How to hold a regatta without wind? That was the question the organizers of the third annual Snake Bay Sailing Club Regatta faced on Sept. 18.
The waters of Sechelt Inlet were as calm as a mirror on this perfect, sunny late summer's day. Nevertheless, the preparations for a Laser regatta with some 14 expected participants, the largest regatta to date, continued in good faith.
By the time all the sailors had arrived at the moorage at the bottom of Harbour Way in Sechelt, the wind gods seemed to have mercy on the group of sailing enthusiasts and a nice breeze was beginning to build. Once all the Lasers had been rigged and launched, each contestant began to vie for the optimal starting position.
Ideally you want to be close enough to the starting line to get a head start and far enough away so as not to cross the line too soon and be disqualified.
At last the start whistle sounded and the 13 men and one woman sailor were off to the first race of a course around four buoys.
Turning the buoys is tricky business, especially when two or more boats arrive at the same time. At one point a crash was narrowly avoided and the first race concluded after about 30 minutes at noon.
The somewhat less-than-dry merry sailors took a break for a barbecue lunch, offered by the club. After some banter and teasing, everybody relaunched their boats to get another three races under sail. Apart from a minor collision, everything seemed to go well until the last race when one of the leading competitors flipped his dinghy, but managed to just drift across the finish line upside down.
The winners included Richard Starling first, Dennis Olson second and Kim LaFave third.
The club was established in 2005 with a mission to provide the opportunities for families, youth and all interested individuals to learn and enjoy the art of sailing. For more information on the club, see www.snakebaysailing.com.
