During that fateful winter of 1842, when a group of Holy Cross missionaries arrived at the land upon which they would found a university that fostered Catholic tradition and academic excellence, Fr. Sorin looked out across the frozen tundra that is now St. Mary's Lake and said to himself, "Man, this would be a great spot for a regatta."
While this bit of history remained obscure for over a century, Fred Fisher decided to accept the responsibility of honoring Fr. Sorin's request and established the Fisher Regatta, an annual boat race. It is a nautical event bigger than the Spanish Armada and more epic than Odysseus' famed naval journey. When the Queen of England attends the Henley Royal Regatta, all she can think about is how she would much rather be desperately trying to keep a makeshift boat afloat on St. Mary's Lake in front of thousands of spectators.
The Regatta, which is on Saturday, April 28 at 1 p.m., pits teams of students against one another as they use their creativity and resourcefulness to build boats out of any material they can find and compete to be the first one to cross the finish line. Teams are not allowed to use pre-made materials used for boats, which results in them coming up with some incredibly unique designs with hilarious consequences.
Aedan Cannon
freshman
Fisher Hall
April 24
