By Cecilia Nasmith/Today’s Northumberland
Commodore William McCrae of the Cobourg Yacht Club hopes for a good turnout at the LYRA Regatta they are hosting Aug. 4 to 6.
“Some really interesting boats are coming to Cobourg in a week or so,” McCrae said at Monday’s council meeting.
The club was approached last fall by the Lake Yacht Racing Association about hosting the event, and a steering committee formed of CYC and LYRA members (as well as town staff) have been working on it. If it is successful, he said, it could be a recurring event.
It lines up with the long weekend and the annual Downtown Business Improvement Area Sidewalk Sale this year, he added.
“LYRA is believed to be the oldest association of yacht clubs on the continent,” McCrae said of the organization formed in 1884 by delegates from clubs in both Canada and the US.
The LYRA Regatta has been hosted in Cobourg before, but not by the CYC (which only celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2015). The prize is the solid-sterling-silver Gooderham Trophy, which he called the Stanley Cup of the yachting world.
While the King of Norway has been known to compete, they are expecting six boats, both classic full-keel wood craft and modern fin keel models, with some vessels of very special interest.
The Thisbe was built in 1928 and won the Canada’s Cup in 1930.
The Norseman was built a year later, designed by the same architect as the Blue Nose.
The Bangalore was built in 1929 and won the World Cup in 2016.
The 40-to-50-ft. boats will race with seven crew members each and an unspecified number of guests.
“We are expecting a good crowd from Toronto to come and watch. Most of these people have booked accommodations,” McCrae told councillors.
The event begins Thursday evening with a special flag raising as people begin to arrive. Friday morning, skippers and crews will be piped to their boats for the action to begin.
The Cobourg Yacht Club will be open for members of the public that weekend, he said, including entertainment and the bar being open noon to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday afternoons.
Council agreed with McCrae’s request of them – sponsorship for docking space along the centre-pier wall. With no motors, he pointed out, this is the ideal spot for these boats, as well as making them easy to view for visitors who wish to enjoy this rare opportunity.
The value of this sponsorship is $1,500 if the wall space was rented out normally, and council passed Deputy Mayor Nicole Beatty’s motion granting the request.
