Luke Muller (Fort Pierce, Fla.) is in his second day of racing at the Santander Invitational Finn Test Event and will sail through June 25 against nine Finn sailors he’ll see on the starting line next month at the Tokyo 2020 Games.
Sailors flocked to Norfolk, Virginia, over the weekend to test their skills against top flite singlehanded sailors from around the world. The Norfolk Yacht and Country Club, Lower Chesapeake Laser Fleet 12, Big Blue Sailing Academy and Old Dominion University set the stage for the 2021 ILCA US National Championship and U.S. Singlehanded Sailing Championships, a US Sailing National Championship.
The US Sailing One Design Committee is proud to present the first of a series of Starboard Portal presentations specifically for the One Design Sailing Community including Sailors, Classes and Fleets. This first edition will focus on the current landscape of One Design sailing in our country. The panelists will discuss their views on challenges and opportunities and provide thoughts and opinions on the future of One Design sailing so we can all work to grow together.
With the recent proposal by World Sailing for a 2v2 event in the Olympics, team racing seems to be having a moment. From Optis to Grandmaster racing, there’s opportunity for everyone to get involved with this growing discipline. Below, we highlight some of the many great team racing events across different age groups and types of boats.
Back in 2004, the first U.S. women’s dinghy team race took place with three teams competing (really, it was only 2.5 teams), but the ball started rolling. At the time, most summer and post-college dinghy racing was done in V15s, but because there weren’t many female boat owners, events had to be held in supplied boats. College venues were the perfect plug-and-play option. The Chix Only Team Race blossomed over the next few years, regularly attracting 12-16 teams. From there, women’s team race regattas were added to the College Sailing schedule. Now, a Women’s Team Racing National Championship will debut in 2022. Positive changes are happening.
Located on the upper Narragansett Bay, less than 20 miles north of Newport, is Bristol Yacht Club (BYC) and the East Bay Sailing Foundation (EBSF). BYC is an “up and comer” in the team race keelboat scene. BYC has been steadily building the team race program for a couple of years by combining the resources of EBSF with those of the club and catalyzing the enthusiasm of members. As a result, they have seen an influx of young members looking for affordable ways to stay involved with the sport. Folks under 25 years old can join the club for $100, and the under 30 crowd can join without an initiation fee.
For over a decade during the month of April, the Newport Beach turning basin turns into a team race sanctuary. For a week, locals will hear starting horns, umpire whistles and plenty of screaming. To the Newport Beach Peninsula, it is spring break on the water. But in April of 2020, there wasn’t a sound being made. In fact, as I stood at the corner of Bay Island and looked out, there wasn’t one boat on the water being used. We had to change that.
The best kept secret of youth sailing is team racing. The boat handling skills, rules knowledge, and spirited competitiveness that are uniquely found in this facet of the sport challenge us and makes team racing very dynamic – and fun. Short-course sailing is also a great change from traditional buoy fleet racing that adds extra excitement to team racing. Through team racing and the related skills, you can become a better fleet racer.
Oro Sports, the New York-based maker of premium lifestyle cooling vests, has been announced as an official partner of the US Sailing Team. The team roster, selected annually by US Sailing, is comprised of athletes training to win gold at major international multisport Games and sailing events around the world. With many of the team’s upcoming racing and training venues featuring high heat and humidity, the sailors will rely on Oro Sports’ industry-leading products to stay cool and achieve optimal performance.
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