The Regatta

By E. Schroeder

Photos from E. Schroeder and Sheelagh Hysenaj

The year of the first regatta on Jack’s Lake is hard to pin down. Based on stories the regatta appears to have started in the late 1940s.

A letter from H.V. Shipley to his son Tom dated August 11, 1950 mentions the Annual Regatta at Jack’ Lake. H.V. Shipley states that the regatta is nothing more than boat and swimming races. He goes on to say that Pete (son?) won third prize in the swimming race. He also states that Pete talked Maw into the Women’s Boat race. “… he (Pete) insisted that Maw go into the Women’s Race – no limit on the size of motors. We have a new 16 horse which is very loose in the steering gear and your mother had never run it. Pete pushed her into the boat and off she went and scared everybody to death, including me. She couldn’t keep it straight and from her description she feather stitched down the lake – but due to the fact she had the fastest boat she came in second and received a nice Mae West life Jacket – which I certainly wished she had on at the time she raced.”

Don Long took part in and won the trophy for the 1955 boat races at the Jack’s Lake Regatta. They were small little boats with large engines that bounced across the water. The races were stopped when they were deemed to be too dangerous and insurance could not be obtained to run the regatta with the boat races as part of it.

Pat and Gerry White remember that the first winter carnival (winter regatta) was organized by Vince Strano and the Cunninghams. The carnival was held in Redmond Bay and involved helicopter rides.

According to April Ferguson the first sailing regatta on Jack’s Lake was held in 1976 around a triangular course in Shapes Bay and has been held almost every year since, right up to present day.

Susan McKay Scandiffio said “When I was a teenager in the late 80s, the power boat races still took place. I had friends who would spend their winters fixing up their small boats with huge engines and would practice flying across the lake all summer leading up to the regatta. The other event which was stopped due to insurance reasons was jousting while standing on the gunnels (or gunwales) of canoes.”