Weekend of sailboat racing in Charlotte breaks records

The 11th annual Diamond Island Regatta, sponsored by the Diamond Island Yacht Club and Point Bay Marina to benefit the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, attracted 30 boats to Town Farm Bay on Saturday, Aug. 12, for a race in a light but consistent breeze.

The regatta took boats on a course of about 11 miles, from the start in Town Farm Bay and back.

The next day, 21 boats — a record turnout — sailed in the third annual Split Rock Race, in winds that varied from one minute to the next, and from one patch of water to the next.

When the course was shortened to about 5.5, finishing just off Basin Harbor Club in Ferrisburgh, all the boats wound up crossing the finish line within just a few minutes of each other.

Boats came from all over the lake for the weekend of racing.

Both races are part of the Lake Champlain Championship Series, a season-long competition that determines annual bragging rights in five classes: three spinnaker classes and two jib-and-main classes.

The races are scored so boats with different speed potentials can compete against each other. Each boat’s elapsed time for the course is turned into a “corrected” time to determine the winners in each class.

The first boat to finish in the Diamond Island Regatta on Saturday was Kjell Dahlen’s Odinn from Lake Champlain Yacht Club, in 1 hour, 39 minutes and 43 seconds. Dahlen also won the spinnaker A division on corrected time.

First place in the Spinnaker B class went to Sam Pratt of Malletts Bay Boat Club. Spinnaker C class was won again this year by Benedek Erdos of the host club.

Cameron Giezendanner of Lake Champlain Yacht Club captured the jib-and-main A class classes. Stephen Unsworth, also of Lake Champlain Yacht Club, came out on top of the jib-and-main B class for the second straight year.

In Sunday’s Split Rock Race, the win in the spinnaker A class went to Jeff Hill of Lake Champlain Yacht Club. Pratt took the spinnaker B class.

Erdos won in the spinnaker C class. Fritz Martin, commodore of the host Diamond Island Yacht Club, won the jib and main A, and Julie Trottier of Malletts Bay Boat Club, prevailed in the jib and main B class.

Full results can be found at the Diamond Island Yacht Club website.

As is the case every year, perhaps the biggest winner was the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum. The money raised by the regular benefit events — the pre-race breakfast, the Lobster Fest dinner, T-shirt sales and a fundraising raffle — are still being tallied, but all were on track for records.

During this waterlogged summer, it was a triumph of sorts that both races and the Saturday evening Lobster Fest and awards dinner — a sellout, attended by about 100 people — saw only a few brief showers.

The post-race events on Saturday included live music by local artist Tom Van Sant and a talk about the history of vessels plying the waters of Lake Champlain by Chris Sabick of Lake Champlain Maritime Museum.

Dozens of Diamond Island Yacht Club volunteers worked, on and off the water, to make all the events possible. The Diamond Island Regatta was once again certified as a Clean Regatta by Sailors for the Sea. Initiatives taken included no single-use plastics, providing a drinking water refill station for competitors and spectators, composting and recycling.

In addition to the club and Point Bay Marina, other sponsors contributing to a successful two days of racing, socializing and fundraising for the museum included Amalgamated Culture Works, The Backyard Bistro, Basin Harbor Club & Marina, Bibens Ace Hardware, Burlington Harbor Marina, Dunkin’ Donuts, Fast Signs, Helly Hansen, Hinesburgh Public House; Lu-lu Farm-to-Spoon Ice Cream, Old Dock House & Marina, The Red Onion, Safe Harbor, Shelburne Vineyard; and West Marine.

TOP FINISHERS
Diamond Island Regatta, Aug. 12
Finishes based on corrected time

Spinnaker A
1. Odinn, J/111, Kjell Dahlen, Lake Champlain Yacht Club
2. Souvenir, C&C 115, Craig Meyerson, Mooney Bay
3. Stratos, J/105, Tom Moody & Tris Coffin, Lake Champlain Yacht Club
Spinnaker B
1. Lift Ticket, J/92S, Sam Pratt, Malletts Bay Boat Club
2. Rum Butter, C&C Redline 41, Ted Castle, Diamond Island Yacht Club
3. Enki, C&C 99, Cindy Turcotte, Lake Champlain Yacht Club
Spinnaker C
1. Lil’ Bot, Santana 2023R, Benedek Erdos, Diamond Island Yacht Club
2. Osprey, C&C 33 MKII, Thomas Porter, Diamond Island Yacht Club/Lake Champlain Yacht Club
3. Wingdam, Tartan 34C, David Hill, Diamond
Island Yacht Club
Jib & Main A
1. Schuss, J/30, Cameron Giezendanner, Malletts Bay Boat Club
2. Hot Chocolate, J/9, Jim Lampman, Diamond Island Yacht Club
3. Slingshot, J/30, Fritz Martin, Diamond Island Yacht Club
Jib & Main B
1. Morning Star … Again, Catalina 320, Stephen Unsworth, Lake Champlain Yacht Club
2. Meridian, O’Day 28, Julie Trottier, Malletts Bay Boat Club
3. Bandolero, Nonsuch 26C, Pat Furr, Diamond Island Yacht Club
Split Rock Race, Aug. 13
Spinnaker A
1. Foxy Lady, J/105, Jeff Hill, Lake Champlain Yacht Club
2. Souvenir, C&C 115, Craig Meyerson, Mooney Bay
3. Stratos, J/105, Tom Moody & Tris Coffin, Lake Champlain Yacht Club
Spinnaker B
1. Lift Ticket, J/92S, Sam Pratt, Malletts Bay Boat Club
2. Rum Butter, C&C Redline 41, Ted Castle, Diamond Island Yacht Club
3. Chicken Dinner, J/70, John Beal, Diamond Island Yacht Club
Spinnaker C
1. Lil’ Bot, Santana 2023R, Benedek Erdos, Diamond Island Yacht Club
Jib & Main A
1. Slingshot, J/30, Fritz Martin, Diamond Island Yacht Club
2. Schuss, J/30, Cameron Giezendanner, Malletts Bay Boat Club
3. Honeymoon, Sabre 362, Jerry Henrichon, Diamond Island Yacht Club
Jib & Main B
1. Meridian, O’Day 28, Julie Trottier, Malletts Bay Boat Club
2. Morning Star … Again, Catalina 320, Stephen Unsworth, Lake Champlain Yacht Club
3. Wingdam, Tartan 34C, David Hill, Diamond Island Yacht Club.