7 minute read
Sailing
By: JORDAN B. DARLING
NEWPORT— The Newport Ocean Sailing Association announced registration is open for the 74th Annual Newport to Ensenada International Race to be held on April 22, 2022.
“We’re more excited than ever to get racers back out racing as we celebrate our organization’s 75th anniversary,” said Vice Commodore, Administration Phil Herzfeld in a Dec. 10 press release.
NOSA was founded in 1947 and hosted the first 125-nautical mile race to Ensenada on April 23, 1948. The first race was taken by Mrs. Denny Barr skippering Mickey, a 46foot sloop with the best overall corrected time.
“With an emphasis on camaraderie and competition, the N2E quickly attracted thousands of racers, becoming an event where fun-seeking novices could race alongside celebrities and world-class sailors,” said a press release from NOSA.
The classic race was put on hold in 2020 due to COVID-19 and made a comeback in April of this year with 170 boats entering the race.
Jerry Fiat’s Farrier 32 SRX, Taniwha, took first place in April with an elapsed time of 11:21:00 and a corrected time of 14:23:27. NOSA will offer three different N2E courses: 125-mile leg to Ensenada, 92-mile leg to San Diego, and the 14-mile Dana Point sprint.
The race is ruled by the Racing Rules of Sailing and is open to boats in the PHRF monohull, the ORCA multihull, accepted one-design classes, and the unlimited classes.
Boats must be over 21 feet in overall length and have a current valid rating and certificate for the class entered. Registration opened on Dec. 1 and will remain open until April 7 at 5 p.m. For more information and to register for one of the three legs, visit the NOSA website at https://nosa.org/.
The starting line in 2019 just off the pier in Newport.
Balboa Yacht Club Celebrates Centennial Year
By: JORDAN B. DARLING
NEWPORT BEACH— The Balboa Yacht Club holds to the motto “A pound of pluck is worth a ton of luck,” a saying that has followed the club from its beginning on the Balboa Peninsula in 1922. BYC will celebrate 100 years in 2022 and kicked off celebrations on Dec. 4 with their annual officer installation and year-end meeting; members met for dinner and fireworks. BYC was founded in 1922, originally named the Southland Sailing Club; the club was created by a small group of sailors interested in founding an active sailing organization focused on family sailing. The club started as a small wooden structure on Balboa Peninsula and moved to a new clubhouse on the southeast corner of Little Balboa Island in 1926, according to the BYC website. In 1928 the club underwent a name change. In 1941 the lease on the second clubhouse ran out, and the current clubhouse was built on Bayside Drive. In 1957 the club signed a lease with the Catalina Island Company, which gave them an outstation site at Whites Cove, west of Avalon. Club members got to work and took on various projects, including landscaping, plumbing, and cement work, to create another facility on the island. Over the years, the club has continued to grow, adding regattas and cruises to club events. Most recently, the club hosted the 54th Annual Governor’s Cup in July of this year. The club is planning on several more events throughout the year to mark the centennial anniversary. To learn more about BYC, see their website at https://www.balboayachtclub.com/Home. BYC kicks off centennial celebrations with and end-of-year dinner and fireworks.
ON THE HORIZONS
By: JORDAN B. DARLING
2022 William Berger and William Stein Race 1 Malibu and Return (Jan. 8, 2022)
MARINA DEL REY— The Del Rey Yacht Club is hosting the first race in the William Berger and William Stein Series on Jan. 8. The Malibu and Return Race is the first in a series of five races throughout 2022. The race will begin at 11:55 a.m. in Santa Monica Bay. The regatta is open to boats with a valid PHRF of Southern California rating certificate. There will be two divisions, the Berger (PHRF) and Stein (cruising class), the organizing authority retains the right to reassign a boat into another class. A $35 entry fee is due by 6 p.m. the Thursday before the race, and a $15 late entry fee will be added to the fee for entries submitted after Jan. 6. To learn more about the series or submit an application, see the Regatta Network website at https://www. regattanetwork.com/event/23494.
