A REGATTA LIKE NO OTHER

Fantastic Turnout For Inaugural Event at Lakeshore Yacht Club

In an epic coming of age tale Lakeshore Yacht Club hosted their first Open Regatta this past Canada Day weekend – “The Raft Party Race”. Co-founded by LSYC Fleet Captain; Will French & Parker Media Management Owner; Louisa Sonosky they had a very specific vision and goal in mind. The vision behind the event was to create a low cost, high profile, fun event – inclusive for all skill levels. Their goal was to have an event which represented the good of old while welcoming the new of young boat owners on the lake. 

The event started with a Friday night skippers meeting & social where competitors had the chance to pick up their BOSS SUPPLIMENTS MISSISSAUGA skippers bags; filled with numerous, generous sponsored goodies! Most notably the Custom Raft Party Race FAST MASK UV Facemasks who made sure ALL competitors would be protected from the sun.  Following the skippers meeting competitors were invited to a free pour social to set to tone of the Regatta; which was to have an amazing party! 

What started off as a light wind morning ended in an amazing show of 46 boats competing on the water in a roughly 15nm Race. When heading west competitors had a chance to round the New LSYC FOGH OFFSHORE MARK which was a legacy piece created to help improve offshore racing on Lake Ontario. This is a Seasonal Permeant Mark which ALL yacht clubs are encouraged to use for their own events. LSYC Race Committee, Headed by RO Pat Lymburner did an excellent job creating an ideal course for the conditions. 

Then the Party! Rafted boats throughout the club spared no time in celebrating a great afternoon on the water, some of which compared it to memories of the iconic “Levels Regattas”. Great Music provided by FiddleStix & DJ On Top kept people on their feet from beginning to end. BEACHES BEER made sure no one went thirsty while Twisted Therapy Entertainment Owner; Nicole Deanne and her professional staff kept the refreshments coming! NORTH SAILS provided regatta services for sailors as well as raffle prizes with contributions going to the winners junior sail program. All in all an amazing success best quoted as:

The best regatta that we have been to in years. It had a feel of an old school regatta where it was just as much about the party as the race. This is what keeps our racing community and sport strong, this is what makes people come back year after year. We will be here next year.

Congratulations to Overall Winner; Michael Pietz J35 “Shorthanded” & Short-Handed Overall Winner T. Irving on J105 “Live Edge”. Lakeshore Yacht Club and Raft Party Race Organizers are looking forward to the future of this event and can’t wait to see everyone back in 2020!