EAST GRAND, Maine — Thunder and lightning circled the northern end of East Grand Lake for an hour on Saturday afternoon, July 23, 2016 until finally at about 3:15 p.m., the sky unleashed a deluge, followed by a hail storm.
Fortunately for those planning on sailing in the first regatta put on by the Peter’s Cover Yacht Club, the group had anticipated poor weather and postponed the race until the next day.
The Peter Cove Yacht Club is a loose collection of sailors who come together three times each summer to participate in sail boat races. The races originally were sponsored by CLIC, the Chiputneticook Lakes International Conservancy (founded in 1992), a not-for-profit group which advocates for those on and around the Upper St. Croix River Watershed’s five Chiputneticook Lakes: North, East Grand, Mud, Spednic and Palfrey, as well as for those on Deering Lake in Orient and Bracket Lake in Weston.
But CLIC ceased sponsoring the races the end of the summer in 2007 and some of the sailors who had participated in those races decided to continue the races and gave themselves the name they currently use because several of them moored their boats in the waters off one of their camps.
When the race began the next day, which was sunny and warm, the nine sailboats rounded Caribou Point with a decent following breeze, only to hit dead air in the center of the lake.
A hundred yards north of the point, the first catamaran, skippered by Bob Foster of Fosterville, caught enough of a breeze to head north up the lake but had to tack several times to keep his headway. The rest of the sailors were not so lucky, with the last few taking nearly a half hour before they could make much headway. The slow pace of the race notwithstanding (the winner of one of the races last year finished the course in 22 minutes), sailors and crew had a wonderful day on the water, experiencing some of the best weather of the summer.
As has become the tradition, a potluck supper for the sailors, the safety boat committee, other involved in the group and some dedicated followers was held at Geoff and Jane Phipps’ camp on what is known as ‘the Gold Coast’ at the north end of East Grand.
The Portsmouth Yardstick Handicapping System is used to determine ranking in the race. The results of this first race are Bob Foster and crew first, Paul LaPointe and crew second and Jim Hillman third.
The second of three races in the regatta will take place on Saturday, Aug. 6, weather permitting. Contact Paul LaPointe at 532-7926 if you wish to participate. You must sail in two of the three races to be declared among the winners.
