by Bruce Kitchen, FSSA First VP
Fleet One at the Cowan Lake Sailing Association held their Flying Pig Regatta on September 19-20, 2026.
We had 16 boats in two fleets for competitive racing. Saturday presented shifting but strength steady winds and the RC (staffed by our local MC fleet) gave us 3 good races. We did get a little wet on the last beat headed towards the finish and home to the club, but avoided any really nasty rumblings which held off until overnight. Otherwise, weather was really decent for an afternoon of sailing.
Food and drinks were in good supply as our Fleet Captain, Karla Thaxton arranged an Octoberfest themed menu, and local fleet member, Mike Conrad, brought a keg of home brewed Octoberfest beer for us.
Turning our day room into a swanky budding artists studio allowed competitors to show off their creative side. Bethany and Michel Bourgeois bought all the cool stuff to set up painter’s stations for a Sip and Paint session. Michel, channeling legend Bob Ross, lead everyone creating lake shore and happy little tree images as folks enjoyed trying to keep lines straight while sipping their favorite bevies.
Sunday racing was a bust as the overnight thunderstorms took all the wind with them. The RC made a valiant effort to be ready in case something hit the water, but in the end N over A hoisted.
Final results are here. But congratulations to Michel and Bethany Bourgeois from Cowan who conquered the Challenger fleet. Also, to Cowan sailors Lynn and Bruce Kitchen, Mike Conrad and Dave Hutten, and Hoover Sailing Association’s Brian and Pam Pace for getting top three hardware in the championship fleet.