Diamond Island Yacht Club, Point Bay Marina host 11th annual Diamond Island Regatta, supporting Lake Champlain Maritime Museum
CHARLOTTE/FERRISBURGH, Vt.— The 11th annual Diamond Island Regatta, sponsored by the Diamond Island Yacht Club (DIYC) and Point Bay Marina to benefit the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, attracted 30 boats to Town Farm Bay on August 12 for a race in a light but consistent breeze. The regatta, DIYC’s signature sailboat race, took boats on a course of about 11 miles, from the start/finish line in Town Farm Bay, south to Diamond Island, north to Essex on the New York shore and back to the finish line.
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. The Lake Champlain checkerboard—windy on the black squares, flat calm on the white squares—scrambled the fleet. When the course was shortened to about five and a half miles, finishing just off Basin Harbor Club in Ferrisburgh, all the boats, from the fastest to slowest, 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, with sailors from, among other places, the Diamond Island Yacht Club (DIYC) in Charlotte, the Lake Champlain Yacht Club (LCYC) in Shelburne, the Malletts Bay Boat Club (MBBC) in Colchester, and even from as far as Mooney Bay, north of Plattsburgh, N.Y.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 (JaM) classes. The races are scored using the PHRF (Performance Handicap Racing Fleet) system, 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, a J/111 from LCYC, in 1 hour, 39 minutes and 43 seconds. Odinn also won the Spinnaker A division on corrected time. First place in the Spinnaker B class went to Lift Ticket, a J/92S sailed by Sam Pratt of MBBC. Spinnaker C class was won again this year by Benedek Erdos of the host club, sailing his Santana 2023R, Lil’ Bot.
In the jib-and-main classes, Schuss, a J/30 sailed by Cameron Giezendanner of LCYC captured the JaM A Class. In the JaM B Class, Morning Star … Again, a Catalina 320 sailed by Stephen Unsworth, also of LCYC, came out on top for the second straight year.
In Sunday’s Split Rock Race, the win in the Spinnaker A class went to Foxy Lady, a J/105 sailed by Jeff Hill of LCYC. Lift Ticket and Sam Pratt repeated their winning performance from Saturday, taking the Spinnaker B class. Benedek Erdos and Lil’ Bot also doubled up by winning again on Sunday in the Spinnaker C class. In the Jib and Main classes, Fritz Martin, commodore of the host Diamond Island Yacht Club, won JaM A with Slingshot, a J/30. And Meridian, an O’Day 28 sailed by Julie Trottier of Malletts Bay Boat Club, prevailed in the JaM B class.
Full results: Diamond Island Regatta; Split Rock Race.
As is the case every year, perhaps the biggest winner was the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum (LCMM). 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 sell-out, 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; a talk about the history of vessels plying the waters of Lake Champlain by Chris Sabick of LCMM; a raffle to benefit the museum; the awards ceremony; and the Lobster Fest dinner, all under the DIYC tent at Point Bay Marina.
The Saturday and Sunday races were both overseen by DIR/SRR Race Director Wendy Friant from the committee boat, Rosie, a Lord Nelson Tug owned and captained by Will Patten. And dozens of other DIYC volunteers worked tirelessly, on and off the water, to makeall the weekend 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 in Burlington; The Backyard Bistro, Charlotte; Basin Harbor Club & Marina in Ferrisburgh; Bibens Ace Hardware, Colchester; Burlington Harbor Marina; Dunkin’ Donuts, Shelburne; Fast Signs, South Burlington; Helly Hansen, Burlington; Hinesburgh Public House; Lu-lu Farm-to-Spoon Ice Cream in Vergennes; Old Dock House & Marina, Essex, N.Y.; The Red Onion, Charlotte; Safe Harbor, Willsboro Bay, N.Y.; Shelburne Vineyard; and West Marine in South Burlington.
TOP FINISHERS
* Finishes based on corrected time. *
Diamond Island Regatta, August 12, 2023
Spinnaker A
1. Odinn, J/111, Kjell Dahlen, LCYC
2. Souvenir, C&C 115, Craig Meyerson, Mooney Bay
3. Stratos, J/105, Tom Moody & Tris Coffin, LCYC
Spinnaker B
1. Lift Ticket, J/92S, Sam Pratt, MBBC
2. Rum Butter, C&C Redline 41, Ted Castle, DIYC
3. Enki, C&C 99, Cindy Turcotte, LCYC
Spinnaker C
1. Lil’ Bot, Santana 2023R, Benedek Erdos, DIYC
2. Osprey, C&C 33 MKII, Thomas Porter, DIYC/LCYC
3. Wingdam, Tartan 34C, David Hill, DIYC
Jib & Main A
1. Schuss, J/30, Cameron Giezendanner, MBBC
2. Hot Chocolate, J/9, Jim Lampman, DIYC
3. Slingshot, J/30, Fritz Martin, DIYC
Jib & Main B
1. Morning Star … Again, Catalina 320, Stephen Unsworth, LCYC
2. Meridian, O’Day 28, Julie Trottier, MBBC
3. Bandolero, Nonsuch 26C, Pat Furr, DIYC
Split Rock Race, August 13, 2023
Spinnaker A
1. Foxy Lady, J/105, Jeff Hill, LCYC
2. Souvenir, C&C 115, Craig Meyerson, Mooney Bay
3. Stratos, J/105, Tom Moody & Tris Coffin, LCYC
Spinnaker B
1. Lift Ticket, J/92S, Sam Pratt, MBBC
2. Rum Butter, C&C Redline 41, Ted Castle, DIYC
3. Chicken Dinner, J/70, John Beal, DIYC
Spinnaker C
1. Lil’ Bot, Santana 2023R, Benedek Erdos, DIYC
Jib & Main A
1. Slingshot, J/30, Fritz Martin, DIYC
2. Schuss, J/30, Cameron Giezendanner, MBBC
3. Honeymoon, Sabre 362, Jerry Henrichon, DIYC
Jib & Main B
1. Meridian, O’Day 28, Julie Trottier, MBBC
2. Morning Star … Again, Catalina 320, Stephen Unsworth, LCYC
3. Wingdam, Tartan 34C, David Hill, DIYC