2022 Regatta

The Honey Harbour Regatta is a time-honoured tradition that dates back years and everyone who is a cottager with kids look forward to the fun each year…..well that is until Covid decided to come calling. After 2 years of craziness the Regatta was back! (and again brought to you by the …surprise, surprise… D’Cunha Family). Before we get to the highlights…..I want to take you back to a time in June when we got an emailing asking whether we’d be running the regatta this year and we excitedly said …Yes!!??!! That began a quest to dig out all our regatta contacts and files and to try to remember all that went into the last event 2 years ago. Luckily for us, Sharon Silverthorn answered our numerous questions and a number of fabulous people jumped in to help prepare and run a successful event.

Preparations began early

Before the day could begin the Derbys and Hartshorns worked to help set up and ensure everything was ready for the morning crowd…..and now to the 2022 Honey Harbour Regatta! The weather the day before was windy and cooler than we would have liked, but after the flags were put up, the barrels kept at ready and the docks moved into place for the swimming races (Thanks Bob!) … you could feel the excitement building in anticipation of this wonderful event.

The Egg Toss

The end of the day means one thing….the ADULT EGG TOSS. What began as regular throwing turned into football hikes, behind the head tosses, baseball throws and over the power line tosses. At first the eggs seemed to be hard boiled, but as the degree of difficulty in the tosses increased, so did the rate of breaking eggs. One by one, the teams dropped out and then there were the final three. The lines shifted to bring power lines into play….the first round had a low toss that DQ’d one group and then there were 2. The first pairing had the toss go into the woods and splatter….so if the last group caught theirs they’d win and catch it they did. Thanks to Nadine Hughes from Thrive Foods www.thrivefoodscafe.ca who donated Honey Harbour mugs to the winners.

Thank you volunteers

As you probably guessed, volunteers is what makes the Honey Harbour Regatta such a success and we had them come out in droves. Peter Koetsier was our starter, Carol Martin handed out ribbons, Mike Fish and Mike Mokedanz (the two Mikes) helped get canoes in and out of the water, Janet Howell organized the beach and last but not least Capt. Howell manned the tinny and helped guide canoes to the start line (does Bob ever know how to control that tinny and it was our tinny!).

Hard-fought Races

With our judges ready to go (Brenda Buchannan, Kyra Buchannan and Lisa Harding)….the first of many canoe races began and the 2022 Honey Harbour Regatta had officially begun! Yeah! The water was perfect and the so was the weather, as the wind died down in time for the events. After some anxious moments getting paddles for the canoe races (can’t go far without them) the races began. Every race was tight and competitive and to our surprise not one canoe tipped! Shocker of the day! We definitely had some kids who had practiced their canoe strokes as they looked like pros in the water. As the action on the water kept the crowd’s attention there were many other events happening to keep everyone entertained.

Swimming Races

The second half of the regatta means only one thing…….swimming!! The races were only possible because of Bob Derby and team getting the docks moved and ready for the races…thanks guys! The races were fun and competitive, and everyone was cheered on by a very enthusiastic crowd. The only collision was in the 16-19 year old relay category when the boys decided to go at the same time as the girls and all the competitors were surprised when a pile up occurred in the middle. The highly anticipated t-shirt race is always a treat as we watch to see how the teams get the shirts off one member and onto another one….it definitely takes some skills!

Record Attendance!

Saturday morning began with The D’Cunha’s and a number of dedicated volunteers getting the tables moved, the signs up and the tinny ready. Honey Harbour families came out in bunches to enjoy the day and there were many new families who came to experience the regatta. As usual, boat parking was at a premium and everyone was excited to get the races going. With the help of Jackie Wingfelder… the Queen of all things paperwork and her crew, the signups began. Upon arriving on the dock, Alex Boyce was asked if she wanted to MC. She told us that she had practice on the karaoke. Alex had never been to a regatta, much less MC the event, but she was eager to help out and she did an amazing job.

After the egg toss came the trophy presentations and there were smiles all around and some excited faces. The judges and paperwork table worked diligently to tabulate the points for each event as well as the category winners. What a great day on the water……so drum roll, please as we congratulate the D’Cun…I mean the Nicolucci and Dymond families who will share the Family Cup and run the event next year! It has been a pleasure to run the Honey Harbour Regatta these past few years and the D’Cunha’s will look forward to coming to the regatta as spectators and volunteers.

The D’Cunha Family, Honey Harbour Regatta Organizers 2022