Harper Lake Model Yacht Club

About Us

The Harper Lake Model Yacht Club (HLMYC) is a Denver area club whose members build and race model yachts. The club is sanctioned by the American Model Yachting Association (AMYA) as club #56. We meet to race our boats every Saturday from 10:00am - 1:00pm, lake and weather conditions permitting, at Harper Lake in Louisville, Colorado.

Our racing season runs from the first Saturday in April to the third Saturday in November, but we continue sailing for fun and practice December through March as long as the lake is not covered in ice and there is not enough snow on the banks to make for hazardous footing.

We sail three standard One Design Class club boats: the Thunder Tiger Victoria, the ODOM, a slightly larger higher performance class boat, and the DragonForce 65 that was added to the fleet in 2018. These boats rely completely on the wind for their propulsion and have only two small servo actuators on board - one to control the position of the sails, and another to control the rudder. The models are operated from shore using radio-control (R/C) transmitters. Visit our Boats page for pictures and more information about these boats.

The principles involved in sailing these models are exactly the same as for full sized yachts. If you've sailed before, you'll find that the models handle amazingly true to life. If you don't know how to sail, the skills come quickly and easily, and it's great fun.

For more information, check out our club flyer (PDF Word).

Take a few minutes to explore our site and learn more about model sailing and the Harper Lake Model Yacht Club!

News

October 5, 2024 - October Victoria Regatta

Today we sailed the penultimate Victoria regatta for 2024. The weather was unseasonably warm with Denver and Colorado Springs breaking record highs.  We started sailing with temps in the low 70s and finished with temps in the mid-80s. We sailed under sunny skies. Eight skippers came out to race and we got in 14 races. See the Regatta Results page for the full report and results.

September 21, 2024 - DF65 Rocky Mountain Regatta

Today we held the DF65 Rocky Mountain Regatta. We had great weather again with just a few clouds. Temperatures stayed pretty much in the 60s, warning of the changing weather due this evening. We had 6 skippers come out to compete and we finished 21 races before deciding it was time to stop.  See the Regatta Results page for the full report and results.

Rodney Pearcey(2nd), Ken Jochim(1st), David Meyer(3rd)

September 14, 2024 - ODOM Rocky Mountain Regatta

Today we held the ODOM Rocky Mountain Regatta of 2024. We had great weather again with some clouds but mostly sun, which did warm us up quite a bit. Temperatures started in the 70s and reached up to the upper 80s by the end of the regatta. Just like last week, the sun did fatigue us a bit. And just like last week, we had 7 skippers come out to compete. This time we finished 20 races before deciding it was time to stop.  See the Regatta Results page for the full report and results.

Denny Hanson (1st), Don Verhaeghe (2nd), Rick Langille (3rd)

September 7, 2024 - Victoria Rocky Mountain Regatta

Today we held the Victoria Rocky Mountain Regatta of 2024. We had great weather with sunny skies and temps in the 70s to low 80s. With the sun beating down on us all day, however, it did get fatiguing. We had 7 skippers come out to compete and we finished 17 races before deciding it was time to stop.  See the Regatta Results page for the full report and results.

Denny Hanson (2nd), Don Verhaeghe (1st), Stew Williams (3rd, not pictured) 

August 24, 2024 - August DF65 Regatta

The August DF65 regatta was held today. The weather was pleasant with temperatures in the 80s. We had cloud cover pretty much all day so the sun was not beating down and cooking us. We had 6 skippers come out to compete and we completed 14 races.  See the Regatta Results page for the full report and results.

August 17, 2024 - August ODOM Regatta

Today was the August ODOM regatta. The weather was quite toasty again with temperatures ranging from the low 80s to the mid 90s. We had sunny skies with some high clouds but I don't recall ever having one of those come over the lake. We had 12 skippers come out for the regatta which was our largest ODOM turnout of the year. See the Regatta Results page for the full report and results.

Quite a few ODOMs today!

August 3, 2024 - August Victoria Regatta

This month's Victoria regatta had similar weather conditions as the July regatta: sunny skies and hot, with temperatures in the 80s and 90s. We had 6 skippers come out to race and we got in 12 races. See the Regatta Results page for the full report and results.

