|
|
Monday, August 4, 2008
|
|
WINDS WORK Weather favors regatta Staff Writer GULL LAKE - Twenty-four sailboats took over a good portion of Gull Lake Saturday and Sunday for the 48th Annual Fun Regatta sponsored by the Gull Lake Yacht Club.
There were three races Saturday and two on Sunday.
Saturday's races made sailboat racers and about 20 volunteers from the Gull Lake Yacht Club smile because of the nice wind and sunny day.
"You never know how these races will go each year," said Amy Harguth, Regatta event organizer and yacht club member. "It all depends on the wind. If there's no wind the races are delayed. And you don't want too much wind because then the racers are beating themselves up and you have their safety to consider."
|
|
|
|
The Faml-E-Affair team won its class in each of its races Saturday at the 48th Annual Fun Regatta. The scow sailboats were the most colorful boats at the regatta as they used spinnakers, a special kind of sail that is generally light weight and brightly colored.
» Purchase reprints of this photo.
Brainerd Dispatch/Kelly Humphrey
|
|
|
|
|
Harguth, who has sailed since she was 7, said racers come from all around Minnesota, with a majority from the Brainerd lakes area. The Gull Lake Yacht Club also has a sailing school and students from the school and from Camp Lincoln also race. There is no age limit on who can race in the Fun Regatta.
Each year the event raises about $2,500 that goes to the club. This year, Harguth said the club is raising money to build a new facility because the sailing school is expanding and the building is getting old.
Sailboats race in three different categories: E Class, which were the scow boats that were the fastest boats in the race; X Class, which are boats sailed by youth age 16 or under; and open class for all other sailboats.
Vince and Martha Driessen's sailing team had a great first day by winning all three races in the E Class. The Driessens, Lake Shore summer residents, who have a combined 74 years of sailing experience, said racing their sailboat has been a life-long hobby. Vince Driessen said for the first race, which was nearly four miles, the sailing team went for the most wind and they didn't worry about what direction they're going.
|
|
|
|
Nate Gervenak (left) and Luke Surma, both 15 of Baxter, on Saturday sailed a boat called the Flying Toaster in the X Class category, which are boats sailed by youth 16 years or under, during the 48th Annual Fun Regatta on Gull Lake.
» Purchase reprints of this photo.
Brainerd Dispatch/Kelly Humphrey
|
|
|
|
|
"In the end we saw a wind coming from the south and that made all the difference," said Driessen. "We were two-and-a-half boats in front of the second place finish and that is like a 3-2 baseball game."
Driessen said the team that came in second place is one of their friendly rival teams. The team was Dave Anderson's of Edina. Anderson said his team consists of himself, John Rauth of Excelsior and Sean Harguth of Brainerd. The team have raced together for 10 years and they've compete in other regattas in the state.
Anderson, who has sailed since he was 14, said he still gets butterflies in his stomach at the start of each race.
"There's a lot of rivalry out here," he said. "But we're like family out here. There's a lot of camaraderie."
|
|
|
|
Betsy Driessen raised a white flag Saturday on Gull Lake to indicate to sailors that they had 10 minutes to get their boats to the starting line for the first race in the 48th Annual Fun Regatta.
» Purchase reprints of this photo.
Brainerd Dispatch/Kelly Humphrey
|
|
|
|
|
Luke Surma and Nate Gervenak, both 15 and of Baxter, took first place in the X Class in the first race. The two, who have been competing together for four years, said they kept the lead the entire race.
"We weren't too serious in this race," said Surma. "We do four races a year and this is one of the smaller races so we like to represent our area at this race and have fun."
Surma said he got into sailing because his father owns a Leisurecraft sail boat and the family would sail for fun.
JENNIFER STOCKINGER may be reached at jennifer.stockinger@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5851.
To Subscribe to the Brainerd Dispatch, Click Here.
Note: Comments are not edited and don't represent the views of The Brainerd Dispatch. Please read our posting rules in the terms of service policy. To report a post that may be inappropriate, click the triangle alert icon.
|
|
|
|
Thinking about a New Job?
These employers want you!
|
Loading...
|
|
|
Today's Best Classifieds:
|
|
|
|
|
|
