Fundraising and fun at the Hospice Turkey Shoot Regatta
Issue 79: July/Aug 2011
August, 2006
At first we thought it was trash, the Ziploc-enclosed brochure thrown into the cockpit of our Bristol Channel Cutter, Calypso. A quick look around us made it clear that someone had tossed these prepared bundles into the cockpits of all the nearby boats. Reassured, we opened the bag, intrigued by the title on the brochure: Hospice Turkey Shoot Regatta. What was this regatta, did it apply to us cruisers, and what the heck does that odd name mean?
Five years and four regattas later, we have some answers. The regatta is fun, fun, fun, with the added bonus of knowing you are helping raise money for local hospice chapters in a rural area of Virginia. It’s extra fun for lovers of good old boats: to enter, the boat must be built to a design at least 25 years old. Where else does a 25-foot Fisher motorsailer race alongside a Fast 40, a Tayana 41, or a Cape Dory Typhoon?
The “fun” tag most assuredly applies to non-racers, who tend to enter the “Flying Cloud” division, but there is a division specifically for the hard-core competitors in the group — and the winner of that “Lightning” division has the honor of competing in the national regatta in late spring. Sometimes it feels like Murphy is in charge of the weather machine for the weekend, but fun is had by all, regardless.
The unique name? Well, there are no turkeys shot during the weekend, at least not by the racers. The regatta, based out of Yankee Point Sailboat Marina on Virginia’s Corrotoman River, was originally held over Thanksgiving, when the wind tends to be consistently good on Chesapeake Bay. But having to dress like the Michelin Man is not most people’s idea of perfect sailing weather, so the organizers picked temperature over wind and moved the regatta to Columbus Day weekend, and the regatta has grown from 10 boats in 1995 to 118 in 2010.
Saturday, October 8, 2010
Day one of the 15th annual regatta, the day of fleet-based start sequences, dawned bright on dew-slicked decks. The weather forecast was fabulous — for sunbathing, not sailing.
The navy-and-yellow J-24, Marijo, pulled away from the dock, the first notes of the Michigan Fight Song blaring from her cockpit, her five crew clenching cigars in their teeth. Next came Petite Amie, a Marshall Sanderling catboat, at 18 feet the smallest in the fleet, her two 60-something crew tidying lines. Godspeed, a replica of the square-rigger that brought settlers to Jamestown, fired her cannon as she headed into the channel with her load of spectators.
The first start was to be at 11:30, but by noon the race committee came on the radio to announce a postponement. Apparently, Murphy was listening, and within 20 minutes the breeze had filled to almost 10 knots. Grins flashed as bright as the sun as we enjoyed the perfect sailing on offer. The only downside to the day came on the first leg when we sailed up to a splintered mast in the water and the dismasted 36-foot Herreshoff ketch sitting forlorn and motionless. Apparently, a bronze chainplate had failed, with disastrous consequences. Luckily, that was the day’s only casualty.
Sunday, October 9, 2010
The day of the pursuit race. Even less wind was forecast.
The Fisher motorsailer had the first start time, and 20 minutes later she was still on the line, unable to move in the lack of air. She became the first of many to withdraw from the race. The wind, if anything, died further, turning the starting line and 150-yard first leg into a parking lot of drifting sailboats. Hands and boathooks poled out spinnakers and jibs, hands and feet reached out to fend off other drifting boats. Despite the heat and the frustration of not moving, crews smiled and raised cups in greeting. I heard someone say, “Pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon?” and laughter rang out.
Murphy was still watching: the breeze filled in right after the time limit was called.
Columbus Day weekend on the East Coast means many things to many people, from apple picking to the Annapolis Sailboat Show. For us on Calypso, it means only one thing — heading to Yankee Point Sailboat Marina and the Turkey Shoot Regatta, where Murphy sometimes runs the weather but never spoils the fun. Won’t you join us next year?
Nica and Jeremy Waters , along with their kids, Julian (11) and Maddie (9), and their beagles, Sadie and Belle, sail their 1976 Bristol Channel Cutter, Calypso, out of Deltaville, Virginia. They’ve owned the boat since 1992, have completed two Bahamas/Caribbean cruises, and are starting their second refit of the boat.
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