Coming just shy of the one-year anniversary of the passing of hurricane Helene through the Carolinas, the Greenville Model Yacht Club hosted the second leg of the 2025 Seawind Carolina Classic on the now much-calmer waters of Lake Cooley Park. This event was also the AMYA Region 3 Seawind Championship; so, a two-day schedule of R/C sailboat racing was on tap for the skippers from around the Carolinas. Racing the long-established Kyosho SeaWind R/C yacht, a total of four different American Model Yacht Association- sanctioned clubs all had members signed-up at the event.
As for the assembled competitors themselves, many had already scored valuable points at the early-April first round of the inaugural Carolina Classic held in Pineville and hosted by the Queen City MYC. Amongst this group of sailors, you could find those with countless hours of piloting a SeaWind hull; while others, only had limited experience (sailing or racing) and were looking forward to competing in their first-ever model regatta.
Now a brief overview of the Kyosho SeaWind yacht should be mentioned. This ABS-plastic hulled sail craft has been around for over 25 years, and besides being a good-running boat, it also looks great running down the lake. Many of the regatta's competitors had very sharp-looking Seawinds on the water, both to look at and to make it easier to keep track of scoring purposes. It's not that unusual to end up sailing the wrong boat; so, having a distinctive paint/graphics design on your vessel greatly cuts-down on problems; especially, when you're racing in up to a dozen yachts only inches apart out on the racecourse.
Come early Saturday morning, the race layout was positioned by Bill Thompson, the club's excellent course director, and co-race chairman Mike Ouellette conducted the sipper's meeting. On a down note, co-chairman and former GMYC Commodore Ron Rash was unable to be at the regatta due to an illness and a couple of days in the hospital; however, at the time of the writing of this piece, Ron's doing better-great news. With excellent winds present on Lake Cooley, a total of 28 one and two-lap heat races were recorded on the first day, and all of the competitors had ample opportunities to stop, tune their sails, check for any water inside their hulls and to recover any impaired yacht out on the water. The GMYC provided a quick lunch on the first day; plus, there was always plenty of water and soda available for everyone at lakeside.
Why so many races on Saturday you say? Easy. The entire club had been closely monitoring the weekend's weather forecast and overall, Sunday's outlook called for winds TOPPING-OUT at 2 MPH-ugh. That was the reason for the 28-heat race first day; so, the decision was made to shorten-up the course and attempt to compete a few more heats on Sunday to compete the regatta. Three slow races later, the SeaWinds came out of Lake Cooley Sunday morning and the results were totaled up.
After running at the front for a good portion of both days, both Mike Saindon and Steve Helander would only be separated by a handful of points in the final tally; however, Mike claimed 1st place for the Carolina Classic at Cooley. The top five skippers would each receive hand-crafted wood plaques, and the regatta was completed by Noon Sunday.
The Greenville Model Yacht Club would like to thank everybody who participated at this Mid-September model yacht regatta, Without the assistance of everyone from the club to the competitors themselves, this two-day event wouldn't have been possible. The Queen City MYC, the Greensboro MYC and the Naples MYC clubs all lended a hand, as did the incredible Lake Cooley Park staff as well. Without the help of Darian Pridham, Outdoor Recreation Coordinator of Lake Cooley Park, the Greenville Model Yacht Club wouldn't be able to put on our events, and we all thank Darian and her crew for all their support.
THANKS!