Higgins Lake 2010

Well, it’s hard to say much about Higgins Lake regatta this year, other than the sailing conditions were great. On Saturday, three good W/L races were sailed on the East side of the island in front of the club, in an easy SSW 3-10 with just a little hiking and bright sunshine. There was some extra boat chop from time-to-time, but nothing that ever stopped the boat like the open water stuff, we started calling them pillows. Sunday, substitute PRO John Dent sent us around to the West side for two more races in a gloomy SW 12-18 that eased around to a brighter NW 8-15 for the second race. As the weather cleared the lake looked just like it always does on a breezy west wind day with sunshine and the little puffy clouds. Hard not to say something about the color of the water as you sail back in over the sand bars.

Most races were close, especially at the first weather mark; we occasionally got a little launched when we were more patient for the eventual shift back and able to connect three puffs in a row. Jennifer Princing (Gus and Alan Krauss) and Bill Ziegler(?) (“kids” Kevin and Rachel) tied for second; Jim Allen (Tyler and Jim Cikalo) was a little off his game with a loaner boat and pick-up crew but still smiling and enjoying the occasional water gun battle at the beach with Tyler.

The shallows were full as ever with pontoons, kayaks, water toys. Saturday evening was pleasant as always, but quieted down more quickly than usual after the locals cleared out from the Tiki bar. Most of us grilled burgers on the new gas grills. Commodore Baerlocher brought a few fireworks for entertainment to go with the fireside seating that seemed more comfortable than I remembered. The day was almost another perfect Higgins Lake day, except no sunset from the back dock or moonrise from the beach.

Sunday morning started painfully early with long rumbles of thunder that woke some of the lighter sleepers before dawn, then a heavy downpour accompanied by a close flash and crash had all the campers up and about by 6:45 am. There was some idle standing around, some moving gear and talk of making a break to shore before the next storm line, and a few hesitant skippers, before John Dent pushed us into what turned out to be very good decision to race.

After racing, burgers and dogs, seems like everyone hung around for a while to enjoy the day before taking the tow back to the “mainland”, the code word for the beginning of the end of the weekend, and the powering up of cell phones and laptops. Once again we were the last across and slow to pack up all the gear; this time to give Sean a chance to take a Sunfish for a spin.

Only editorial comment to make is that the facilities were way underutilized, with only Scars-and-Scrapes and Sleeper from Bay City , and Jim Allen and Bill (Ziegler?) from Pontiac , so our hosts had a little difficulty covering their disappointment from the light participation.

John