Finishing strong on the Chesapeake

Due to careful adherence to state and local COVID-19 safety standards, the mid-Atlantic racing season on Chesapeake Bay got a late start in June yet still attracted a strong turnout with over 30 entries competing in Annapolis Yacht Club’s Wednesday Night Series.

This was followed by the Annapolis YC Annual Regatta in mid-July, which in turn is being followed by the Annapolis Labor Day Regatta held on September 6, the AYC Fall Race to Solomons on September 26, the AYC Double-Handed Distance Race on October 3-4 and the AYC Fall Series held over October 17-18.

“We are running these races in a safe manner with no shoreside social events,” said organizer Dick Neville, “yet the interest seems strong as people want to get out and sail. We have been really pleased with the strong turnouts compared to past years.”

The Storm Trysail Club’s Annapolis Fall Regatta held over October 23-25 will be the culmination of a season of successful big-boat racing on Chesapeake Bay.

The Fall Regatta will once again use its popular three-day format of mixed inshore buoy races and short coastal distance races to appeal to those who enjoy proving a variety of skill sets in big boat racing: the quick action of precision boathandling and tactics found in buoy racing combined with a focus on strategy, navigation, and boat speed inherent to success in distance races.

Mastering both sets of skills is important in all ORC championships, so the winning team of each class in this event will be crowned the 2020 ORC East Coast Champion for that class.

Ben Capuco has been very active this season on his Aerodyne 38 Zuul, participating in nearly every race this season, and has been pleased with the growing local acceptance and use of the ORC rating system.

“We have a diverse fleet of boat types here, and with the measurements and rating options available from ORC we have demonstrated the race results are more accurate and fair compared to use of other systems,” he said. “Using ORC also ensures any entries from out of our area will have fair and predictable ratings to come and compete.”

AYC regatta calendar – Annapolis Fall Regatta