Lake Norman Yacht Club hosted their annual Labor Day Regatta Sept. 5th/6th. This regatta is the kick-off of the Autumn sailing season on Lake Norman (the summer is not usually the best time to sail on southern inland lakes). Eight U20s participated in challenging but fun conditions. Saturday four races were sailed in 10 knots of breeze with gusts into the mid/high teens. Racing was extremely close with positions changing often. Playing the shifts and good boat handling proved to be the difference; one mistake (like forgetting to cleat a spin halyard) and a boat could lose four or five places. At the end of the first day Might Mouse led with 4 points, followed by 20/20 with 12, and third was Rumbullion with 15. Saturday was much lighter with winds mostly under 5 knots. Connecting the dots and finding the pressure was the key. In the last race with everyone thinking their was pressure on the left, A3+ saw something on the right and went for it; they led handily to the first mark and held on for the bullet.
Final results: Might Mouse (7 points), 20/20 (13 points), and Rumbullion (15 points). Full results:
https://www.regattanetwork.com/event/21146#_newsroom+results Due to the Covid-19 restrictions the regatta was a little different. There was no competitors meeting, Saturday night social, nor awards ceremony but small pockets of people were seen after racing enjoying the company of others from a safe distance. Some people cooked out, drank cocktails, and went swimming in the lake. While not completely normal it was a nice respite from the craziness we have all been living in. Lake Norman has a couple more U20 regattas this fall, Hospice Regatta (9/12 – 9/13) and the Carolina Keelboat One Design Regatta (11/14 – 11/15).
