Promising Outlook for High Sierra Regatta

After drought conditions in California have led to the cancellation for two years of the High Sierra Regatta at Huntington Lake, the outlook for the 2016 edition currently looks promising. Steady snowfall in the Sierras since late November will hopefully provide a full lake for the upcoming summer season.

The classes for the first weekend, July 9-10, will be all of the invited centerboard fleets (except the Thistle Fleet) and the San Juan 21 class. Classes for the second weekend, July 16-17, are all keelboats classes (except the San Juan 21’s) and the Thistle Fleet.

During this hiatus, there has been some retooling to the running of the 61st event. This includes an expansion from three races to five races, a separate start and finish line to speed up race administration, and Saturday night dinners at China Peak Mountain Resort that will include video of the day’s racing and a fun party!

Fresno Yacht Club, which hosts the prominent one design and PHRF event, was forced to cancel the 2014 and 2015 events when water levels at Huntington Lake, a California reservoir in the Sierra Nevada at an elevation of 6955-feet, were not high enough to hold the event. The 2015 cancellation was a result of California’s fourth year of drought conditions.

Event details: http://fresnoyachtclub.org/high-sierra-regatta/