An interview with Sam Nedeau about the Muskegon Yacht Club’s 2018 Governor’s Cup

Like it or not, our society moves fast. While we sailors like to think that we, too, move fast, even our fastest foil-borne speedsters are no match for the unrelenting pace that’s driving business and forcing people to make less-than-ideal lifestyle choices just to maintain their perch. For example, as a junior sailor growing up, I envied the adults who got to engage in week-long regattas, but now, as an adult, many of these same regattas have had to compress a week’s worth of racing into a long weekend, while other regattas have suffered far sadder fates.

Fortunately, some clubs, such as the Muskegon Yacht Club (MYC), in Muskegon, MI, are taking proactive steps to ensure that their marquee regattas—in this case the MYC’s Governor’s Cup (June TK, 2018)—are able to maintain their traditions and legacies as new generations of junior sailors eye the big-boat regattas with eager anticipation.

After all, while society may move fast, it’s the youngest members who will (eventually) dictate its course.

In the case of the MYC’s Governor’s Cup, the solution involved calendar flexibility and a dedication to maintaining the regatta’s reputation for delivering great freshwater racing on one of two bodies of water (Lake Michigan or Muskegon Lake, weather-depending), while also delivering great Midwestern hospitality and a family-friendly atmosphere ashore.

I interviewed Sam Nedeau of the MYC’s standing race and regatta committee, via email, to learn more about the 2018edition of the Governor’s Cup

Can you give me the Governor’s Cup’s “brochure” overview?

We do not have a specific brochure, but as an overview I can tell you that this year's Governor's Cup has made a change in date to accommodate the changes in our lifestyles. What originally was a Labor Day weekend, three-day regatta, drawing boats from up and down the coast and being raced on Lake Michigan, had become a one-day event being sailed on Muskegon Lake.

The way we live our lives has changed and we no longer can draw boats to participate in the long weekend regattas, on a club level. Therefore, we moved the Governor’s Cup to the weekend prior to the Tripp Memorial Race [Editor’s Note: June 20, 2018], which will race from Muskegon, MI to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Many of the boats from up and down the coast will race the Tripp, so having a regatta the preceding weekend makes some logistical sense.

We hope that boats will deliver up, race the Governor's Cup, and then remain in Muskegon at the MYC for the Tripp Memorial Race.

Also, what’s the history of this event?

The event dates back to about 1985. Governor Jim Blanchard came over to Muskegon to award the first year's trophy.

At that time we sailed a combination of port-to-port races and buoy races. We started in Grand Haven, MI and sailed to White Lake, MI on Saturday. Then to Muskegon on Sunday and then some buoy racing on Monday.

It was a large regatta with nearly 75 boats, for several years, but over the years the participation steadily declined.

What kinds of boats do you expect on your starting line and how many entries do you and the other organizers expect to field this year?

We expect upwards of 35 boats with everything from Melges 24s sailing as a class, to possibly a Great Lakes 70 or a TP52, and everything in-between, including Farr 40s, Soto 40, J/35s and several other designs.

I see in the NOR that the RC will run up to three races per day—are these windward-leeward courses, triangles, or do you guys get creative with shapes and distances?

Our PRO has great freedom to select the racetrack. Typically, if the wind is consistent we will go with windward-leeward courses, but it would not be a surprise to have him throw a downwind start in, or utilize something creative.

It will all be about getting in good racing. Certainly the plans are for windward-leeward racing.

I also see in the NOR that racing will either unfurl on Lake Michigan or Muskegon Lake, weather-depending. What kind of weather/conditions will favor one body of water over the other and why?

Lake Michigan can get outright dangerous with certain wind directions and strengths, so obviously, if we have a significant westerly, the wake could make things prohibitive. It becomes too difficult for the committee boat to hold an anchor and for the rounding buoys to hold in place. If those conditions present, we will move the race course into Muskegon Lake.

Fortunately, Muskegon Lake is one of the greatest racetracks around. At over two miles wide and six miles long, we can set up a very competitive course for pretty much all size boats.

For the regatta, we will push to go out into Lake Michigan, but if winds are too heavy, or if Lake Michigan's winds are too light, Muskegon Lake often offers a suitable alternative. In fact, there are times where Muskegon Lake develops a thermal breeze when Lake Michigan's winds are too light.

What kind of onshore entertainment and post-racing festivities has the event organized?

The Muskegon Yacht Club has a full restaurant and bar, plus a pool, and for after racing on Saturday, we are expecting a live band and some sponsor fun. The proximity of the docks, lawn and clubhouse offers a natural entertainment set up for post-race fun.

Can you tell me about any steps that you and the other event organizers have done to reduce the regatta’s environmental footprint? Perhaps a partnership with Sailors for the Sea or a commitment to reduce and recycle plastic?

The Muskegon Yacht Club has been on the forefront of reducing its environmental footprint for several years, so introducing partnerships at this point would be a bit redundant. Our House Committee has continually focused on environmental concerns.

For example, just recently MYC extended the use of glassware for the lawn. The extension of the use of glassware comes with a downside of potential broken glass on the porch, and the labor of the pick up/clean up, but it basically eliminates the use of plastic cups.

We have also worked on enforcement of fueling and storage concerns to reduce pollution and a potential fire hazard. This is on top of MYC's standard established recycling program [for recyclable] containers.

Anything else that you’d like to add about the 2018 Governor’s Cup, for the record?

The 2018 Governor's Cup represents a departure in the way that MYC is approaching our sailing season. We have departed from the traditional schedule in hopes of a schedule that better reflects the changes in the way we lead our lives.

Over the past several years, racing participation across the board has declined on the club level. With a few exceptions, our boats no longer travel to Chicago or to other distant ports for regattas.

Moving the Governor's Cup to a weekend preceding an established port-to-port race will allow the fleet to maximize their racing without having to twice deliver their boats to Muskegon.

We have also joined forces with the Macatawa Bay Yacht Club (MBYC) in Holland, MI, with a general agreement to alternate the start of the Tripp Memorial Race between Muskegon and Holland, and MBYC will move its Commodores Cup to the weekend preceding the Tripp Memorial start.

In short, MYC and MBYC, while geographically about 35 miles apart, are joining forces to increase the participation of each of their fleets. The moving of the Governor's Cup from Labor Day weekend to the weekend preceding an established port-to-port race is just one example of the change in philosophy.