Sir Lancelot and Lady Elaine had visitors on Lake Laverne this weekend.

Veishea’s canoe races got underway at 9:30 Saturday morning under blue skies, with a group of more than 50 bystanders cheering from the banks.

Nine teams entered the event and raced in heats of two. Three teams, the winners of each heat, raced for the championship.

Each co-rec team of three people was required to row across Lake Laverne, go around a buoy and return to where it started. With two of the three people in each canoe blindfolded, the event was especially entertaining for the crowd.

One guide sat in the middle of each canoe, yelling out instructions for the two rowers who couldn’t see. Some canoes ran into each other, several hit the banks of the lake and some couldn’t seem to find their way to the finish line.

“I was afraid of hitting other people, but not really afraid of hitting the rocks on the side,” said Tony Wright, former ISU student and member of the winning team.

The races, which were a popular event in Veisheas of the past, have been brought back recently in hopes of continuing support in years to come, said Veishea special events tournament coordinator Brad Feuerhelm, a senior in agricultural studies.

“It used to be popular a long time ago, and people built their own canoes, now we rent them from rec services,” he said.

Wright said he does a great deal of canoeing, but being blindfolded makes it a challenge. You have to really listen to the guide, he said.

“You can’t see, so you have to trust your guide. It feels like you’re just moving around in circles,” he said.

Members of the winning team were Joelle Andrew, Larch Hall director; Phil Lockhart, junior in aerospace engineering and Wright. Each received a t-shirt. Members of the second-place team received discounts from local businesses.

Feuerhelm said the canoe races were one of several special events that was scheduled this year for the 75th anniversary of Veishea.

To bring back some old Veishea memories, a pictorial display was set up in the Great Hall, an old fashioned Sunday breakfast took place on central campus and there was a ceremony for a past Veishea event, the Queen of Queens Pageant in the Scheman Building on Saturday night.