By Dave Easterbrooks, NBYA Communications Director
© Billy Black/billyblack.com
The inaugural Narragansett Bay Yachting Association ‘Round the Bay Regatta – with an innovative and exciting new format – will debut Saturday, July 24. This is the first regatta that starts and finishes in every Narragansett Bay sailor’s backyard! Why travel hours to get to and from the starting area for a race? You won’t have to if you come out for this one.
There will be four different starting areas, so one will be within 20 minutes of your home port. The race will start simultaneously near East Greenwich, Barrington/Bristol, Wickford, and Newport, RI. You finish where you started after sailing through all the starting areas. All boats will sail the same 32-mile CRAZY EIGHT course. If you prefer, you can also choose from two 18-mile courses – one around Conanicut Island and one around Prudence Island.
Awards will be given to boats from each starting area, plus overall awards for each course. With restrictions easing, all of the host yacht clubs are hoping to hold post-regatta parties. When was the last time we heard that?
NBYA is using this inaugural regatta to raise awareness of our Presenting Sponsor Save The Bay and to highlight their efforts to protect and improve Narragansett Bay. Since 1970, Save The Bay and its members have worked diligently toward a vision of a fully swimmable, fishable, healthy Narragansett Bay, accessible to all.
This regatta is sure to become a classic, so don’t miss the very first one. And it epitomizes the collaboration that makes Narragansett Bay special – born from the combined efforts of NBYA, Barrington YC, Bristol YC, East Greenwich YC, Ida Lewis YC, IYAC and Wickford YC. The regatta is also a qualifier for NBYA’s Boat-of-the-Year series. For more information, a detailed map of the course and to register, please visit nbya.org/round-the-bay. ■
