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Sixth-annual Diamond Island Regatta goes ‘clean’

Now in its sixth season, the Diamond Island Regatta, hosted by Charlotte’s Royal Savage Yacht Club (RSYC) and Point Bay Marina, will for the first time be a certified “Clean Regatta” — helping educate and mobilize sailors to protect the world’s lakes and oceans.
Sailboats of all kinds will gather at Town Farm Bay (between Charlotte and Ferrisburgh) for an 11 a.m start on Saturday, Aug. 18. The courses will range in length from 6.6 to 13.8 nautical miles, and can run from Charlotte and Essex, N.Y., in the north to Basin Harbor in the south.
Again this year, the event will be run as a benefit for the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum (LCMM) in Ferrisburgh. LCMM is dedicated to maritime education and the preservation and management of the lake’s historical shipwrecks and underwater cultural resources. Entry for the Diamond Island Regatta is free; proceeds from merchandise are used to offset an annual RSYC donation of $1,000 to the museum.
What makes this race so clean?
Well, for starters the annual RSYC Lobster Fest dinner, which serves as the awards ceremony, will use a sustainability plan developed with the help of Sailors for the Sea (an organization promoting ways to improve the health of the planet’s waters.) RSYC will also run a paperless registration system; use only post-consumer recycled paper; ensure that any dinnerware is recyclable or compostable; and ban single-use plastic of any kind, including water bottles. Don’t worry there will be a water refilling station for reusable containers.
A view of the fleet just after the start of the 2017 Diamond Island Regatta on Lake Champlain.
Photo courtesy of Royal Savage Yacht Club
Worldwide, more than 1,000 boating events have registered with Sailors for the Sea as “Clean Regattas.” The program unites and mobilizes sailors by offering support and resources to help conserve and protect the world’s waters.
“As sailors we have the unique opportunity and privilege to experience both the beauty and fragility of our environment,” said Wendy Friant, race director for RSYC. “By striving to be certified as a ‘Clean Regatta,’ not only do we personally commit to implementing the best environmental practices, we also commit as a group to educating the public.”
“The Diamond Island Regatta, including the awards ceremony and Lobster Fest dinner, will have no single-use plastic items,” said RSYC Commodore Susan DeSimone. “We’ll provide water filling stations and individual reusable water bottles, thanks to Point Bay Marina. We’ll have recycling stations, and in addition to recycling, we will also be using compostable dinnerware and utensils. These are simple changes, that can make a huge difference if universally embraced.”
This makes a difference because lots of sailors participate in RSYC’s Diamond Island Regatta — it’s actually become one of the biggest sailing regattas on the Lake Champlain summer schedule. Last year, the event attracted 30 boats.
 
Heading downwind under spinnaker, with the Vermont shore in the background, during the 2017 Diamond Island Regatta.
Photo courtesy of Royal Savage Yacht Club
RACE DAY DETAILS
Racers are invited to a breakfast (free for RSYC members and $5 for visiting sailors) the day of the race at the RSYC tent at Point Bay Marina. Breakfast begins at 8:30 a.m.
Registration is open from 8:30-9:30 a.m.
A skippers meeting will be held at 9:30.
The race gets under way at 11.
The awards ceremony will take place at the Lobster Fest, under the tent, at 6 p.m. There will be a presentation on Lake Champlain’s maritime history by a representative of the LCMM. Visiting sailors are invited to join the evening festivities, paying the RSYC member price for the lobster dinner.
The race is part of the Lake Champlain Championship Series (LCCS), a series of races featuring boats from clubs in Vermont, New York and Quebec. Regatta results will count toward both the LCCS Cannon Series and the Champlain Series.
The race is scored using the Lake Champlain PHRF ratings, which allow sailboats of all sizes and speeds to compete against one another.
Details and registration info for the regatta can be found at rsyc.org/diamond-island-regatta. Learn more about the LCCS lcchampionshipseries.org.

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