www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, August 29, 2013 | 6 Spotlight Bronte Rocks "Connected to your Community" Once again this Labour Day weekend, the Bronte Harbour Yacht Club (BHYC) will host its signature event of the year -- the Bronte Rocks Regatta. | Oakville Beaver le photo On the water this Labour Day weekend by Dominik Kurek Oakville Beaver Staff T he Bronte Harbour Yacht Club (BHYC) is gearing up for its biggest event of the year and is encouraging boat-racing a cionados to join in the fun. The club is hosting its annual Bronte Rocks Regatta Labour Day weekend -- a four-day event that features racing on Saturday (Aug. 31) and Sunday (Sept. 1). The event has grown each year and more than 100 boats are expected to be entered in this year's regatta. The folks at the yacht club say the more the merrier. "If someone owns a boat and is interested in racing, then it is a fun and competitive regatta to participate in. It's an excellent regatta with lots of other fun activities," said John McMullen, a member of the organizing committee and club spokesperson. The race event started at the Bronte Harbour in 1999 in response to the need expressed by the club's racers for a highly-competitive, late-season regatta. That rst race attracted 65 participating boats. With the inaugural success, the club says, word quickly spread to boaters around the lake. Since then, the event has become one of the go-to destinations for racers who want to participate in one of the largest regattas on this side of Lake Ontario. In 2012, the event drew participants from Toronto to Niagara-on-theLake and all points in between. It also included racers from the U.S. "Bronte Rocks is our major event of the year and it's a regatta that's become highly popular in the west end of Lake Ontario," McMullen said. "There's lots of good racing and lots of good onshore entertainment and food and everybody has fun so it's become a popular event." With an average crew size of ve members per vessel, the BHYC said it welcomed approximately 500 participants last year and it should have as many, or more, this year. There are 11 eets in this year's regatta, including one-design divisions for the C & C 33 Mk II, the S2 9.1 and Sharks. In 2012, the local regatta was sanctioned by the IRC Lake Ontario as part of the C & C 33 Mk II championship series. In addition to the racing, there will be activities each evening, including a sit-down dinner and live music in a tented area on Friday and Saturday and an awards ceremony on Sunday. The BHYC is located on the north shore of Bronte Creek at 2514 Lakeshore Rd. W. For more information and to register, visit www. bhyc.on.ca/racing/bronterocks. NEIL OLIVER VicePresident and Group Publisher DAVID HARVEY Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Halton Region Editor in Chief Volume 51 | Number 103 467 Speers Road, Oakville ON (905) 845-3824 Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone (416) 340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Editorial Department: (905) 632-0588 Advertising Department (905) 845-3824 Classi ed Advertising: (905) 632-4444 Circulation: 5300 Harvester Rd., Burlington (905) 631-6095 DANIEL BAIRD Director of Advertising ANGELA BLACKBURN Managing Editor