Steady winds carried boats through a fun day of racing at the Utah Lake Festival and Regatta. Unsinkable 2 had a full boat for the races today, with the kids bringing friends and lots of snacks and drinks for a long day on the water.
We didn’t expect to place in the races, but were definitely set on having a great time, which is sometimes the only area of sailing we seem to have mastered.
Perhaps the most entertaining oddity of sailing with kids is how they can maintain pirate accents. All day long. Crews on passing boats pause to laugh as the kids yell orders to each other “Give ’em a broadside volley from our cannons!” or “Prepare to be boarded!”
And, for a few moments around the marks, they actually want to focus on well executed tacks and jibes. Well-executed, of course, means with as much flair and humor as possible.
After such a fun day we gathered with the other sailors for the regatta barbecue put on by Bonneville Sailing School. We were in for a shock that night because we were announced as the Bronze Medalists in Division 1 ! The kids went crazy, they were so excited to get medals. We got several questioning looks from the other sailors who had spent the day passing our colorful junior crew. But it turns out our win was legitimate. In a way. There had only been two boats entered in Division 1, so ours was randomly recategorized from Divison 2 to 1. I didn’t bother telling the kids, they deserved medals for having the most fun of any boat on the lake today.
