Ahoy fellow Sailors,
What an amazing Wally Lake Fest weekend we enjoyed! The weather was wonderful,
after all the rain we've seen this summer, and the wind cooperated too. The club came together to give sailboat rides to the public. We had our annual raft up, movie night, and cookout. Then we raced at the north end of the lake for the Wally Lake Fest spectators, and our usual Sunday picnic.
Saturday August 25th kicked it all off. We met up at Light House Harbor Marina with our
public guests for sailboat rides. The weather was beautiful with a few clouds to keep the
temperature down. The wind was breezy with just enough wind for our passengers to enjoy
sailing without scaring them too much. I had several passengers who had never sailed before
and seemed to enjoy it immensely. I gave those who were willing, a chance at the helm and
winches. It's a wonderful feeling sharing our passion and recognizing that some glimmer in their eye knowing you've got them hooked! It's something to be shared and witnessed for yourself. I was so happy to explain how everything worked and the science behind it all to those who were interested. By the end of the day we carried over 120 passengers raising 1,100.00 to be donated to this year's charity, the Delaware Highlands Conservancy.
Following the sailboat rides the fleet headed up the lake to raft up. I had to run home
first to prep the Shish-kabobs I had marinating. We wound up being the last to arrive, but what
a sight it was to behold. I followed the smell of food and the sound of live acoustic guitar to find
the club rafted up in our usual spot in Mangan Cove. After tying up on the end we put the grill in
to operation and put the kabobs on. The plates began passing around the boats as I feasted
down on Mary's delicious steak and Bruschetta with a side of Cucumber and Dill salad thanks to Alicia. We also had plenty more snacks, and dessert, so much so that we couldn't even finish it all. Once everyone was sufficiently stuffed and the party mellowed down Kevin, Ken, and Rick maneuvered the pontoon boat off our sterns and setup a float-in theater! We tuned our radios to the FM channel they were broadcasting on and stretched out in our cockpits to watch Captain Ron, and Pirates of the Caribbean.
I think I may have been the first awake the next morning as I peeked out of the cabin. I
enjoyed watching the mist rising from the lake and watching the Osprey leaving the nest to fish.
I started a pot of coffee which paired well with Donna's Banana bread! Everyone slowly began appearing from below their vessels. Then we got started making breakfast. With my raising chickens I had an abundance of farm fresh eggs to cook up while Ken cooked up a breakfast casserole, and Pancakes. Kevin also cooked up some delicious breakfast sausage. Needless to say no one went hungry on this raft up! Following breakfast some of us hopped in the water for a refreshing swim.
After breakfast, we began cleaning up and preparing the boats for Race number 7! We
quickly threw off the lines breaking up the boats and motored the short distance past the dam
where Tim and the crew of Flip Turn were already underway with setting the course in front of
the dike. The winds were averaging 5 knots out of the south. The course would take us to the
south beating into the wind toward Schumann's Point with port rounding on a downwind run
back toward the dike and then reaching for a port rounding of the pin to finish.
The start was delayed until 12:30 to allow the rest of the regatta who had not rafted up
to get up the lake to meet us. When the starting horn did finally blast the B fleet had a nice start
with many of the boats crossing the line abreast of each other. My boat Enduring Freedom
would be in a less tactical position to leeward but somehow managed to stay out front in clear
air the first lap. With the wind varying from South East to South West some would have a tough
time tacking around the first mark. The fleet would stay together on the downwind leg as A
fleets race boats came charging up the course after us.
By the second lap the race saw several lead changes with almost every boat having the
lead at one point. It was still a close race as we rounded the last mark in front of the spectators
on the dike as we jockeyed for position toward the finish. Odyssey would swing through the
finish first followed by Anthem, and B fleet's boats Fiddler's Green, African Queen, and Enduring Freedom would come charging three wide around the pin just seconds between them with the Melges on the Outside Followed by Mini Moo, and Ecstasy. Final results would be adjusted seeing Odyssey in First Place, Anthem with a Second, and African Queen in Third.
Congratulations to all the crews for a very close race! We had decent wind on the way home as
a second unofficial race broke out to Ironwood for the picnic! Thanks again to everyone for their
support with all the activities.
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