Turnbuckle Tightener (Jan. 15, 2022)
LONG BEACH— The Alamitos Bay Yacht Club will host the Turnbuckle Tightener on Jan. 15, 2022, in Alamitos Bay and Long Beach Outer Harbor. The regatta will be ruled by the Racing Rules of Sailing and is open to the following classes: Ocean Course Classes: 29er, 5-0-5, A-Cat, C420, Cal 20, Etchells, Finn, Formula 18, Hobie 16, I420, ILCA 7 (Laser), ILCA 6 (Radial), ILCA 4 (4.7), Open Skiff (Ocean), Optimist, Portsmouth (monohull and multihull), Tempest, Thistle, and Viper 640. Bay Course Classes: Lido 14 (A, B), Naples Sabot (Senior, Junior A, B, C1, C2, C3), Optimist (Green), Open Skiff (Bay), and RS Tera (Bay). Additional One-Design classes will be accepted at the discretion of the Regatta Chair based on the number of entries. Skippers should be in good standing with a club affiliated with US Sailing or other World Sailing national authorities. Entries will be accepted until 4 p.m. the Friday before the race and can be submitted online at https://www.regattanetwork. com/event/23593. There is a $20 fee for bay classes and $30 for ocean classes. Registration will open at 8 a.m. on Jan. 15, and the first signal will sound at 11:57 a.m. For more information, visit the Regatta Network website at https://www. regattanetwork.com/event/23593.
Anna Weis Will Join United States SailGP Team Just in Time for Australia Sail Grand Prix
By: KATHERINE CLEMENTS
NEW YORK — On Dec. 13, The U.S. SailGP Team announced 23-year-old Tokyo athlete, Anna Weis will trail with the team at Australia Sail Grand Prix presented by KPMG in Sydney, taking place Dec. 17-18. Weis will sail with the American team in Sydney, potentially joining Daniela Moroz and CJ Perez on the 2022 roster.
The American team is currently one point away from first place in the SailGP Season 2 overall leaderboard. Sydney will provide a crucial test as the top three overall teams look to qualify for the $1 million Grand Final at the United States Sail Grand Prix in San Francisco March 26-27, 2022.
Weis and former U.S. SailGP Team wing trimmer Riley Gibbs compete as part of the U.S. Sailing team and race in the two-person mixed-gender Nacra 17 class. Weis’s role as crew on the foiling catamaran requires top-notch athleticism, agility, and strength, in conjunction with keen tactical abilities, in addition to operating the front of the boat.
Weis’s top 10 performance in Tokyo caught the attention of U.S. SailGP Team CEO and Driver, Jimmy Spithill. Spithill told SaiGp in an article that, “our goal is for the United States to be a powerhouse in professional sailing and Anna’s expertise at the international level stands out. We’re looking forward to trialing her in Sydney and between her, Daniela and CJ, we believe we’re building a strong foundation of talent that will benefit us now and into the future.”
Weis is originally from Fort Lauderdale, Fl. She is a student at Boston University but deferred her education while pursuing her professional sailing dreams full time. She overcame injuries and operations on both arms in early 2019. Later that year, the Gibbs/Weis duo won the gold medal at the Pan American Games, becoming the first U.S. team to qualify for Tokyo in the mixed multihull class.
Racing at the Australia Sail Grand Prix presented by KPMG in Sydney started both days at 4:00 p.m. local time (12:00 a.m. EST) on Dec. 17 and Saturday, Dec. 18 and aired live in the USA on CBS Sports Network, SailGP’s YouTube channel as well as the SailGP APP.
SailGP unveiled the first eight (of 10) events of its Season 3 calendar that include iconic locations worldwide earlier this week. In addition, two North American stops have been announced so far, in Bermuda May 14-15 and Chicago June 18-19, 2022.
