Upcoming Championship Sailing Regattas on the Chesapeake
Beautiful sailing conditions, warm water, and myriad championship racing opportunities make the Chesapeake Bay an exceptional proving ground for racers in the fall.
One of the first upcoming championship events is the International Penguin Dinghy Class International Championship, which will unfold September 12-14 at the Corsica River Yacht Club. A dozen of these family-friendly dinghies competed at the recent Oxford Regatta, so we expect to see many of those competitors on the Corsica River this month. (Find online registration at regattanetwork.com/event/30156#_home).
Race organizers at Annapolis Yacht Club (AYC) will power through back-to-back and overlapping weekend events in September, starting with the Star Class District 2 Championship, September 6-7 (with the Navy Fall Race to Oxford also starting Saturday).
Four days after another distance race (the Race to Solomons, September 20), AYC will host the J/88 North American Championship September 24-28. At print time 13 competing boats had registered, including locals Chris and Liz Chadwick on Church Key, Andrew Guhl on Blue, and Jack McGuire on M12. Competitors from the mid-west, Colorado, and New York will also be on the scene.
Hampton Yacht Club (HYC) will host three notable championship regattas this fall, starting with the Viper 640 North American Championship, October 1-5. HYC is a hotbed for Viper action and churns out champs like no other club. At print time 25 competing boats had already registered for the event, some coming from as far as New England and Canada.
HYC will also host the Albacore International Championship, October 11-17. Thirty-four competing boats have already registered, including National Champion Barney Harris on Gale Warning. Two weeks later, HYC will host the Hobie 33 Nationals, October 24-26.
Three more longstanding events are staples on the fall calendar for Chesapeake racing sailors: the Chesapeake Bay ILCA Masters Championship at Fishing Bay Yacht Club in Deltaville, VA, October 4-5; the J/22 and J/24 East Coast Championship out of Severn Sailing Association in Annapolis, October 17-18; and the J/105 Chesapeake Bay Championship hosted by AYC October 18-19.
Did we miss one? Email [email protected], and we’ll put it on our calendar.
