Yacht club races on Labor Day

DAYTON — While Labor Day marks the end of the summer for most boaters on Flathead Lake, the South Flathead Yacht Club has made a tradition of ending the warm season with a bang.

The SFYC’s annual Labor Day regatta featured 18 sailboats racing in three different classes based on their ratings, a system developed by U.S. Sailing similar to a handicap in golf.

The regatta was a two-day affair. Sunday’s races involved shorter-distance buoy races held in Dayton Bay near the club’s marina. On Monday, the boats traversed a 16-mile course that reached down into Big Arm and north of Dayton Bay.

“The regatta went really well, and of course it helps to have great weather,” said the club’s commodore, Mark Gilmore. “We had a better than average turnout with 18 boats and I received a lot of compliments, both on the races and the dinner. This weekend met our expectations, and everyone had fun racing their sailboats.”

It was easy for Gilmore to be satisfied. He also captained the winning vessel, his Laser 28 dubbed Seawolf capturing the Class A crown as well as the overall win based on the U.S. Sailing formulas. He held off second-place finisher and race director Bill Brown on his boat, Dream Catcher.

It was a sharp contrast from Gilmore’s Sunday pre-race pep talk to a relatively green crew [which included Jeremy Keene (Missoula), Will Harp (Somers), Steve Connell (Missoula) and this reporter] that emphasized having fun and being safe.

By the third race on Sunday—and after two wins—Gilmore sounded a little more competitive.

“I know I said we were just out here to have fun,” he said, “but we’re doing well, so let’s win this.”

Seawolf went on to win one of the final two races on Sunday, and Gilmore, who lives in Missoula, was able to finish well enough on Monday to claim the title.

Mike Lozar of Polson captains Gilmore’s old sailboat, Nauti Dog. Lozar competed in Class C, the slowest of the three categories. In the club’s smaller races, they don’t have enough boats to run different fleets.

“That kind of makes it a little bit more special,” Lozar said. “…You go into it thinking you have a chance.”

Lozar had his wife, Hilary, and friends Ed and Terra Spotts on his crew. He said the regatta’s excitement made it even more special. On Monday, the vast majority of the boats finished within yards of each other after a 16-mile race.

“It was really exciting to see boats basically hull-to-hull across the gap between Cromwell Island and the mainland,” Lozar said. “It was really cool to be a part of that whole mess.”

The regatta marks the end of prime sailing season on Flathead Lake, with the SFYC’s last event of the season, the all-islands sail, coming this Sunday.

“It’s sort of melancholy, but with all the excitement that was involved in yesterday’s race, it was a really exciting way to end the season,” Lozar said.

Results

Class A

1. Seawolf (Mark Gilmore), 2. Dream Catcher (Bill Brown), 3. Valkyrie (Marshall Noice).

Class B

1. Havoc (Kirk Kalbflesch), 2. X Rated (Dennis Gregory), 3. Mo Joe (Andy Sponsellor).

Class C

1. A Multidao (Jay Preston), 2. Pile Driver (Warren Miller), 3. Knot Ready (Reggie Good).

Overall Winner

Seawolf (Mark Gilmore)