Regattas can be so much more than just a number of races and competition. The Commodores Regatta at Huntington Lake, CA. was just the therapeutic remedy I needed for the stressful 21st century lifestyle many of us have had foisted upon us. Much thanks to Tim and Pat Corcoran, Dan and Billie Juday, Marc Simmel, John Dutton, Bruce and Andrew Fleming and Andrew’s fiancé Amanda for a wonderful weekend of friendly rivalry and competition on the race course and valuable comradeship on shore.

The moderate but flukey winds of Huntington Lake made for very interesting racing in which one needed a combination of luck and skill in order to prevail. Because Bruce sailed two up with Andrew or Amanda he earned 3rd place in the regatta. I got second and Marc Simmel won.

The racing was fantastic, but better still was the sense of community on shore. At the venue we all helped each other launching, retrieving and working on the boats. The Weta fleet shared two campsites at Rancheria Campground. The lakeside setting in a portion of the forest not scorched by the Creek Fire was beautiful and restorative. At the two campsites, everybody worked together to set up and break down camp, cook meals, wash dishes. Food and beverages were all shared generously. Being with unanimously generous, kind and friendly people with genuine concern for each other was beneficial to me and just as treasured or more so than the competition on the water. Thank you Weta fleet for a wonderful weekend.

Sincerely,

Bob Shirley