The South Atlantic Yacht Racing Association, the regional organization for yacht clubs and sailors in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, held its annual convention in Hilton Head, South Carolina on January 28 and 29.  To wrap up the annual meeting, Harbor 20 Fleet 3 and South Carolina Yacht Club invited nine member clubs of SAYRA to compete in an Inter-Club Challenge regatta in Harbor 20s on Sunday, January 29.  Members of South Carolina Yacht Club loaned their boats for the event and an owner representative sailed on each boat with a skipper and crew from the entering club.

The SCYC Race Committee, with Kevin Keogh as principal race officer, ran three races, each about 45 minutes long, in a northerly breeze with oscillating shifts that kept the competitors and the race committee on their toes and produced three different race winners.  Despite the shifty breeze, it was a beautiful January day for racing on Calibogue Sound.  In the end, consistency won the day.  The winning team’s record was a third and two seconds in a fleet of nine boats.

Handsome wood carving boards were the prizes presented after racing to Atlanta Yacht Club skipper Brice Dryden in first place, South Carolina Yacht Club Gary Gleason in second place and Charleston Ocean Racing Association skipper Rob Bowden in third place.  The other competitors in order of final placing were Columbia Sailing Club, Beaufort Yacht & Sailing Club, Savannah Yacht Club, Keowee Sailing Club, Carolina Yacht Club of North Carolina and Charleston Yacht Club.

Two of the C Fleeters (Nina Manning and Michael Volk ) are going to meet at 1300 in the Turning Basin for a fun, very low key, scrimmage. Alexander from WD Schock will sail with Michael Volk and mentor the group.

They will do some starts as well as upwind speed tuning.  Intent is to be informal and low key.

Invite extends to any and all who are interested in joining.

This Sunday, 6pm at the LIYC, is the Fleet 1 Annual Holiday & Awards Dinner.

• Pre-Dinner Appetizers
• Hosted Wine, Beer & Spirits
• Prime Rib & Turkey Dinner with all the fixings
• Slideshow of the “Year of Fleet 1”
• Annual Awards, Recognition and Spoofs
• New Board Vote
• Live Entertainment
• Desert
• Dancing

“I want the cost of this year’s event to be brought down to $35/person so that we get as many people attending as possible – BUT, I want to make sure we have good food & good wine!”

– John Whitney, Fleet 1 Capitan

We think the Event Committee delivered! The event starts promptly at 6pm at the Lido Isle Yacht Club. We lowered ticket prices this year but kept the same quality food, and improved on the wine and added spirits to the hosted bar. Bring an appetizer to share if your last name is A-L. Bring a desert to share if your last name begins with M-Z.

Three ways to RSVP:

• Buy Tickets Online Now by Clicking Here.
• Email your RSVP to reservations@harbor20.org (provide names of all that are attending). Pay at the door when you arrive.
• Call Alice at 949.497.2008. Pay at the door when you arrive.

“…Everyone in Seattle knows about the popular Duck Dodge series that runs on the city’s Lake Union in the summer.  Almost 100 boats turn out each Tuesday for a different themed race each week.  From Hawaiian Night to Toga Night, this popular series focuses on having fun. There is no cost to enter, and there is only one rule: Don’t hit each other.

Less well known, but still well attended, is the Goosebumps series every Sunday in January and February, also on Lake Union.  Of course, it is hard to have a Hawaiian Night or a Toga night in the winter in the Pacific Northwest.  If there were a theme for the Goosebumps, it might be fleece and foulies.

With more than 20 Harbor 20s scattered around Puget Sound and various lakes, Signature Yachts, located on Lake Union is working to get boats out sailing together this winter. Five boats have already committed to at least one or two of the Sunday events, with Signature Yachts hosting the boats at its dock after the races.  2 of the 5 Boats are skippered by Women.

Plans call for tuning sessions, sail trim clinics and Harbor 20 gatherings in the spring. Signature is trying to build the Harbor 20 fleet and get the existing boats out in a fun and casual setting….”

The window to order new sails for Fleet 1 is closing in 14 days. You must purchase your new sails no later than November 30th. Your next opportunity to purchase sails will be October 1st, 2012.

Information about ordering sails can be found here.