Regatta

It was delayed one day due to rain on Wednesday morning, but the 88th Annual Anglican Church Regatta stepped it up on Thursday.

Congratulations to Lumina Resort, our next door neighbours and very good friends. Not only did they do a stellar job of hosting the Regatta, but they are currently celebrating their 90th season as one of the premier destinations on the Lake of Bays.  Great to see Tec out there paddling, along with the next generation in both canoes and swim races!

Their dining room is open to the public, too -- with advance reservations, and a lot of people aren't aware of that. Chef Sean does an incredible buffet every Sunday, and great meals all week long.

Heather Manuel, the fearless leader of the Anglican Charge in Lake of Bays, somehow manages to be almost everywhere at once, and still keep smiling!

A large, meal-plan resort, Lumina is easily able to absorb the additional crowd of people along their sand beach for the regatta races.  Competitors from the other area resorts -- Bondi, Foxwood, Port Cunnington and Nor'Loch, as well as local residents and cottagers, all enjoyed a day of brilliant sunshine and calm waters -- a good thing if you are trying to learn how to paddle a canoe in the Crab Race (where you face the stern, and paddle towards the stern, with the rest of the canoe sitting high behind you like the tail of a dog.

26 canoes came out for some of the bigger races, and there were lots of young contestants in the 11 and under races too, so it was fun for all.  A great silent auction and plenty of door prizes also added to the fun of the day. Not to mention the Bake Sale...  The crowd was a little smaller this summer:  perhaps the power outage that left Port Cunnington and Bondi in the dark, with staff needed at the resort to cope with that, had something to do with that.  Still, there were lots of folks along the shore, and lots of cheering.

These community regattas are a great way to spend an afternoon. Lumina won the overall high point trophies this year, and well deserved that was.  Thanks to Karen from Nor'Loch, who oversaw the scoring; Rob from Foxwood, who stood in the sun all day to judge, and to all the rest of the volunteers who worked so hard on this event.

Me? They just handed me the microphone, to talk about the history of the Lake, tell some bad jokes, and get the racers out to the start lines.  That's the easy part.  It's the work behind the scenes that makes the day.

Regatta -- Lumina Rocks

This year the 86th Annual Anglican Church Regatta was hosted by our next door neighbours, Lumina Resort. The Hungerford family are great about letting the Regatta invade their property -- taking over the beach, and the dining room (for the Bake Sale! Always a big hit!). It's a lot of organization, and it creates a lot of fun.


Windy conditions gave the canoes a hard time -- but the Lake of Bays Fireboat was on hand to help out. Not only flashing blue lights, hitting the siren and demonstrating the power and range of their deluge gun (a.k.a. water cannon) but helping out as a safety boat. That came in very handy during the War Canoe race, when predictably several canoes succumb to wave and weight.

The Fireboat is still campaigning through their Get On Board Muskoka campaign to raise money for our volunteer fire department. Their current goal is a thermal imaging camera, which lets the firemen actually see through the smoke and flames so they know what they are dealing with. It's more than worthwhile.

The Regatta is itself a fundraiser for the local Anglican Churches, notably our Foxwood and Port Cunnington St. James and St. John's. Our minister Heather Manuel was on hand, with her face painting kit, and we say a huge number of children during the day wearing some of Heather's "warpaint".

There are several resorts, as well as local residents, who come out every year to the Regatta. We salute Nor'Loch Lodge, Foxwood Inn, Port Cunnington Lodge, Bondi Village and Lumina Resort for their efforts selling program tickets, encouraging guest participation, and generally showing up to pitch in.

Team Lumina was the overall High Point winner this year, carrying off the coveted Zebedee Cup.