(Lake George, NY)- The 35th Annual Changing of the Colors Regatta at the
Lake George Club in Lake George, NY saw 42 boats on the line and more
sunshine than wind. With two days of mostly waiting around for the wind
to come the race organizers managed to get a race off each day in spite
of the challenging conditions. As usual, the cream still rose to the top
with past champions John Enwright and Flip Wehrheim teaming up on RAKE
HELL to win the event. They were followed in 2nd place by perennial
contender Aiden Glackin on MENTAL FLOSS and in 3rd by 9-time past
champion Kirk Reynolds on NO CRY BABIES.
After
launching their boats and taking shakedown cruises the sailors gathered
in the grotto bar at the Club on Friday night for chili, wings and beer
provided by Adirondack Brewery. The steady 8 knot air that greeted
sailors all day Friday died off and would not show itself again until
Sunday afternoon. Breakfast stretched out to lunch on Saturday morning
as the glassy waters reflected the Adirondack mountain foliage. Finally,
a slight breeze filled in by 3 PM and the Race Committee quickly set up
an I5 and got a start off. As boats rounded the weather mark the wind
lightened and the course was shortened with Rake Hell, No Cry Babies,
Dan Busch on Buschwacker and Mental Floss taking top honors for the day.Saturday night the fires were roaring in the old club house as guests fed on Sirloin, Chicken Oscar and Sole Florentine from the award winning kitchen staff of the Lake George Club. Waterline Systems, Annapolis Performance Sailing, Harken, Sea Choice Products, North Sails and Lake Placid Distillery provided enough drawing prizes for each boat attending dinner. Then the band turned up the heat some more as people danced to great 80's cover music and partied into the night.
Determined
not to waste a minute of wind the Race Committee headed out onto the
water early on Sunday with marks ready to be dropped. After 11 AM
pockets of wind began to fill and soon the breeze spread across the
lake. With marks in place the Committee started a W5 by 11:30. The
breeze built slowly through the race as No Cry Babies charged back from
being called over early to a 6th place finish with Rake Hell taking line
honors again and Mental Floss finishing 2nd.Awards followed for 1st through 10th: John Enwright, Aiden Glackin, Kirk Reynolds, Martin Gallagher, Dan Busch, Andrew Brodie, Lenny Cushing, Chris Follansbee, Mike Quaid and Ed Gardner. Best Local Boat: Andrew Brodie. Best Visiting Fleet: 146 - Oswego, NY. Best Family Boat, Mid-Fleet and Best Comeback Awards were generously provided by North Sails.
Winner John Enwright summed up the weekend with some kind words for the Race Committee: "Despite the challenging, frustrating conditions, the PRO somehow managed to get two races off and save the regatta. I personally don't think that I could have done it if I was in his position, and it was the right call. The results showed that the top boats were able to still get consistently good scores in the most inconsistent of conditions which is the true litmus test of a fair competition."
Register early and save a spot for next years Changing of the Colors Regatta, September 27th and 28th, 2014. Contact andrew@yankeeboat.com for more info. For more J/24 Changing of the Colors sailing regatta information
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