Pirate regatta returns to Camas Cove Sept. 1
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 years AGO
The Blue Barnacle makes its way to shore at the end of a previous Pirate Regatta. This year’s regatta is Sept. 1.
FILE PHOTO
Young buccaneers kick up their heels to pirate music at a past Pirate Regatta. The Seven C’s pirate band will perform again at this year’s event Sept. 1.
Buccaneers roar in triumph at the Pirate Regatta at Camas Cove Cellars.
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | August 21, 2024 3:15 AM
MOSES LAKE — Raiding and pillaging will be the order of the day Sept. 1 at the Camas Cove Pirate Regatta, according to event organizer and Camas Cove Cellars co-owner Kathleen Parr.
“And massive squirt gun battles,” Parr added.
This is the eighth time Camas Cove Cellars winery has held the rollicking, swashbuckling event. Last year brought in about 300 spectators and 13 or 14 boats, Parr said.
The competition is a simple one: boats made of almost anything and crewed by as many or as few people as the entrants wish. The biggest restriction is that they must be human-powered; no motors of any kind are allowed. The buccaneers take two laps around a course in the lake marked with Jolly Roger buoys and are encouraged to fire on the enemy with squirt guns or splash them with oars or buckets. Boarding parties are permissible, Parr said, but probably not a very good idea.
“One year there was somebody who boarded somebody else’s ship,” she said. “These two were really going at it, trying to beat each other out for first place, and one guy jumped his ship onto the other ship. They both just ended up in the water, of course.”
There’s no entry fee for boats, and prizes will be awarded in six categories:
• Best design of pirate vessel from bow to stern
• Most courageous crew
• The Jolly Roger award for extreme plundering
• Funniest scallywags in the cove
• Fastest ship in the fleet
• The Titanic award for most unseaworthy vessel in the fleet
The Seven C’s pirate band will provide music, and Porky’s Hot Dogs will keep the crowd fed. And of course, Camas Cove wines will be available in the tasting room.
The race starts at 3:30, and Parr recommended spectators get there a little early. Boats can be dropped off at the winery the day before.
“We've got pirate captains from 12 years old to 85 years old,” she said. “It's just such a fun community, family (event). We like to celebrate Moses Lake.”
Young buccaneers kick up their heels to pirate music at a past Pirate Regatta. The Seven C’s pirate band will perform again at this year’s event Sept. 1.
Buccaneers roar in triumph at the Pirate Regatta at Camas Cove Cellars.ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Quincy National Night Out scales down
QUINCY — Quincy’s National Night Out was more compact this year, which worked out well, said QPD Sgt. Joe Westby, who’s in charge of event planning for the Quincy Police Department. “National Night Out is a big event, and the fact that we’re able to shrink it up is like a breath of fresh air,” Westby said. “If you're always doing the same thing, it's kind of nice to switch things up and see how it works.” National Night Out took place Thursday on the block of C Street next to the police station, a shift from previous years when it was held at Lauzier Park. The smaller space meant fewer emergency vehicles for children to explore, but it also meant less walking for attendees. Grant County Fire District 5 brought a fire truck, and the Grant County Sheriff’s Office had a patrol boat. Renew, the Grant County behavioral health agency, had a booth and so did Quincy Partnership for Youth. Veterans Operation Creation sang the national anthem, and the Quincy Animal Shelter brought kittens that piled over each other making friends with passersby. As before, the QPD served grilled hot dogs.
Quincy Police retirements leave big shoes to fill
QUINCY — There are some big shoes to fill at the Quincy Police Department. “We’re losing 48 years of experience between them,” Quincy Police Chief Ryan Green said at the retirement party for Capt. Jorge Trujillo and Det. Damon Powell Thursday. Trujillo, who grew up in Sunnyside, has been with QPD for 19 years, he said, coming on as a patrol officer fresh out of the military. From there he served as a field training officer, a detective and finally captain. “I consider him my left-hand man,” Green said. “He runs the operations side of the house … He knows the agency very well, and he knows the community.” Trujillo has some projects around the house to tackle now that he’s retired, he said.
Big fun on a small scale
Wheat Land Communities’ Fair opens Thursday
RITZVILLE — The Wheat Land Communities’ Fair isn’t as big or as flashy as some of the county fairs around central Washington, but the folks who keep it going like it just the way it is. “It’s somewhere you can go and get an old-time traditional feeling, and you’re comfortable letting your kids roam the grounds and experience all that it has to offer,” said Board Member Lori Williams. “It’s more of a feeling than (one) specific thing,” The fair starts Thursday in Ritzville and runs through Sunday. Starting Friday, the 56th Ritzville Rodeo will take place alongside the fair at the rodeo grounds. This year the entertainment budget was expanded, Williams said, to be able to offer more fun that’s covered by the cost of admission. For the kids, there’s face painting, balloon art, Lego crafts, races, contests and games. Children can also ride on a little train towed around the fairgrounds behind a tractor.