Boaters and shore walkers at Indian Lake undoubtedly have noticed the colorful spinnakers of nearly two dozen sailboats cruising the waters most of the past week.
ABOVE: Ed Spengeman of Louisville, Ky., and his crew fly a spinnaker as they make a turn around a marker during Wednesday morning racing at the Highlanders Nationals regatta at Indian Lake. HOME PAGE SLIDESHOW PHOTO: The Pequod, a Moby Dick themed Highlander sailboat captained by former national champion Bruce Busbey of South Carolina, leads a group of other boats. (EXAMINER PHOTOS | REUBEN MEES)
The event is the Highlander Nationals regatta — a one-design sailing competition hosted by the Indian Lake Yacht Club for the first time since 1999. The event is the premier event in the Highlander Class International Association’s annual racing series. The event moves to different lakes each year, explained Erin Spengeman of Louisville, Ky., one of the regatta’s non-participating coordinators.
“The venue changes every year, but we decided to do it at a smaller inland lake this year,” she said.
“This is a one-design race, which is sort of like in auto racing the difference between NASCAR and Formula 1,” Mrs. Spengeman said. Each 20-foot sailing vessel has to meet certain specifications, including a minimum empty weight of 830 pounds. All boats have three sails — the main, a jib and a spinnaker, which is the colorful front sail that comes out when the boats tack downwind.
Read complete story in Thursday’s Examiner.
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