Shell Lake Regatta 2018 Recap

It was a fantastic weekend of racing at Shell Lake this year. Day One had winds averaging in the high teens. Brent Carlson and Michael were cleaning up with that new boat that they felt was lightning fast compared to the old one, however, I think it was pretty clear that they were simply sailing a bit better than the rest of us as they pretty much swept day one.

The evening at the campground as a truly unique weekend. With family members of the ownership getting married, it was a huge party and everyone from the campground was invited by our truly gracious hosts. The pig roast had enough food for a large army and everyone was really well fed with a great meal of BBQ. And a variety of bands were playing in the bigtop but the end of the night bans was the clear favorite as they ended with a final encore (and most teams dancing) of some rousing Doobie Brothers and yes Free Bird (of course someone requested it and this band wasn’t one to leave their cheering fans disappointed). And after the party, the campfire kept going well into the evening. A few of the locals had to stop by to tell us we may be having too much fun, however, they were pretty easy going and I wasn’t really sure if they were complaining on behalf of their wives as they seemed quite content to stay for a beer and join in the fun themselves.

Day 2 continued to impress with another sunny day and good winds. This time it got a bit more challenging as the windward pin was a bit closer to the shore so it made of an interesting challenge getting in there. But those who figured it out were rewarded. Daniel hung on to his good results, and Tyler made a significant comeback.

All in all, a perfect weekend of sailing, great weather, the usual solid comraderie afterwards, and I’m pretty sure nobody went home disappointed.

Randy Johnson