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
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.
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.