3rd Annual Mystic Lake Halloween Regatta

Winchester, October 20, 2018 by: Head Referee – Stephen Braverman The Mystic Lake Snipe Fleet hosted the 3rd annual Snipe Halloween Regatta. The Winchester Boat Club remained open for one final day of October Snipe racing. The Upper Mystic Lake in Winchester, Arlington & Medford Massachusetts, home of the 2017 Snipe Nationals, once again, provided fantastic, but challenging racing conditions. ...

3rd Annual Mystic Lake Halloween Regatta Image

Winchester, October 20, 2018

by: Head Referee – Stephen Braverman

The Mystic Lake Snipe Fleet hosted the 3rd annual Snipe Halloween Regatta. The Winchester Boat Club remained open for one final day of October Snipe racing.

The Upper Mystic Lake in Winchester, Arlington & Medford Massachusetts, home of the 2017 Snipe Nationals, once again, provided fantastic, but challenging racing conditions.

 

10 boats worth of costumed sailors shared the upper Mystic Lake with a Tufts college regatta in a very puffy and shifty SouthWesterly, turned Westerly. The forecast was for a breezy 15 with gusts up to 30. Air temps were in the high 50s to low 60s, but the water was much warmer. Referees in striped uniforms, Stephen Braverman and Bill Swanton awarded a delay-of-game for 1 hour and set the kickoff of the contest for 11 instead of the original (ghastly) time of 10 to let the breeze abate a bit.

Any westerly breeze is tough on the lake with the puffs magically appearing over the Arlington hill. Some big puffs exploded over the racecourse during the regatta. The sailors who best shifted gears and handled the puffs lead the way.

Racing was tight with Salt & Pepper mostly leading the way, followed closely by a couple dressed as post-grads all being chased by a pair of Trolls.

The fleet was mixed with a several third generation Snipe sailors, and a handful of second generations, as well as some recent college grads and rookie skippers. Youth was at hand with three teenagers, mostly 20-30 somethings, with just a scant few ‘seniors’.

The winner of the coveted costume trophy were a sickly patient and his nurse. Martin Fraser wore a hospital gown, an oxygen mask, blood soaked dressing, had an IV hanging from the spreaders, and was well cared for by Nurse Mackenzie. Other costumes included pirates (who hung the Jolly Roger from the WBC yardarms, and put a logo on their sail), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, swimmers pretending to be sailors, a Viking, a Russian aviator, RBG, a Hobbit and an old man.

Fun time on the water and at the pot-luck in the newly renovated WBC after sailing and packing up the boats for the season. Thanks to Katie Levinson and Liz Glivinski for organizing the event, the WBC staff for keeping the club open, the Referees for 5 races, and the competitors for keeping it fun!

See you next year! Start planning your costumes now!

Serious Sailing Serious Fun!

1) 30903 Salt & Pepper Cam Fraser/Liz Glivinski 6
2) 30526 Post-grads Mariel Marchand/Mike Costello 11
3) 29842 Trolls Katie Levinson/Emily Lynn 15
4) 29704 Star Sailors Kevin Hetherington-Young/Audrey 21
5) 30999 Patient & Nurse Martin Fraser/Mackenzie Fraser 22
6) 30422 Pirates Ben Braverman/Linda Epstein 35
7) 29499 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Kelly Rousmaniere/Andrew Goldfarb 38
8) 30330 Hobbit & Old Man Steve Milt/Alex Milt 42
9) 29772 Viking & Russian Aviator Peter Bronk/Thomas Mourier 44
10) 30404 Swimmers Julia Fuller/Natalie Danziger 51

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