Not every regatta is a world championship

It is remarkable how the standards in the sport have risen, particularly in race management, but not every regatta is a world championship. As Scuttlebutt stated in 2020, the pursuit of perfection has squeezed out many casual competitors, but we like what we are hearing from New York Yacht Club… read on:

For more than four decades, Ken Read has been turning good boats into national and world champions. So when the New York Yacht Club wanted to take a fresh look at its regattas, including North America’s oldest annual sailing competition, it knew where to turn. As with optimizing a sailboat, Read’s answer is equal parts innovation and refinement.

“While sailing is my job, I approached this challenge from the perspective of someone who loves the sport and is a proud member of the New York Yacht Club,” says Read, president of North Sails. “The Annual Regatta had a near-record turnout last year, but in this sport, resting on your laurels is a fast track to the middle of the pack. We looked at all aspects of the competitor experience and identified a few areas where we thought we could make some enhancements.”

The 171st edition of the New York Yacht Club’s Annual Regatta is scheduled for June 13 to 15, and while the basic format remains as it has for the past three decades – Around-the-island racing on Friday with buoy and navigator-course racing on Saturday and Sunday – new features will include:

• Utilizing advanced weather-prediction technology, the race committee will announce the time of first signals and circle assignments by 1900 on the prior evening. If the forecast indicates the breeze will be slow to fill, competitors can sleep in and enjoy a leisurely breakfast. If the best breeze is in the morning, be ready for an early start and maybe an afternoon off to head to the beach or stroll historic Newport.
• To minimize transit time on the water, racing circles closer to Newport Harbor will be prioritized.
• Racing from the course to the harbor mouth at the end of the day will maximize race time and introduce some new course configurations that will test crew work and adaptability. Racing to circles in the morning is also a possibility.
• Race committees will prioritize starting on time. Perfect conditions and course alignment remain the goal, but the quest to achieve that ideal won’t stand in the way of racing.
• This year’s Annual Regatta will offer two styles of handicap-rule racing: Navigator-course racing under PHRF and CRF and Mixed Windward/Leeward & Navigator-course racing under PHRF and ORC. In the latter, the section breaks will be designed to allow boats of similar hull types to race together. The ORC/PHRF classes will be dual-scored under both rules, with trophies awarded for each.
• Expect some fun and fresh ideas for the awards parties on Friday and Sunday. Details to be announced in the near future.

“The New York Yacht Club never takes for granted the effort required from skippers and crew to compete in one of our regattas,” says event chair Patricia Young. “We also understand that being a leader in the sport occasionally requires breaking the paradigm and trying something new.”

Details: https://nyyc.org/171st-annual-regatta