32nd Georgian Bay Regatta will be held Aug. 2-6

July 12, 2017

The 32nd annual Georgian Bay Regatta will be held Aug. 2-6. Boats will depart from the Midland Bay Sailing Club and finish in Thornbury. The annual event hosted by the Georgian Bay Sailing Association (GBSA) will take place in early August. Participants will sail their way from Midland down the Georgian Bay shoreline with stops at Hope Island, Christian Island and Collingwood.

The 32nd annual regatta will be run similar to last year’s format, a dramatic change from years past. The distance of the course, length of the event and number of races have been shortened. Instead of a long ten-day regatta, with six or seven full days of racing, the event has been compacted into a total five days.

“The consensus was that it was too long … too many days. People have less and less time off, limited vacation, so it was making it tough for a lot of skippers and crew to go out for the full weeklong regatta,” said Peter Hayden, GBSA past president.

While the event was originally created for sailboats, the regatta has been expanded in recent years to increase social interaction — any boat, including powerboat cruisers, is encouraged to tag along.

To register visit georgianbayregatta.ca.

Any profits from the event are dispersed among the junior and youth sailing programs around Georgian Bay.

For the past 50 years, a group of avid sailors have been contributing to the Midland community. The Midland Bay Sailing Club, which sits off Marina Park Avenue, is celebrated its 50th anniversary on July 1.

Two-thirds of club memberships are reserved for locals, residents who live within a 32-kilometre radius around Midland. This local flare is what helps keep the club so eager to be an involved in the community.