’08 Regatta
O Boy Oberto-Miss Madison didn’t make the winners’ circle at the Madison Regatta, but she and driver Steve David did their darndest against formulaboats.com in the championship heat, besides winning two preliminary heats leading up to it.
Old Corporal isn’t going to try to give you a play-by-play of yesterday’s race — the regular news media do a much better job at that. But here are a few of my observations about not only yesterday’s race, but some of the other events of regatta week.
O Boy Oberto - Miss Madison
——
Driftwood was the villain yesterday, as it washed out of the Kentucky River and downstream in the Ohio, making the race course dangerous and delaying the first heat by almost three hours. Oberto won that heat handily when it was finally run at 1:50 p.m.
The weather for race day was almost perfect — very warm, but bearable; sunny; and with a pleasant breeze. This showed in the crowd, which appeared to be as big as a number of them in the past, although probably not the biggest ever.
The difference between regatta weekend as it is now, and as it used to be, couldn’t be more striking. There used to be a number of local schools and other institutions which had booths at the regatta to make money for their operations. Those are all gone. Whether or not the replacing of all of those with commercial vendors from out of town was wise or foolish is a matter I’ll leave up to the reader.
A change which was definitely needed and welcome was that of turning the weekend from a party-hearty, drunken bash, into the more family-oriented event that exists now. It took a few years, but it was worth the efforts made by the city, regatta organization and police departments. I didn’t see anyone obviously drunk all weekend. They used to be common at the regatta — and in those days, I was often one of them. But that’s all in the past, too.
——
Saturday night’s fireworks was a big show as usual, although some of the edge was taken off of the display as usual by large numbers of private citizens firing off their skyrockets, sparklers, and so forth, before the professionals could get started.
The pros have gotten much better at conducting their July Fourth display than they were when it was started. Then, there were often long gaps between the firing of different displays. The fireworks are set off on a much tighter schedule now. I think most people would not mind if the show was a little shorter in minutes, provided it really draws the “Oohs!” and “Aahs!”
——
The same thing goes for the regatta parade.
It drew an especially large crowd this year, which may have been partly due to the cooler, overcast weather which was more comfortable than the heat which has often prevailed for the Regatta Friday event. But I wonder how many of the spectators really wanted to see pickup trucks and tractors instead of more high school bands and floats — and fewer Shriners.
The aging gentlemen of the Shrine lodge turn out every year, and sometimes seem to be used to help “fill up” the parade roster. The Shrine band is fun to watch and listen to; the Shriners driving the little cars and motorcycles are entertaining. For my money, though, they could ask the rest of the parade Shriners to stay home. There are just too many of them.
——
Mayor Tim Armstrong and Police Chief John Wallace were highly visible at the week’s events — and that’s good. They appeared to have not just put in an appearance, but to have stayed for long periods, endorsing the events by their presence.
——
Next year’s regatta will coincide with Madison’s 200th birthday, for which a celebration is naturally planned. Hopefully the city fathers and regatta officials will be able to combine the two events in some way. I think it would add some glitter to each.
Old Corporal <corporalko@yahoo.com>
Notes on the regatta, – Sunday, July 06, 2008 at 18:53:40 (EDT)
