Sailors compete in opening race at East Grand

By Frank Bolton
Special to the Pioneer Times
    It was gloriously sunny with barely a breeze near noontime on July 16, when motor boats, party boats, kayaks, canoes and sailboats of all kinds began arriving at Old Man’s Island on East Grand Lake. They were gathering to attend the annual hot dog roast sponsored by CLIC (the Chiputneticook Lakes International Conservancy).
    Traditionally held on the day of the first race of the Peter’s Cove Yacht Club Regatta,  the event – free to all – was attended by well over 100 people. A number of people sat at the shaded picnic benches that CLIC arranged to have built and which volunteers bring to the island for the summer months. Others seeking shade stood under the canopies that had been brought to the island along with the food and cooking equipment 
Contributed photograph
GREAT DAY FOR SAILING — The first two boats have passed the starting bouy during the opening race of the Peter’s Cove Yacht Club Regatta. The next race is Saturday, July 30.
    Don “Bones” Ellis reported that as the 1 p.m. end of the roast drew near, the workers ran out of the 12 dozen red hot dogs and grilled buns and had only a few cans of soda left. Bob and Sharon Quebec of Acton, Mass. and Orient worked the deep fryer preparing french fries for the full hour and a half of the roast. Jerry Wilson of Houlton and Bob Lyons of Monticello, both of whom have camps on the Canadian side of the lake, cooked the dogs, buns and onions. Lyons and Wilson had each spent a number of hours the previous afternoon serving the chicken pot pie supper at the Methodist Church in Houlton.
    For the first time since the annual picnic began, two officers from the field operations office of CBP (Customs and Border Protection) – Bill Hovey and Jerry Hammond – were on the island to greet the considerable number of Canadian attendees, saving them a trip to the Customs port. The Quebecs brought the officers the last batch of french fries.
    The annual affair allows some people – especially seasonal residents – to greet one another again for the first time since the end of last summer. It also gives CLIC members an opportunity to pay their annual dues in person and lets non-members talk to members about the organization and its goals.
    At 12:30 p.m. when Paul LaPointe gave instructions to the skippers of the 11 sailboats taking part in the race, the wind had begun to pick up, and by the start time, there was a stiff breeze. This was quite a contrast from just an hour before when Geoff Phipps of Bluffton, S.C. and Orient was seen walking his sailboat – its sail slack – along the shallows next to the island to get to the registration point.
    A couple who’d come to the island by canoe was seen struggling north from the island after the picnic, the wind constantly turning them off-course. By the time they were seen pulling into their camp a little north of Caribou Point, the first of the sailboats were heading across the lake toward the buoy marking the finish line. The first boat to finish did so in the record time of 21 minutes.
Contributed photograph
HOT WORK — Jerry Wilson, left, and Bob Lyons cook over hot grills during the the annual hot dog roast sponsored by CLIC (the Chiputneticook Lakes International Conservancy).
    The first- and second-place winners of this first of the three-race regatta, by class, were: multi-hull category: Bob Foster of Halifax, N.S. and Fosterville, N.B. and Dave Clark of Houlton (both in Hobie 16s); centerboard category: Paul LaPointe (in a Lightning) and Joe Fagnant (in a Rhodes 19); keel boat: Bob Ellis (in an Aquarius 23) and Ted Sussman (in a Skimmer 25). LaPointe, Fagnant, Ellis and Sussman are all Houlton residents.
    There are two races remaining in the Peter’s Cove Yacht Club regatta. Any sailors who are interested can still compete. Pre-registration is necessary and can be arranged by calling Paul LaPointe at 532-7926 or  via e-mail at lapointe_04730@yahoo.com.
    Founded in 1992, CLIC is active in monitoring water quality in Grand Lake and engages with various agencies and companies in discussions of water levels, fishing issues and other issues that have an impact on  the lake chain. It is a 501-C-3 corporation.
    CLIC’s annual meeting will have taken place before this article is published but its next big event of the summer is a one day lake-wide yard sale on Saturday, Aug. 20. Keep your eyes open for an announcement in the Pioneer Times or call “Bones” Ellis at 448-2924 to volunteer, to bring items or for information.