West Coast bests CJ Buckley Regatta

The 2023 CJ Buckley Regatta was a tale of numbers: 2. 14. 20. 177. 257. 3598. Second largest youth team race in the world. Fourteen years as the Club 420 Association Team Racing Championship. Twenty Years of CJ’s friends and parents hosting this event. One hundred seventy-seven sailors from 20+ states and three countries.

There were 257 races over 2 days and 3598 horns by PRO Justin Assad and his team of volunteers needed to crown the 2023 champion, Team West Coast Best Coast.

This year’s event took place July 31-August 1 at Goddard Park in Warwick, RI. Hosted by East Greenwich Yacht Club and Greenwich Bay Sailing Club, and an army of 30 on shore and 20 on the water volunteers greeted the sailors on the first morning of the regatta. Eighty-four boats left the beach to do battle in a steady westerly ranging from 4-8 knots.

Led by Chief Umpire and US Sailing Team Racing Chair Clinton Hayes, a team of 11 umpires presided over the racing and maintained law and order on the course. Sailors completed 140 races over the course of the day, sailing in the eastern edge of Greenwich Bay.

Defending Champions West Coast Best Coast, from Newport Beach, CA, lost only 1 race all day to No Hesitation, a group of NB4T sailors, foreshadowing things to come. Competitors returned to shore to a catered Italian feast served by GBSA and EGYC volunteers.

College Night, a favorite event of parents and sailors, provided the opportunity for competitors to meet coaches, alumni and representatives from fifteen colleges and learn more about their college sailing programs.

Day 2 saw a more variable northerly ranging from 3.5 to 9kts, which allowed for stadium sailing. Brothers Justin Assad on the start boat and Kyle Assad on the finish/score boat set the racecourse just off Goddard Park beach which allowed parents and the general public to take in the action. The entirely volunteer run event was able to complete another 6 flights, before moving into knock out rounds.

Every team from 28th place to 9th place sailed a win take all race to finalize their position. The 5th through 8th place teams sailed in a silver fleet knockout, and the top 4 teams sailed in the gold fleet knockout round.

In the Silver Fleet, the Dragon’s, from St. George’s Academy, needed all 3 races to advance past Team Shake and Bake/Sea Dogs, a team made up of sailors from across the country. Team Life in the Dream Boat, an NB4T team, battled against Clarkfleet A, made up of sailors up and down the Eastern Seaboard.

After 3 races, Life in the Dream Boat earned their spot in the finals. Keeping their momentum from their previous series, Life in the Dream Boat seemed to be able to execute better than the Dragons, and won both races with a 1,2,3 combination, finishing in 5th place, and second place in the costume category.

In the Gold Fleet, West Coast Best Coast advanced out of their semi finals against Anchor Yankers, a bicoastal team, needing only two races. Men at Work, from South Florida and winners of the best costumes at the event, drew No Hesitation. These two teams needed all 3 races to determine who would face the reigning champions, and tight racing saw the young team No Hesitation advance to the Gold Finals, winning the final race of the series with a secure 1,2,5.

West Coast Best Coast started strong, taking the first two races with a 1,4,5, combination and a 1,2,4 combination. No Hesitation steadied the ship, and won the next two races, coming from behind in race 3 and leading around the course in the fourth race to force a winner take all last race.

The final race saw tight racing, but by mark 4, West Coast Best Coast showed why they only lost 1 race in all 16 of their flights. Balancing pairs and maintaining communication, they crossed in a 1,2,4 to retain the Club 420 Association National Junior Team Racing Championship.

Of note, the Team 1 Newport Sportsmanship Award, as voted on by the competitors themselves, was awarded to Team Port Tack Rudder Rule from SailMaine. What made this year special was that at least 7 different teams received votes.

The CJ Buckley Regatta was started in honor of CJ Buckley, who lost a courageous battle against cancer shortly after his 17th Birthday. Started by his junior sailing friends, this event grew and would eventually partner with the Club 420 Association to award a national title. This event is entirely volunteer run, and all proceeds go to support a perpetual scholarship for junior sailors on Narragansett Bay. For more information and to make a donation, please visit www.cjbuckleyregatta.net.

Results, Top 3
1st Place: West Coast Best Coast: Chase Decker; Cam Spriggs; Blake Behrens; Violet Martin; Elizabeth Struve; Reade Decker
2nd Place: No Hesitation: Gilman Hackel; Piper Blackband; Noah Stapleton; Tate Christopher; Grant Schmidt; Ashtyn Tierney
3rd Place: Men At Work: Thomas Whidden; Freddie Parkin; Asher Beck; Christian Yanoti; Griggs Diemar; Dante Garcia

Event Details – Results – Photos – Instagram – Facebook

Source: Kyle Assad