Michigan regatta quality ice Jan 13 & 14, 2018

[RANDY ROGOSKI]

Eight ranked sailors raced a .95-mile course on Higgins Lake in mid-northern Michigan Sunday Jan. 14 on hard “beautiful” ice.
The racing was good fun and a blast, a racer said.
DN Central Lakes Rear Commodore Bill Cutting said he would call the Central Regional regatta at Higgins Lake the weekend of Jan. 20 & 21, except for the fact the North American Championship is scheduled to begin Jan. 22nd.
In addition to Cutting, Jim Grogan, George Reis, David Frost, Bruce Williams, Bill Coberly and Chad Coberly also sailed 12 races. A two-mile course could have been set.
There is regatta-ample launching from Higgins Lake State Park South.
Higgins Lake is a 10,300-acre 16-square mile lake in the summer resort area of Roscommon County.
Nearby Houghton Lake was sailed Saturday Jan. 13 by most of the same racers, launching at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources public access on that lake’s western shore. Numerous Central Lakes Championships have been hosted from this launch.
This 20,000-acre 31-square mile shallow lake has numerous spacious launches  and had ice 16-inches thick that was fast and hard.
“It was regatta quality, we would be enthusiastic to race on it,” long-time racer Stan Jones said of the long course they raced.