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!
Harper Lake Weather
News
November 18, 2023 - November DF65 Regatta
Today we held the final DF65 regatta for the 2023 season. We had a light showing of only 3 skippers today which was a little baffling since the weather was good, just a little cool with temps in the 50s. We had mostly sunny skies with some high clouds but quite pleasant for the Saturday before Thanksgiving. We finished 11 races. See the full report and the final season results.
November 11, 2023 - November ODOM Regatta
Today we had an absolute blast sailing the final ODOM regatta for the season! It was a good fall day for sailing, with mostly sunny skies, and temperatures in the 50s and 60s. Seven skippers came out for this final ODOM regatta of the 2023 season and we completed 12 races. Of particular note, Scott Hathcock, one of our new skippers this season, bought Jim Hayes's ODOM and raced it for the first time today. And Scott scored a first place in one of the races; congratulations Scott! See the full report and the final season results. Here's a video from Rich Bryan showing how windy it was.
November 4, 2023 - November Victoria Regatta
Today we ran the final Victoria regatta for 2023. We had a good turnout of 9 skippers sailing under clear skies with temperatures in the 50s and 60s - a beautiful fall day for sailing! We finished 15 races. See the full report and the final season results.
October 28, 2023 - October DF65 Regatta - CANCELLED
Due to inclement weather, the October DF65 regatta is cancelled.
October 21, 2023 - October ODOM Regatta
Today we held the October ODOM regatta. We had a rather light turnout of only 5 skippers for such a gorgeous day. We raced under sunny skies with temps in the 60s to mid-70s. We completed 13 races. See the full report and results.
October 7, 2023 - October Victoria Regatta
Today we held the October Victoria regatta. We had a great turnout of 11 skippers sailing under clear skies with temperatures in the 60s - a great fall day for sailing! We finished 11 races. See the full report and results.
September 23, 2023 - DF65 Rocky Mountain Regatta
Under sunny skies, we held the 2023 DF65 Rocky Mountain Regatta today. And just as in the previous 2 RMR's, 8 skippers came out to compete for a chance to win a plaque and some green chevrons. Temperatures were very pleasant, in the mid-60s to mid-70s. We finished 15 races. See the full report and results.
September 16, 2023 - ODOM Rocky Mountain Regatta
Today we held the 2023 ODOM Rocky Mountain Regatta. Just as in the Victoria RMR, 8 skippers came out to compete for a chance to win a plaque and some green chevrons. We had a cloudless day and temperatures primarily in the 70s. We completed 20 races. See the full report and results.
September 9, 2023 - Victoria Rocky Mountain Region Regatta
Today we held the 2023 Victoria Rocky Mountain Regatta. Eight skippers came out to compete for a chance to win a plaque and green chevrons. We had beautiful weather with sunny skies and temperatures spanning the low 70s to low 80s. We completed 20 races. See the full report and results.
August 26, 2023 - August DF65 Regatta
Today we held the DF65 regatta for August. Temperatures were fairly pleasant, starting in the mid-60s and ending in the mid-70s. We had overcast skies to start but then the clouds thinned just a little. There was a forecast for the possibility of rain but fortunately, that did not materialize. Unfortunately, neither did the wind that was forecast. Five skippers came out to compete in the gold fleet and we had 2 skippers in the silver fleet. Due to the lack of steady wind and perhaps race courses that were too long, we only finished 8 races today. See the full report and results.
August 19, 2023 - August ODOM Regatta
Today we held the August ODOM regatta. Just like last month, we had five skippers who came out. Skies were mostly sunny and it was warm, with temperatures in the 80s-90s. Don would like to thank Stew Williams who came out to watch and volunteered to be Race Director - thank you Stew! We got in 12 races. See the full report and results.
August 5, 2023 - August Victoria Regatta
Today we held the August Victoria regatta. We had a great turnout of 11 skippers, including our newest member Scott Hathcock - welcome Scott! We had pleasant weather with temps in the upper 70s to low 80s and partly cloudy skies. We finished 10 races. Click the following links to view Don's report or the 2023 cumulative score sheet.
July 29, 2023 - July DF65 Regatta
Today we held the July DF65 regatta under very Colorado-like summer weather conditions. We had clear skies and temperatures in the 70s and low 80s. Five skippers came out to race in the gold fleet but Chuck had to withdraw before we started racing due to a failed sail servo. So the remaining 4 skippers sailed and we got in 10 races. Click the following links to view Don's report or the 2023 cumulative score sheet.
July 22, 2023 - July ODOM Regatta
Today we held the ODOM regatta for July. We raced under sunny skies and temps ranging from the upper 70s to near 90 when we finished. We completed 11 races. Click the following links to view Don's report or the 2023 cumulative score sheet.
July 8, 2023 - July Victoria Regatta
Today we ran the July Victoria regatta. Nine skippers came out to compete under partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the low 70s. We completed 13 races. Click the following links to view Don's report or the 2023 cumulative score sheet.
June 24, 2023 - Circumnavigate Regatta BLOWN OUT
This year we have had regattas snowed out, rained out and again, blown out. Click the following links to view Denny's report or the 2023 score sheet.
June 17, 2023 - June DF65 Regatta RAINED OUT
Thunderstorms put a premature end to the regatta after a few short races. Click the following links to view Denny's report or the 2023 cumulative score sheet.
June 10, 2023 - June ODOM Regatta
Six skippers competed in 15 races on a day with beautiful weather and temperatures in the 70's. Click the following links to view Denny's report or the 2023 cumulative score sheet.
June 3, 2023 - June Memorial Victoria Regatta
Nine skippers showed up to race; however, we were only able to get in 2 races before the rain forced a cancellation of the regatta.. Click the following links to view Don's report or the 2023 cumulative score sheet.
May 20, 2023 - May DF65 Regatta
We held the first DF65 regatta of the season. Denny was the race director for the first half, and I took over the second half of the 10 races.Ten sailors showed up to sail. Six racers in the gold fleet and four racers in the silver. Racing took a while in the beginning due to the lack of wind. Silver fleet got a lot of practice with low wind racing. Click the following links to view Barry's report or the 2023 cumulative score sheet.
May 13, 2023 - May ODOM Regatta
Today we held the second ODOM regatta of the new season. We had 4 skippers come out for the regatta, and we completed 11 races. Click the following links to view Don's report or the 2023 cumulative score sheet.
April 29, 2023 - April ODOM Regatta
Today we held the first ODOM regatta of the new season, rescheduled from April 15 when there was too much snow on the ground. Today was a gorgeous day for racing with temps in the upper 60's and low 70's and mostly sunny skies. We had 9 skippers come out for the inaugural ODOM regatta of this 2023 season and we completed 14 races. Click the following links to view Don's report or the 2023 cumulative score sheet.
April 22, 2023 - April DF65 Regatta Cancelled
Due to inclement weather, the April DF65 Regatta has been Cancelled.
April 15, 2023 - April ODOM Regatta Postponed
Due to weather, the April ODOM Regatta has been postponed until April 29th.
April 1, 2023 - April Victoria Regatta
The season opening Victoria Regatta was held today with nine sailors competing. Click the following links to view Denny's report or the 2023 cumulative score sheet.
February 25, 2023 - Rules of Racing Instruction Meeting
Eleven skippers, including Ron Miller a new member, attended this meeting in which the rules of sailboat racing as applied to model yachts were discussed and demonstrated in the Arbordale Acres Meeting Room. Click the following link to view Chuck's report of the meeting.