this and with a little lung power, we were able to get the boats started off to the west (except for the boat that sailed to the east that would be with boat with our new president Fred Ryon on board) for the sail around the lake.
As you know, the regatta was to be a photo opportunity with the best photo going into the calendar. In spite of the difficulties in getting the boats together there were lots of good photos taken. I have not seen them all, but selecting the best photo will be difficult. The folks who participated had fun, which was hollered to me from several boats as we finished and headed for home.
Regatta 2011 – you bet -- I will be back with a few changes and hope even more sail-boats will be out to join in the fun. We have picked a date – Sunday July 17 --- 1:30 PM with a new starting location – in front of the Bennett Cottage on the west shore. As the winds of Big Pond are typically out of the north, the winds at this location should be somewhat gentler and less gusty. We will also have a boat anchored in front of the cottage. The boat will be equipped with a horn and the plan will be to have the horn sounded three times with 15 minutes to go, twice with five minutes to go and a long blast when all the boats art to start. The boats will sail to Loon Rock, around Big Island and back to the starting point. See you there!
Chuck Bennett