The sixth week of the 2014 SLSC season is the smoked meat of a regatta sandwich. On both weekends, the club has or is about to host some major sailing events. The summer may be winding down, but it’s hard to hear the ticking clock with all this commotion around us, as the clubhouse acts as a revolving door to sailors, from around the Point and abroad.
Highlights: Civic Regatta
From a competitive sailor’s and a spirited runner’s perspective, the annual Sturgeon Point Civic Regatta may have fallen short due to unforeseeable weather circumstances – to match the summer’s current theme. We bobbed and bobbed upon a windless lake until the RC had to scrap the whole thing. A quarter way through the Running Races, the rain plummeted down and the congregation scattered like a pack of frightened antelopes.
It was a race-less regatta, but it was eminently clear that even by going through the motions of Civic, it’s not the medal count that counts. It’s the sense of community that makes this regatta weekend so special. While the weather made the podium too slippery to mount, we were all out there in the rain and the dead wind, strengthening the bonds of our little weird summer society.
That being said, we do need to do something about the trophies. A contingency plan has been established, and it was decided that the final Sunday Afternoon races would be upgraded to become a mini-Civic regatta. At 2PM on Sunday, August 17th, all Civic sailors are welcome to resume their day of races. The concrete plans are still being molded, so more information will follow.
Tuesday Movie Night
This Tuesday at 6:30PM, all are invited to the clubhouse for one of the last Movie Nights of the year. Here we are on Week #6 and the Silvers have still not fulfilled my simple request to show the original Star Wars. After a career spanning over the course of 13 long years at the same Sailing Club, it appears as though my input isn’t worth their attention. It could very well be my last movie night ever at the SLSC, yet they still refuse my bidding to offer the SLSC this sense of space operatic nostalgia.
Anyway, there’s a second movie for those above the age of 13, each movie costs a dollar, and there will be juice and popcorn, and either a happy or an unhappy Erik Nyhuus.
Wednesday Fun Day: Christmas
Every summer at Sturgeon there are six permanent Wednesday Fun Days: Dumping Day, Balloon Day, Poker Day, Treasure Hunt, Fruit Olympics, and Verulam. This always leaves one day for the instructors to show off their creative intellects by inventing a Fun Day of their own. On that note, we proudly present: Christmas. We invite all our sailors to come down to club dressed in their best Christmas apparel, be it a wooly jumper or a Santa Claus getup. However, for the sake of political correctness, feel free to wear whatever’s comfortable with your own personal religious or cultural background.
The details of the day’s events are being kept under wraps, but it should be a magical occasion. Feel free to whet your appetite with this well-renowned Christmas poem:
‘Twas the night before Wednesday and all through the club
Not a creature was stirring, save the raccoons in the shrubs
The Movie Night’s on, and it’s calm on the lake
And the coaches are scrambling to invent a fun-day
“How about Christmas?” one instructor declared
“That’s a horrible idea, you should know better, Clare.”
They puzzled and puzzled, til their puzzlers were sore
But then settled with Christmas, and went to watch Star Wars
Wednesday Night Races
This Wednesday at 6:30PM, we shall be resuming our weekly evening races and it’s indeed come down to the wire. There’s a monstrous trophy that needs to be awarded and the participation for contestants in the race for the plaque is extremely mandatory. The competition has become more and more competitive and the gold is within many sailors’ reaches. Thank god for the smores at the end of the night, which seem to always ease the tension.
Friday Dance
I have reached another awkward point in my narrative where I have nothing to say, but the fault is far from my own. The Silvers have yet to invent a theme for this coming Friday Dance. As soon as they get their acts together, they will make an official announcement at Flag Raising. I can for certain declare that it will last from 7PM to 9PM, and there will be plenty of Freezees and pop for sale.
Masters Regatta
The Ontario Laser Masters Regatta has returned! The semi-annual event is the provincial championship decider, and has been hosted by Sturgeon for three hundred years now, give or take. There’s a reason why this high-octane regatta continues to choose Sturgeon as a host; our community gathers every other year to form a machine of hosting efficiency. The Masters sailors love it here, and we’re looking forward to witnessing two days of intense racing.
N’oublie Pas
As always, please come to sailing club dressed for success! In order of importance: a lifejacket, a snack, a change of clothes, foul-weather gear, sunscreen, a towel, and closed toe-shoes.
The season’s winding down, but there’s still plenty to look forward to as we enter the three busiest weeks at the Sailing Club. The end is far from near, but it flies by far too quickly.
Much love,
Erik
“the congregation scattered like a pack of frightened antelopes” Baa haa haaa. Brilliant Erik! Just brilliant.