2020 Viper 640 North American Championship is cancelled

The Viper 640 Class has cancelled the 2020 North American Championship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Women’s (Sept. 26-28) and Open (Sept. 30-Oct. 4) were to be hosted by Noroton Yacht Club in Darien, CT.

“We knew that we could not expect teams from all over North America to make advance plans due to COVID-19 to travel to Noroton in September,” explained Steve Chapman, North American Class President. “With so much uncertainty about the situation, cancelling this year’s Championship was the right decision.”

Noroton Yacht Club and Long Island Sound Viper 640 fleet will host host the 2021 North Americans.

The first Women’s Viper 640 International Championship, an open event for women-helmed teams with entries expected from the Australia, Canada, Spain, and USA, will be held October 2-3.

The 2021 Viper 640 North American Championship will be held October 4-5, followed by the third Viper 640 World Championship to be held October 7-10, 2021.

Long Island Sound has a long tradition of great racing in October and is home to the largest fleet of Viper’s in the USA.

Gulfport (MS) Yacht Club will host the 2022 Viper 640 North American Championship in October preceded by the Class’ first ever Viper 640 Youth North American Championship.

Mary Ewenson, a class sparkplug from Annapolis, MD, described how the Class will be sailing in 2020. “This year, it’s likely that sailors will plan to stay close to home and may sail only with members of their household, so we’re looking at fun racing formats that can be run locally yet scored across all of our fleets in Canada, the U.S., and Bermuda…and maybe even globally.”

The Viper 640 Class is in the process of creating a series of fall 2020 regional events with an emphasis on informality, camaraderie, and safety. Plans are still in the works regarding formats for this multi-local regatta taking place on weekends in September and October. As details are confirmed, notices will be sent out to the Viper 640 Class and the sailing community.

For more information, contact Viper 640 Class Administrator Ed “Buttons” Padin at epadin@padesta.com.