Wow, what a wild weekend at Waccamaw Sailing Club for the first annual Alligator Run Regatta April 17 and 18.

The 40 registered boats began to congregate at the lake on Friday in an eclectic group including seven Wayfarers, five Buccaneers, two Flying Scots, five Isotopes, five Wetas and a good assortment of other mono-hulls and catamarans. Saturday opened to cloudy and slightly chilly conditions with a moderate breeze, which progressed into a beautiful spring day in the 70’s.

It could have been chaos as 40 boats and trailers, cars, campers, and tents all jockeyed for rigging space and launch position, but the yard logistics crew did an excellent job of directing cars and campers off the main lot while making space for tent campers and boat rigging. The multi-hulls launched from the beach, while David McLamb and Nick Logan used golf carts to splash the monos from both ramps, making for a quick and orderly launch, and reversing the process for retrieval at the end of the day.

The wind gods are fickle, and this weekend was no exception. Shortly before the competitors' meeting at 12:00 noon, the sun came out, but the breeze began to lessen. After the meeting, the fleets went out, but the breeze died before they could start. They returned to land for a light lunch and hydration break while waiting for the wind to change direction and come up. They returned to the water about 3:00 PM. Sailors were able to complete a two lap race before the wind finally died for the night. A collision sent one sailor in early with significant damage, which thankfully was successfully resolved that evening.

Serving food safely in the time of Covid can be problematic, but a socially distanced dinner of boxed sandwiches and individual sides and desserts was provided, and people were happy just to be outdoors and sailing again.

Winds were light on Sunday but sailors were able to get in one shortened course race starting at 9:17 AM after a brief competitors' meeting. One sailor was overcome by heat stroke and was towed in by the safety boat and taken by ambulance to the hospital where they were admitted overnight, but was later reported to be fine and was released on Monday. Despite these challenges, spirits were high with comradery and the shared joy of being out.

Spectators enjoyed alligator spotting in the canal across from the lake and many were seen including a possible sighting of “Douglas,” the mythical grand-daddy gator who is the namesake of our mascot.

Click here for final results. PRO John Chaplinsky