90th Annual Anglican Church Regatta

 It's always a bit hard when the date has to change last minute - which it did this year for the Regatta due to severe thunderstorms.  The result of the switch to Thursday meant there were less people there than we would normally see.

What it might have lacked in numbers, however, was more than made up in enthusiasm!

Taffy counts down... 3, 2, 1, GO!

This is a fund-raising event for the local Anglican charge, with minister Rev. Heather Manuel at the helm.    It rotates between Port Cunnington and Lumina resorts, and between the last week of July and the first week of August.


Much thanks must go to the hosting resorts, for allowing all these people, all this commotion, to come 'clutter up their lawns'.

There are swim and canoe races, divvied up into age categories. 11 and under, 16 and under, over 16...

Foxwood and Bondi come along to help round out the roster, along with local cottagers. Points are awarded to the four resorts involved -- Port, Foxwood, Lumina, Bondi.  Although as it turns out, God is on the side of the Big Battalions, and since there were not a large amount of guests there this year from the other resorts, Lumina seemed to have a distinct edge.  Foxwood takes their guests Tree Top Trekking zip lining on Thursdays, which meant they weren't able to accommodate that pesky date change.  Port Cunnington and Bondi had similar 'issues' with guests' plans for their week.

All the same, the small number of Bondi guests who WERE there did us PROUD!!! What a great group! They swam and paddled and cheered their way into the ribbons, and just plain had a blast taking part.

Nancy is the 'commodore' -- a fancy term that means she has to take the microphone and keep things on track as best as possible. Which is not always possible.  Still, one tries!  Taffy came along this year, her first regatta, and was just plain silly when all the kids were jumping off the dock, but figured it out by the end of the day.



One of the highlights is the Three Generation Canoe Race, in honour of Ted Hungerford, from Lumina.  What better place to bond families than on a lake in a canoe???  The rules are simple: three paddlers -- one over 55, one 12 or under, and the third somewhere in the middle.

Bondi proudly had two canoes in this race !

The canoe races are a blast -- this photo is of the under 11 mixed doubles.  A mom came running to Nancy on the dock:
"Tell Cole and Sophia to paddle towards the pontoon boat for the start," she cried. "They are only six, and don't know what they are doing or where they are going." They did just great... that's them in the third boat.

Yukiko and Mary dug deep in the Ladies' Double Canoe.










As did Andrea and Laura. We 'borrowed' Laura to make up the second paddler -- she used to come to Bondi every winter as a child, her grandparents owning two of the Queen Juliana cottages on Bigwin Island.  She just happened to be there that day, with her family, and was happy to hop in and paddle for Bondi!





With no lanes painted on the lake surface, steering and interference can become an issue... 








but once the gals got open water, they put up quite a wave





 There are novelty events as well, including the notorious Hands Only event -- where the kids are surprisingly speedy!
The In and Out, where half way through the race you must jump OUT of the canoe, and then climb back IN... It should be called the Out and In, but that's another story...

And the Crab Race. Where you sit in the bow, facing the bow, and paddle forward. Very hard to steer. Very.  Dave Surry gave it a go, and did a brilliant job for his first time trying it! Had he not been crashed into near the end, he was definitely into the ribbons!


The action isn't all on the lake.  Spectators have a great time cheering on their family and friends.  And up on the lawn there are Kids' Games, Face Painting,  a Bake Sale, Silent Auction and a BBQ on the go.   A huge table of door prizes are also generously provided by local businesses, and simply purchasing a program for the day gets your name into that draw.  With over 50 prizes, there are plenty of winners there!


Special thanks to the volunteers who come forward to Judge.  Here they are, lined up along the dock that marks the finish line, watching a crowd of canoes come hurtling in over a lake reflecting a perfect summer sky!

 The mixed doubles, any age always draws the best teams, I think. This is where the Moms and Dads team up with their kids -- that's Erika and Yukiko in the far canoe, with Sharon and Jake right beside them! What a great thrill for the kids!




And what can we say about the War Canoe?  If you don't sink, you probably aren't paddling hard enough, although there were a couple in the Senior War Canoe that sank en route to the start line, and we suspect that had more to with weight distribution than paddling skill...






Even if you get all wet in the war canoe, there are always plenty of happy faces!








And if you didn't get wet?  Well Chris Winger and Matt Young were on hand with the Lake of Bays Fireboat. Not only did they give kids tours, and flash the lights, but at the day's end they cranked up the water cannon and gave everyone in range a nice light sprinkle...

Already this summer this rescue boat has been called out twice for accidents involving boats hitting islands.  Boats and rocks don't mix well.  Remember... Water on the water, Beer on the Pier.  Time on the lake should be fun time!

One of the signature events is the Marathon Canoe Race -- which runs way down the lake. The winners receive the Bishop's Cup.  Three teams went out this year -- Cory and Sebastian were the winners!   The third boat was a little slow coming home. We jokingly asked Warren if he and Eric had stopped on the Island for a picnic, and they explained why they had taken their time:  just around the bend in the bay, they found the pair of loons, with the two fluffy chicks. The chicks were trying to climb up onto Mom's back. They had never seen this before (in real life) and downed paddles to watch. We think that's a great reason to come in last, because it makes them the REAL winners!

So many thanks to Lumina Resort for hosting this year's Regatta.  Fittingly, it was TEAM LUMINA that carried home the high point spoils.