July 27, 2024 - July DF65 Regatta

Today we held the July DF65 regatta. The weather was good, considering rain was in the forecast at a 50% chance. We had mostly sunny skies although some clouds were building over the mountains. It was  a bit warm with temperatures ranging from 80 to 90 when we finished. Only three skippers came out for the regatta; it appears to be vacation season. We completed 15 races.  See the Regatta Results page for the full report and results.

July 20, 2024 - July ODOM Regatta

Today we held the July ODOM regatta. The weather was a nice break from the heat of last weekend. Temperatures were moderate, only in the 70s the whole time we were racing.  We had sunny skies with clouds building over the mountains but they never made it to the lake. Nine skippers came out to compete and we finished 13 races.  See the Regatta Results page for the full report and results.

July 13, 2024 - July Victoria Regatta

Under mostly sunny skies and a heat advisory, we conducted the July Victoria regatta today. It was indeed quite warm with temps in the 80s and 90s but thanks to Stew Williams, who brought a cooler with ice and water, we were able to stay hydrated and avoid any heat-related issues. We did get a big cloud overhead for quite a while, which dropped the temperature a few degrees. We had 8 skippers come out to race and we got in 13 races.  See the Regatta Results page for the full report and results.

Even with some wind, the lake surface was unusually glassy today.

June 29, 2024 - 20th Annual Kent Broadhead Memorial Circumnavigate Regatta

Today we held the 20th Annual Kent Broadhead Memorial Circumnavigate Regatta. This regatta was Kent Broadhead's fun idea years ago. The weather was mostly cloudy but no rain. Temps were in the 60s to low 70s, so it was ideal for walking around the lake to sail. We had 13 boats in 5 different classes.  See the Regatta Results page for the full report and results. Photo Album

2024 Circumnavigate Winners

June 22, 2024 - June DF65 Regatta

Today we held the June DF65 regatta. The weather was great, albeit a bit warm with temperatures ranging from the low 70s to 90 under mostly sunny skies. Seven skippers were present and we got 12 races completed. We welcomed Doug McKnight to the DF65 class; he completed building his boat 25 minutes before he arrived at the lake.  See the Regatta Results page for the full report and results.

June 15, 2024 - June ODOM Regatta

We had nine skippers compete in the ODOM June regatta on Saturday.   We got in ten races in very light and tricky conditions.  See the Regatta Results page for the full report and results.

June 1, 2024 - June Victoria Regatta

Today we conducted the June Victoria regatta. We had a beautiful day for sailing - temps in the low 70s to low 80s and mostly sunny skies. Clouds started building after noon but never threatened us with rain. We had 9 skippers come out to race and we got in 14 races. See the Regatta Results page for the full report and results.

May 18, 2024 - April/May DF65 Regattas

Today we held another doubleheader regatta, this time for the DF65 class. Just like last week, we needed to sail the April and May regattas in one day. The weather was great with temperatures ranging from 60 to the low 70s under mostly cloudy skies. Nine skippers were present and we got 7 races in for the first regatta and 8 for the second. See the Regatta Results page for the full report and results.

May 11, 2024 - April / May ODOM Regattas

Today we held the first doubleheader regatta. The ODOM regattas were run for April and May after the April regatta got rained out . The doubleheader format ran the first regatta from 10:15-11:45 and the second regatta from 12:00-1:30. Skippers seemed to like this solution to rescheduling postponed regattas.

The weather was a typical spring day with temperatures starting around 50 and ending in the mid 60s. Skies were mostly sunny. We had 9 skippers in attendance and we got in 7 races for the April regatta and 8 races for the May regatta. See the Regatta Results page for the full report and results.

May 4, 2024 - May Victoria Regatta

After 2 weeks of rainy Saturdays, we were finally able to hold another regatta today. The May Victoria regatta was sailed under overcast skies until just before noon when the sun decided to make an appearance and warm us up a bit. Temperatures started around 45 and climbed to about 60 when we finished.  We had 8 skippers in attendance and we got in13 races. See the Regatta Results page for the full report and results. 


April 13, 2024 - April Victoria Regatta

Today we held our first regatta of the new season for the Victoria class. It was postponed from last week due to the extreme winds that went through Colorado. We had partly cloudy skies that developed into mostly cloudy skies at the end of the regatta. It was unseasonably warm with temps starting around 70 and climbing to the upper 70s when we finished. We had 8 skippers attend and we got in15 races.  See the Regatta Results page for the full report and results.