Peter Milne and his regatta planning team have done it again! What a successful regatta weekend, including weather conditions. (Apparently John Collins was in charge of that…) The BMW LASQUETI ISLAND REGATTA is a well-oiled machine and has earned the reputation as a favourite amongst the racing community. Racers from as far away as the Mainland, Comox, Hornby Island, Sidney and Victoria participated.
After several spring races in May, including the Swiftsure Yacht Race suffering from lack of wind, our BMW LASQUETI ISLAND REGATTA delivered the goods. The morning of June 1st saw the first start with light winds from the northwest, but the wind soon filled in and most of the fleet had a great reach across to Lasqueti Island where many boats struggled to get through the infamous Lasqueti hole and Sabine Channel. From there to the NW corner of Lasqueti was a fast beat with several boats enjoying whale sightings. The last leg home was a spinnaker run that just kept getting better and better as the NW wind built to 15 knots.
After 41 miles, most boats were back at the dock by 7:00 pm, and all boats finished before 10:00 pm.
SCYC knows how to host a Regatta. A crowd of SCYC members joined the racers (almost 200 diners in total) to launch the regatta weekend. Live music with David Moddle and his band put everyone into a celebratory mood. All enjoyed the burger barbecue served on the green.
Debbie Davis and Bonnie Curl sold 50/50 tickets with a pot worth $350. Wasn’t it fun when Kathy Swangard’s number was pulled? And then the entire club enjoyed acknowledging Sandra Dutton’s special birthday…. she actually seemed in good spirits over officially becoming a senior citizen! (She’s embracing riding ferries for free, and senior’s discounts!)
As everyone knows, an event such as this, does NOT happen without an active community of doers. Some of the key people involved, included:
Peter Milne- the overall coordinator/chair of the Regatta Committee and a most conscientious leader who spends months preparing for this event!
John Collins and Tim Rann -recruited many of the regatta sponsors and supported the event in several, behind the scenes ways. (The sailors truly enjoyed the complimentary Rum Punch after their race, Tim.) Bruce Petry- solicited donations and communicated with our valuable sponsors. Wally Clark – organized the Race Committee, prepared the Notice of Race and the sailing instructions, and found slips for visiting boats. Wally also liaised with our presenting sponsor,BMW. Dean Dreger (Fleet Captain)- encouraged a record number of SCYC sailors to enter their boats in the regatta. Linda Hamilton and her team of volunteers – organized the Friday evening BBQ. Linda also served as the principle contact with our major sponsor and food supplier, Thrifty Foods and bridged the gaps between events. Emily Little and her volunteers – took charge of the Saturday morning casserole breakfast. (Word has it that both Linda and Emily slept on their boats to ensure they were up early enough to plug in the coffee on Race Day.) Brenda Morden and her helpers organized the Saturday evening chilli. Anne Milne and her team – served a pancake breakfast Sunday morning. Anne was also the contact with The Pie Factory who prepared the Saturday breakfast and chilli. Joanne Petry – did an awesome job (again) organizing and ensuring all the trash was properly disposed and recycled to preserve our environment. Jim Dutton and his army of heavy lifters – erected the tents, the bandstand, delivered and returned the tables and chairs, picked up the ice for the bar and ensured that there was enough propane for the BBQs. When the week was all over, they took it all down again. Kathy Swangard (SCYC’s Secretary)- organized the regatta poster, press releases and other publicity. Kathy also communicated with other yacht clubs and past participants. Claudia Hand (Web Administrator)- maintained the regatta website and managed online registration. Joe Skipsey – served as the Principal Race Officer and his Race Committee did an excellent job from start to finish. Ryan Laudien- handled the bar service and managed his team of bartenders to serve libations at the BBQ and chilli dinner.
Wally Chinn, Jo McIlveen, Cathy Carey, Linda Hamilton- photographers on and off the water. Thank you so much for the excellent photos.
David Kratt, Fairwinds Marina Manager and Staff – provided support throughout the regatta.
