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Catamaran Racing Association of Michigan will kick off its 2024 Regatta series this weekend on Grand Lake. Sailors will meet at the northeast corner of Grand Lake St. Marys State Park. Boat races will be held on the east end of Grand Lake.
Picture from Catamaran Racing Association of Michigan
ST. MARYS - A fleet of catamarans will set sail this weekend at the Grand Lake Regatta.
The Catamaran Racing Association of Michigan has chosen the 13,500-acre Grand Lake to kick off its 2024 regatta series. Sailors and their bright-sailed vessels associated with the family-oriented club will gather at Grand Lake St. Marys State Park, with boating action to occur on the east end of the lake.
"This is our first out-of-state regatta in a while but it looked like a good lake and good support from the St. Marys Boat Club down there," said CRAM Communications Officer Kyle Nussdorfer.
CRAM, a contingent of boating enthusiasts ranging from beginners to national champions, sought a warmer location to host its season-opening regatta two weeks earlier than normal.
"It's early season regatta so we try to look for places as south as we can to get a little warmth and a littler warmer water than up north," Nussdorfer said. "It looked like a big lake, too. We usually need about 1 mile to do our race course. Grand Lake is plenty big to do that 1 mile course."
Catamaran Racing Association of Michigan will kick off its 2024 Regatta series this weekend on Grand Lake. Sailors will meet at the northeast corner of Grand Lake St. Marys State Park. Boat races will be held on the east end of Grand Lake.
Picture from Catamaran Racing Association of Michigan
CRAM members scoped out the lake themselves and gained the overwhelming support of the St. Marys Boat Club, he said.
So far, 15 beach catamarans - multihull sailboats - are registered to race on Saturday and Sunday afternoon.
"Our races are usually 30 to 45 minutes and then we hold a series of races over the weekend, so we'll do four to five races on Saturday and another three to four on Sunday," Nussdorfer said.
Each boat is manned by two sailors. CRAM's main classes are the Hobie 16 and Formula 18, Nussdorfer said. With 15 mph winds, the catamarans can reach top speeds of 22-25 mph.
"Our regattas our open to the public. Anybody can come and sign up and race with us. You just got to pay the registration fee to support our race committee," he said, adding boaters can register at cramsailing.com.
The St. Marys Boat Club is providing pontoons that will be used as start- and safety boats and inflatable buoys to mark the course, said CRAM Commodore James Hulderman.
"This particular regatta, we're really excited because the St. Marys Boat Club has really stepped up their efforts," Hulderman said. "The boats and the extra hands that the boat club is providing us, really we couldn't do it without them."
A starting line will be set downwind and a buoy dropped directly upwind.
"You sail up to the buoy and then back down to the start line, and then up to the buoy and back down the start line," Nussdorfer explained.
The race course can change hour by hour as winds shift, Hulderman noted.
"We sail directly upwind … and then you've got to make your way directly back downwind to where the start boat is," he said.
Catamaran Racing Association of Michigan will kick off its 2024 Regatta series this weekend on Grand Lake. Sailors will meet at the northeast corner of Grand Lake St. Marys State Park. Boat races will be held on the east end of Grand Lake.
Picture from Catamaran Racing Association of Michigan
Sailing requires physical strength and mental acuity, as well as a basic grasp of physics and weather pattern dynamics; cognizance of currents, wind speeds, water temperatures and land; an engineering mindset and a competitive edge, according to Hulderman.
"There's also skills to position yourself among a big fleet to steal their wind," he added. "You can literally steal wind and get in front of someone."
CRAM members are looking forward to coming to Grand Lake. The St. Marys Boat Club will host a dinner for them Saturday night.
"We're also looking for new venues in CRAM, looking for nice beaches, nice campgrounds … as well as other support facilities available," Nussdorfer said. "We just look for good venues where we can sail and have good camaraderie off the water, too."
"I'm excited to see what Grand Lake has to offer and a new venue for us," Hulderman said. "Even though we're the Catamaran Racing Association of Michigan, we do draw from a region. A lot of our members are from other states - Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky - and they make the long haul up to … Michigan."
Catamaran Racing Association of Michigan will kick off its 2024 Regatta series this weekend on Grand Lake. Sailors will meet at the northeast corner of Grand Lake St. Marys State Park. Boat races will be held on the east end of Grand Lake.
Picture from Catamaran Racing Association of Michigan
