the Lake Lansing Wayfarer/CL Regatta Lansing SC * Sun 22 May 2022

Sailors glad to be back at Lansing Sailing Club for annual event by Robert Mosher – W11341 Jim organized the first Lansing SC Wayfarer regatta years ago. It continued on even after his passing. In Jim’s honor, the one-day event became the Jim Fletcher Memorial Regatta. Not only did he lead in bringing Wayfarers to Lake Lansing, he was also a genuine help to those around him. Jim’s wood workshop was always open to anyone who needed it. A little known fact is Frank Dye stayed with Jim’s sister up on Lake Superior after Sailing to The Edge of Fear. The fleet rounds the windward mark for the downwind leg beneath the cloudy sky of Lake Lansing in Haslett, Mich. Photo by Tina Spiller The May 22, 2022 regatta got off to a slow start in part due to the organizers (me) not looking at a clock. It seems if skippers are allowed,  they will take all day to set up their boats. We sailed to the start in mild winds only to have the wind pick up and get gusty. I was never close enough to the front to see the battle for the lead. The results show that Marc Bennett and Julie Seraphinoff of East Lansing traded first and second position with David and Anne Pugh of Oakville, Ontario. Marc and Julie won  the battle by scoring the last first place finish. I do know they were rounding the first mark shortly after I was clear of the start line. The best local club finisher was Lars Peereboom and his pick up crew. They were sailing the club Wayfarer that someone had jury rigged for a spinnaker. He took four straight thirds for a total of nine points. We blame this on Lars being born and raised on a boat. At the age of 9, his dad had him single-hand the family 30-plus footer to the local hurricane hole before the big blow.  Dad drove the car around to pick him up. The fourth boat, Keith Hayes, was also a local club member. The boat does not have a spinnaker. He was aided in this accomplishment by Dave Wilpula and Dave McCreedy losing his rudder and not finishing the last race. Matt Daley put in a solid middle of the fleet performance. His pick up crew was Lars’s wife Lisa, a good sailor in her own right. As for Charles Randell and me, we tended to cancel out whatever good the other did. My starts were some of my worst. In the last race, we were in a better position than the last boat. All we had to do was make a nice tack and clear the windward mark. We did a great tack and maintained speed. I dropped my grip on the main sheet during that tack. We got hit by one of the many gusts and took on some water while I scrambled for the main sheet to release the pressure. The boat came up and I lost the main sheet again and it re-cleated. The wind took us over. The floats on the mast didn’t keep it out of the lake bottom. The rescue skiff gave us a little tug while I sat on the center board. We came right up. Then Charles pulled me over the stern like a bloated fish. With the two boats out of action and the wind getting more gusty, it was decided to call it a day. Maribeth Fletcher was in charge of the food. We finished a little early and caught her griller off guard. He soon showed up and we had a great feed. For more photos by Tina Spiller, here’s the link to the Lansing Sailing Club Flickr site