(Canandaigua, NY)- A right of spring in northern New York state is
for all sailboats to be pulled out of their sheds and covers removed so
that all sailors young and old can enjoy the few brief weeks they have
on their gorgeous lakes nestled into the mountains. While few people in
the world are familiar with the region, perhaps the two most famous
sailing lakes are Lake George and the Finger Lakes (a series of lakes
that looks like some giants’ hand was pushed into the mud). One of
those “fingers” is Lake Canandaigua and encamped along it shore is the
famous Canandaigua Yacht Club.A few hundred “blue moons” ago, the CYC decided to create another rite of spring for sailors, the “J-Daze Regatta”, for those sailors just awaking from the daze of another deep, dark winter season, exhausted from moving several tons of snow from their driveways, roads and sidewalks, not to mention digging their cars out of yet another 25 foot snow drift.
Lovin’ the first regatta of the sailing season this year was a bunch of hardy Canadians from Royal St Lawrence YC way the heck up yonder, like almost near the tundra and Hudson Bay like “yonder”. Having survived an even more bitterly cold winter than their hapless friends in New York, these guys were raring to go in “sunny, south of the Canadian border” sailing conditions (e.g. anything above O C/ 32 F!! It was Peter Hall’s crew on LAAKEA that took home all the bacon and claimed the crown for this year’s J-Daze Regatta. Beating 26 well-sailed, experienced J/24 teams is never easy, but Peter and crew managed to pull it off against a fleet that included J/24 National, North American and World Champions!
Taking second was a local team from Oswego YC, Skyler Munger sailing PT BLISTER. A familiar face took third, Travis Odenbach’s HONEYBADGER from Rochester YC in New York. Tom Doran’s crew on OZ, another local, snapped up fourth place by a whisker. Then lying fifth was a top dog in the J/24 class- Mike Ingham from Rochester Canoe Club sailing NAUTALITIC.
Fun and games were had by all on Saturday night, as usual. It’s hard not to like the amazing hospitality the clubs on New York’s hidden lakes provide to their sailors. If you missed this one, then don’t miss the one on Lake George! To give you an idea of what it’s like- watch this J/24 YouTube sailing video For more J/Daze Regatta sailing information
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