The Meet and Greet BBQ on the lawn of the Royal Hamilton Yacht Club (RHYC) was well received on Friday evening.   A group gathered at Williams Coffee House for breakfast Saturday morning.  The Skippers’ Meeting at 12pm (Joe Biro) with the associated Q &A period ended in plenty of time for the 2pm start.  Puffy white clouds and fabulous winds (5 to 20 knots) were the backdrop of a perfect race day. The inconsistent wind, which is typical for the Hamilton Bay, created some interesting challenges. Check out our video footage of our races! The footage shows a beautiful drone perspective on the two Nonsuch races in the Hamilton Bay.  Serious excitement prevailed during both races.

The Awards ceremony took place in the RHYC lounge. Thanks to the staff of RHYC for providing space for our venue.  First Place LONA Nonsuch Trophies were awarded to each Category (NS 22 excepted)

First place winners were:

Frank and Bill Frenke on Mermaid III receiving N30 award from Joe Biro and 1st place overall

Mike Darlington and Lynn Sansom on Tiroc receiving N26 award

Manny Bauer and Barb Woods on Skylark IX receiving N33 award from Joe Biro

Ian Shaw, Martin and Kai on Unicorn III 2nd place overall

Overall Race winners:  
1^st place MERMAID III – John Frenke and Bill Frenke         
 2^nd place UNICORN III – Ian Shaw, Martin Shaw and Kai
3^rd place CORVUS – Joe Biro

Memento plaques, created and engraved by Joe Biro and his dad, were awarded.

After a pizza dinner, lawn chairs materialized and many of our group participated, among 450 others, in the live stream final concert of the Tragically Hip (an internationally well-known Canadian band).  The weather was hot and humid but the winds picked up and, by Sunday morning, strong winds gave some skippers second thoughts about leaving.  The weather did hold up for all but one or two skippers who excused the wind to enjoy one more day exploring more of Hamilton’s secrets. Those brave enough to go, plied a reef or two in their sail and were off.  Joe and Lisa Biro were showered with applause and congratulation e-mails for organizing this event. Their enthusiasm was contagious, and no doubt their efforts for taking on the challenge of reviving LONA will be remembered as the first of many future events in the years to come.  

Story and Photos Annette & Dave Bailey