Lake Lotawana is home to a growing and active fleet of Butterflies.  Many of these boats are sailed by youngsters throughout the summer.  Some skippers take their boats to regattas as far away as Northern Michigan where they sail competitively with top skippers nationally.  In 2009 Lake Lotawana hosted, as it has frequently in the past, Butterfly Single-handed Nationals, attracting boats from across the Central United States.

 

The Butterfly is a 12 foot cat-rigged (single-sail) boat originally designed to be sailed by two people, as it is in many places to this day.  The boat is ideal for single-handed racing, as well.  Most often young skippers sail their boat alone, though they may pack in a crew if winds become unmanagable.  The Butterfly is manufactured by a company in Wisconsin near Green Lake.  Michigan represents a hot-spot for Butterfly sailing.  Lake Lotawana boasts one of the largest Butterfly fleets in the nation with well over 50 boats on the lake. 

 

The women on the lake also sail the Butterfly for their weekday racing.  Youngsters sail Tuesday morning and the ladies sail on Wednesday.  The adult female fleet is called the Social Butterflies.  The kids call their fleet the Junior Butterflies.   Both fleets host a luncheon each day following racing.  Families interested in joining in the fun can usually locate a usable boat for under $1,000.  Regatta ready boats can exceed $4,000.