The Long Harbour Classic is now a one day regatta (it goes without saying that old guys are not really keen on a second day on creaky backs and wonky knees). The 2024 Classic was held on a sunny Saturday August 10 against a strong flood and in a breeze building through mid-day and approaching the Old Guys limit. Most (not all) of the 7 boat fleet survived the various gear failures and swims.
The class of the regatta was Brian Woodward with a strong series of first place finishes. But in SPOG, age is a wonderful thing and Allan Strain stayed close to Brian in front of the fleet (despite his light weight), and used his advancing age to good advantage to nip Brian in the final standings on net points.
And clearly Allan cherished his win; and adding his name to the Kerr Trophy 10 years after his first win.
The less said about the carnage that claimed 2 competitors and necessitated rescues from the hard working Race Committee, the better. A special thank you to retired SPOGgers making up the RC on the committee boat: OM Ron MacKenzie, John McCorquodale, and especially Keith Oliver who did everything, and did everything well.
And on top of it all, Slaneys and White hosted a SPOG BBQ at Tim’s house across the street. Tim and Steve will try to claim credit, but we all know that Holly and Pam are the people who deserve the kudos.