After chilli and some complimentary rum punch, the race crews relaxed and compared notes of the latest BMW LASQUETI ISLAND REGATTA. Many sailors took the time to express their appreciation for being hosted during the entire weekend in such a welcoming and exceptional way. Others noted that this was one of their favourite regattas. They glowed while sharing their sailing experiences after the race. Several boats encountered a pod of humpback whales in Sabine Channel. Others spoke of one of the catamarans zigzagging past their boats at 16+ knots. Apparently it was quite a site! And everyone raved about having an exhilarating spinnaker run down the last leg and across the finish line with strong winds from the top of Lasqueti Island. It was delightful for everyone to see a diverse age range of sailors out this year, from the young to the, shall we say … more mature!
Sunday morning, Commodore Ryan Laudien opened the Awards Ceremony addressing the group of spent sailors (himself being one of them) and SCYC members, thanking our exceptional SCYC volunteers and business sponsors. He then passed the program on to Peter Milne to recognize the skipper/crew raffle winners.
Tickets were drawn for both skippers and crew. Check out the collage to see who the lucky winners were of: a pollen tuque from Independent Marine, handheld compasses from LORDCO, a Boro Cook Cup from Industrial Plastic, tee shirts, caps, and hoodies from Trend Diesel, and stainless steel mugs from Tro Tac.
AMISKWI (Skipper: Chris Read) received a Battery Charger (from our sponsor, Lordco) for being the FIRST BOAT to REGISTER for the regatta.The LAST BOAT TO FINISH (and register… hmm…), SABOEY (Skipper: Rick Overton) received a prawn trap and gear (from our sponsor, Independent Shipwrights). And the “MOST NOTABLE BOAT TO FINISH” went to SHAHEEN (Skipper: Jay Pirooz) for completing the course and crossing the finish line with his four fenders dragging in the water. OH MY! He received a fender step (from our sponsor, Harbour Chandler).
Dean Drager (Fleet Captain) presented the FAIRWINDS CUP. for the BEST PERFORMANCE by an SCYC BOAT. This went to SPUD (Skipper: John Collins)
And finally the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners were presented with their prizes. All 3rd place winners received polo shirts, 2nd place winners received plaid jackets and 1st place winners went home with red SCYC jackets. Thank you to our sponsors and Five Star Embroidery for providing these exceptional sailing garments.
DIVISION 5 winners were presented their prizes by Bob Delaney (Vice Commodore)
1st: Tom Stevens- Lickety Split
2nd: Bill Allan- Lawn Dart
3rd: Stuart and Joy Dahlgren -Westerly
DIVISION 4 winners were presented their prizes by Jim Dutton (Commander of the Nanoose Bay Power Squadron)
1st: Chris Clarke- Mistletoe
2nd: Wally Clark- Regalo
3rd: Eric Young -FanaSea
DIVISION 3 winners were presented their prizes by Linda Hamilton
1st: Allan Ip – Godzilla
2nd: Ken Lott- Sea Lion
3rd: John Collins- Spud
DIVISION 2 winners were presented their prizes by Doug Herchmer (Rear Commodore)
1st: Elaine & Nigel Wade- Synergy
2nd: Kevin Van Hullebush- Balderdash
3rd: Ron Turner- Blue Shift
DIVISION 1 winners were presented their prizes by Pat Terfloth (Director at Large)
1st: Dream Chaser-Greg Keel
2nd: James Robinson – FDJ
3rd: Peter Walford- Lotus
Commodore Ryan Laudien presented the WINDSOR PLYWOOD CUP to the OVERALL REGATTA WINNER. This went to SKIPPER Greg Keel of Dream Chaser.
Congratulations to all the fine sailors that participated from near and far to make the 2019 LASQUETI ISLAND REGATTA the traditional success that everyone expects.
Dean Dreger (Fleet Captain) had everyone present stand and give a standing ovation to our regatta organizer, Peter Milne for his outstanding commitment to SCYC . He is the man with exceptional organizational and leadership skills to ensure that the Lasqueti Island Regatta has been extremely successful and created the positive reputation SCYC has for hosting one of the most popular regatta on the Island. Peter’s ability to lead his teams and forge enduring relationships with our guest sailors has been key. It also takes someone who pays attention to detail in all areas of the regatta. SCYC appreciates and salutes you, Peter. Thank you for dedicating so much of yourself to putting SCYC out front in the racing community. (And thank you Anne for putting up with Peter when he is giving so much to our club!)
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