PWR 2025 Wrap Up
-By Dave Timko (Commodore NSC)
In the week leading up to the regatta there were a good number of people who put in a big effort to get the club ready. In addition to the upkeep of the grounds and clubhouse, the entrance to the dock was cleared and several enormous mounds of weeds were raked from the water surrounding the dock to make space for the support boats.
On Thursday, John delivered the smokers for the regatta dinner. He had to buy a new one so that was still in the package. A committee soon gathered around the box and with the help of no less than 5 people, assembly was begun. Things almost took a disastrous turn when John tripped over some of the packaging but thanks to some spectacular acrobatics, he managed to avoid crushing the partially assembled device and the only casualty was John’s slightly lacerated thumb. Within an hour a fully functioning smoker emerged with only 2 plain washers and 1 lock washer left over.
Everything looked great and ready to go by Thursday evening. And then on Friday afternoon, during a test run of the new ASA rigid inflatable, gasoline was found in the bilge. Another committee spontaneously formed to analyze the situation. After a bit of forensic dismantling, an improperly installed fuel gauge sensor was the culprit and a remedial course of action was devised which included calling to berate the company that supplied the boat and heading into town to pick up the components for the emergency repair. By Friday evening the boat was deemed seaworthy aside from no fuel gauge and we were all ready to receive our guests.
Saturday morning started out very promising with a stiff breeze out of the north. All was going according to plan with the first race ready to start at 11 am. About that time the wind began to fall and before all the classes had a chance to finish even two races, the course was abandoned due to a lack of wind but with hope for a return of the wind later in the day.
Around 3:30 pm, an exploratory mission was undertaken by some regatta committee members to assess the prospects for a rising breeze from the southwest but it was deemed to likely be nothing more than a tease and racing was abandoned for the day. And that proved to be a good call as the breeze vanished along with any hope for good sailing and everyone turned their thoughts to the usual Saturday evening smoked beef dinner which did not disappoint.
Sunday races were moved up to begin at 9 am in hopes of taking advantage of an early morning breeze and the support boats left the dock at 8 am to prepare the course. The wind behaved as hoped, starting with nice Beaufort 2-3 and rising to a 4 later in the morning before falling to almost nothing around 2 pm when racing was abandoned. Thankfully, by then all of the classes had completed between 6 to 8 races and the regatta was deemed a resounding success.
The return to the clubhouse went smoothly until the signal boat ran out of gas. The previously repaired ASA boat (which still had gas due to the previous and apparently successful efforts of the NSC members) regained some of its credibility by towing the disabled signal boat back to its mooring buoy. The signal boat did not follow willingly however and provided John and Larry with a bit of a roller coaster ride as it slalomed back and forth during the tow.
Lunch was served while the results were tallied and after an exhausting struggle with the printer, the final results were printed and posted. Awards were presented shortly after with the winners receiving the customary jars of honey. If you are interested in who won what, please check the scores by clicking on this link.
In the move of Glenmore Sailboats Ltd last winter, the old SeaSpray Provincial Champion trophy resurfaced and was given to Don to reinstall the Provincials for the SeaSpray class. The PWR is now home to the SeaSpray Provincials and this first year the trophy was won by Richard.
As the racers packed up to leave, club volunteers helped with the cleanup and pulled the support boats from the water. By early evening all was done and the remaining stragglers settled in to congratulate themselves on a job well done. A few even broke out the good glasses to help finish off the last of the wine. The crowd mostly dispersed just after 7:30 pm, when a couple of rolls of thunder caught their attention.
An event like this would be impossible without our volunteers. A big thank you goes to everyone who helped getting the grounds ready for the regatta, for supporting the races on the water on Saturday and Sunday and make sure everything went smoothly, and of course a big thank you to the cooks who made sure all hungry bellies got fed. You are all heroes!
A thank you also goes to our many participants of the regatta. We hope you have enjoyed it again this year and we are looking forward to seeing you all next year 
And lastly thank you Barb, John and Mike & Susan for generously sending us pictures of their adventures on the water!
