The Lake George Club in Diamond Point, NY hosted the 42nd annual J/24 Changing of the Colors regatta the first weekend of October. 24 boats were on the start line from fleets as far away as Buffalo, Rochester, Scituate and Portland, ME, along with eight local boats representing Lake George’s Fleet 24. The race course was surrounded by magnificent mountain scenery with yellow, gold and red leaves intermixed with conifer green. Despite the lack of breeze on Saturday morning, the Race Committee managed to get two races off in an afternoon southwest light breeze. Two more races were held on Sunday under beautiful 5-7 knot conditions out of the south. The winner after four races was Velocidad skippered by Chris Stone of the Atlantic Highlands Yacht Club. Rounding out the podium were Mental Floss with Aidan Glackin of Centerport Yacht Club as helmsman in second place, and The Lake George Club’s Alfie Merchant skippering Witch Way into third place. Local skippers Rodger Voss on Spirit and Kyle Lavoy on Uncle Ludwig rounded out the top ten in 9th and 10th place respectively. Other local skippers included Ellen Cantrell (Judy), John Dickenson (Cut Loose), Christian Wetzel (“T”), Jon Brodie (Cheers) and John Carr (Night Spirit). Added USJCA President Molly White: After a long onshore postponement, the sailors hit the water Saturday for two light air races, each consisting of four legs. Chris Stone was first right out of the gate, with Mental Floss and USJCA VP Dan Busch to follow. The second race saw breeze get even lighter, and the fleet watched as Finn Hadlock’s Boreas pulled off a horizon job to a first place finish. Sunday morning brought a shorter postponement and more breeze than forecasted. The fleet started out with a four-leg course won by team Velocidad, with Kirk Reynolds on Tyrus finishing second. RC announced the last race would be a five-leg to finish upwind at the club for haul out. Team You Regatta nailed the finish and were first to the hoist for haul out. Lake George YC did a great job hosting an event with 25 boats amid the NY state COVID restrictions, and of course onshore fun was had by all. Photos (and a few videos) by Susan Jacobs: https://www.flickr.com/photos/raggio/albums/72157716279408138