By DOUGLAS W. MOTLEY
Senior Writer
Picture-perfect weather lent itself to the Lake Gregory Yacht Club’s annual midwinter regatta on Saturday, May 11. The local yacht club, now celebrating its 20th year, played host to the Southern California Yachting Association’s (SCYA) 94th annual midwinter regatta. According to Fleet Capt. Henry O. Johnson, SCYA’s midwinter regatta, which first set sail in 1929, is the longest lasting event of its kind on the West Coast.
Although most SCYA member clubs sail their annual midwinter regattas in February, the Lake Gregory Yacht Club, a member and midwinter host club of SCYA, does not, as the ice on the lake is usually too thick.
While the weather for the regatta was mostly ideal, there were moments when the wind gusted above 10 knots, causing some boats to list perilously to their leeward side. Nonetheless, all 11 RC (radio-controlled) sailing vessels persisted and there were no casualties.
Larry’s Dragon Flight 95 Remote Control vessel (#85) takes the lead in the first of eight rounds.
Following an early morning registration and coffee with pastries, the first of eight rounds of racing, featuring three classes of sailing vessels, set sail around 11 a.m. with the Dragon Flight 95 class boats circling several sets of buoys two times with Larry Grant, representing the Long Beach-based Helmsmen Model Yacht Club, capturing first place; Keith Ives, representing the Long Beach Yacht Club and Alamitos Bay Yacht Club, garnering second place (based on a tiebreaker for first place); and Mike Schachter, representing Long Beach’s Shoreline Yacht Club, the CA Helmsmen Model Yacht Club in Long Beach and the Orange County Model Sailing Club in Irvine, following in third place.
Steve Henze from Lake Gregory Yacht Club receives his first-place award from Commodore Rick Dinon.
Dinon presents Keith Ives with a second-place award.
Gary Roszyk from Lake Arrowhead Yacht Club receives his first-place award.
In the RC Laser Class, Steve Henze sailing out of the Lake Gregory Yacht Club captured first place honors, while Matthew Philippe, also from the Lake Gregory Yacht Club, captured second place. In theV-32 Class, Gary Roszyk, sailing with the Lake Arrowhead Yacht Club, took first place in close racing with Dennis Sharp from the Lake Gregory Yacht Club.
The top four boats in their final standing on Lake Gregory. (Contributed photo)
Overall, top honors went to Larry Grant from Los Angeles, who guided his Dragon Flight 95 RC into four first-place rounds out of eight rounds. Second place went to Keith Ives, who also took first place in four rounds, while Mike Schachter captured third place.
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