LOWISA 44 Wrap-up

By: Bob Nuttall

Woot woot another amazing LOWISA regatta! The 44th LOWISA (Lake of the Woods International Sailing Association), opened its annual event August 2nd at the Kenora Harbourfront in glorious weather; the spectacle of all the boats rigged and ready to sail drew a crowd of onlookers as the fleet anticipated the week-long regatta. Each day’s course was designed to be about 25 miles long and included all points of sail in the predominant southerly winds. With 60 square miles of lake, the sailing possibilities are almost endless. For LOWISA 44, the Race Officers once again set great courses which were point-to-point so that a new wilderness anchorage could be enjoyed each day on this pristine lake of 16,662 islands and 65,000 miles of shoreline. For the avid racers, careful tactical work and sharp sailing skills produced great competitive racing with tired but happy crews by the end of each day.

Sailing and racing on Lake of the Woods is always spectacular. And the alternatives for accommodations and eating are very good; proximate 5-star wilderness lodges, houseboat rentals each with their complimenting food and fanfare choices or pitching your tent each night under magnificent star filled skies provided options that suit every lifestyle and every budget. This year’s host lodge was Totem Resort’s Wiley Point Wilderness Lodge and for as for me, the accommodations were comfortable and the deserts, well maybe because we were in the wilderness with all that fresh air, the deserts were “to die for”!!

LOWISA’s racing on the Lake of the Woods is world class with the post racing afternoons and evenings always delightful. I couldn’t begin to count all of the international friendships that have been created over the years or the annual reunions between racing rivals or its cruising enthusiasts. LOWISA traditionally gets its start with the Arctic Glacier Annual Youth Dinghy Open Day Regatta and closes with the Commodore’s Awards Banquet. Social highlights are many and included, to mention a few, the always anticipated annual Mt. Gay, Pepsi, Arctic Glacier Wilderness Adventure (rum party), LOWISA’s own Star Search talent contest, the Canadian Tire Kids’ Fishing Derby, the LOWISA Scavenger Hunt and the Arctic Glacier Frozen T-Shirt contest. Come one, come all, you can even find time to kick back and read the latest Dan Brown novel – the choices are many and yours to make.

Our participants came from far and near (my daughter Erin Grealy may have been our most distant participant having traveled from Melbourne, Australia. My eldest daughter, Kristin, travelled from Whistler, BC, too – simple proof that there’s nowhere else they’d rather be than at the LOWISA regatta). There too, were Old Salts and Young Salts alike, with every skill set imaginable. We have many “firsts” on LOWISA each year but it is especially important to mention that our youngest competitors on LOWISA 44 were Michael Nelson (13), and Jack Clark (11), who on their tiny Weta 4.4m trimiran piloted, navigated and with amazing courage and skill, sailed the entire regatta without aid or abetting from parent or fleet – impressive, eh?

Now the intrigue has thickened just a bit by the fact that both Michael and Jack are 3rd generation LOWISA participants. Michael is the son of David Nelson who sailed his rocket/mother ship, Kite, a state-of-the-art Ultimate 27 (and it would be more accurate, perhaps, to call her father ship since mom was not on board). David is the son of 80-something LOWISA enthusiast Earl Nelson whom scores of us know and remember from many LOWISA’s past – that’s three generations of active participants.
Similarly, Jack is the son of Lori and Bruce Clark and Lori is the daughter of Pat and Angie Kabris of the always competitive J100, Hurricane Bar and Grill. Jack’s mom, Lori, is an important and dynamic member on Hurricane. Again, that’s 3 generations of active participants! And Jack’s father Bruce is always present at LOWISA, too. Bruce busies himself as a fisherman during LOWISA, but have you ever noticed that he’s often conveniently and at times, inconveniently, anchored over one of those lurking and sometimes ominous reefs? “Just fishing”, he will say but I say that he is keeping vigilant watch over our fleet and I’d be quick to dispel the fisherman guise. After all, I’ve never seen his catch, have you?

And for the first time ever, Bruce found more fishing spots on the course than you might ever begin to imagine; never advising or interfering with our 11 and 13 year old competitors, he was always close and kept a special but distant watch over them, all the while, ready to lend the fleet a helping hand wherever and whenever needed. And so it was with so many of our participants…spirit, passion, love for the lifelong sport of sailing and the LOWISA regatta. Fish away, Bruce, and thank you!

On behalf of outgoing LOWISA 44 Commodores John and Marcia Sexton of Burnsville, Minnesota, I’d like to thank our generous sponsors, our volunteers and our participants. LOWISA is one of the longest and oldest sailing regattas and boasts 44 continuous years of historic and international success - each year’s success is the direct result of sponsors’, volunteers’ and enthusiastic participants’ contributions.