2006 Hoosier Lightning Regatta

This past weekend four members of the Quantum Loft in Toledo had the pleasure of attending the 2006 Hoosier Regatta at Lake Wawasee. The Slickster (Nick Turner), Skipper D (Skip Dieball), Big Ern (Ernie Dieball) and myself, Krazy Karl Felger descended upon Syracuse, Indiana with one goal in mind… to share some good times and racing with our wonderful friends and family. Upon arriving on Friday night we were greeted to cold drinks and warm smiles. This carried over onto Saturday morning as the competitors were scurrying around removing covers and stepping masts.

Saturday consisted of 3 races held in almost every wind range possible with quite volatile directions. On any given beat you could go from being up 30 degrees with all sailors hiking hard to being down 15 with two on the low side. This only added to the competitive nature of the racing and kept the fleet on its toes. Skipper D, with crew Krazy Karl Felger and Mike Rush managed to pull off three bullets in these trying yet exciting conditions, with Bill Faude and crew right on their heels.

At the dock we were greeted to hot-buttered rum, which got us properly lubricated for an eventful evening. After a delicious and filling dinner we decided to head to the local watering hole to enjoy some fine spirits and college football. Team Quantum Sails Toledo highly recommends the Frog Tavern, just three minutes from the yacht club. It features live cover bands, cheap drinks, plenty of TV’s to enjoy the college football season and Swedish exchange students (though, I had to check their ID’s to make sure). After plenty of shenanigans we departed the Frog Tavern for a stout night cap at the Wawasee Yacht Club, thanks to George Sipel and team.

Waking up Sunday morning to light and variable winds only aided the fact that some of us were still seeing double. Skipper D and Krazy Karl managed to find their long lost crew and after many lead changes, sail changes and tense moments were able to hold off Team Faude for the victory. Special thanks go out to Jeff Schmahl for putting together such a wonderful event. We encourage everyone to attend next year’s Hoosier Regatta.

I agree with Bill Faude in that it’s “The finest fall Lightning regatta in which you’ll ever be lucky to sail.” It truly is…

Results:
1. Team Dieball (powered by Quantum)
2. Team Faude (powered by Quantum)
3. Team Sipel (partial Quantum inventory)
4. Team Probst
5. Team McCree