Racing

Model sailing can be found around the world. In the USA and Canada, the American Model Yachting Association (AMYA) is the primary association, with over 190 clubs on its roster offering 36 classes to race. There is a general consensus the total RC sailing population in the USA is somewhere between 7,000 to 10,000 individuals, with many of them being “big boat” sailors too.

US Sailing’s Championship of Champions for the Jack Brown Trophy, honoring a man who was notable for service as a judge, regatta organizer and member of US Sailing committees, is a great example of how “good” sailors get to sail against the best. Each skipper in this annual invitational event must qualify by winning a one-design class National, North American, or World Championship.

American Yacht Club in Rye, NY hosted the 14th Annual High Performance Regatta (HPR) on October 7 & 8, 2017. Previously known as the High Performance Dinghy Open, the High Performance Regatta has consistently been one of the most unique fall regattas held annually on the Long Island Sound. This international event brought competitors from different parts of the United States, Canada, and Ireland.

Over 360 college students from the United States, as well as international teams from Canada and France, participated in the 2017 Storm Trysail Foundation’s Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta (IOR), hosted by Larchmont Yacht Club in Larchmont, NY October 7 & 8, 2017.

The Stony Brook University Sailing Team in Stony Brook, NY qualified for their Conference Championship, the War Memorial Regatta, during the Middle Atlantic Intercollegiate Racing Association’s (MAISA) Central Fall Qualifier, hosted by Ocean County College at the Toms River Yacht Club in Toms River, NJ the weekend of September 23 & 24.

The 2017 North American Championship Presented by Domaine Chandon was hosted by American Yacht Club in Rye, NY October 9 – 15, 2017

The JY15 Class held its 28th consecutive North American Championships at Duck Island Yacht Club in Westbrook, CT on September 23 & 24, 2017. Two recent Dartmouth sailing team graduates, Scott Houck and Hollis von Summer, brought great talent to the class and dominated the 18-boat fleet to take the 2017 North American title.

With the introduction of affordable boats like the Waszp, foiling is coming to the masses and Oakcliff Sailing in Oyster Bay, NY is leading the charge. The 15 participants in Oakcliff’s inaugural Foiling Camp in August were once among the many starry-eyed sailors who watched the America’s Cup and dreamed of what it was like to defy gravity and lift out of the water.

Proceeds from the Ms. Race benefit 180 Turning Lives Around, a New Jersey-based organization which assists victims of sexual and domestic abuse and violence. Over the history of the Ms. Race, the event has raise more than $115,000.

On the same Newport, Rhode Island waters where the legendary Ranger cleaned up 4-0 in 1937, the last time ever that the mighty J Class raced for the America’s Cup, the first J Class World Champions is Lionheart, the owner-driven, Dutch-flagged modern day Ranger descendent.