Sailboat Races

Shelburne Bay, Vermont
44 25.26 N 073 24.93 W

It wasn't by plan but rather by circumstance that led us to anchor in Shelburne Bay Wednesday afternoon. Nevertheless, it was a happy accident because Wednesday is the day for the weekly sailboat races staged by Lake Champlain Yacht Club.  We had front and center seats for the days races.

I counted 46 sailboats competing.   Many of them are pure racing machines with gleaming reflective Mylar sails.   They carry 6-8 man crews.   They are definitely not our kind of sailboat. But man oh man are they pretty to watch.

The competitors do not seem very evenly matched.  The race lasted about 90 minutes and the first boat finished the course in about 60 minutes.  Perhaps they have a handicapping system.  We don't know.

The scene was perfectly framed by deep blue sky, a few puffy clouds and Mount Mansfield and Camels Hump in the background.   For accompaniment, we had a flock of migratory canada geese in the water near us.  They raised a heck of a din.  Honk honk honk, honk honk.  We haven't heard a chorus like that since leaving our house in West Charlton, NY.  There we had a corn field behind our house where thousands of geese would stop and spend the night.  Their honks are music to my hears.

This may be one of the last races of the year, because the sun is going down so early.  Today's race finished long after sunset.