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2021 i420 North American Championship Results

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North Sails Win Again at i420 North American Championship

1/18/2021, Coconut Grove, FL –  Biscayne Bay threw it all at the i420 teams competing for the 2021 North American Championship, with conditions that ranged from a very brisk 12-22 knot first day, to a drifter second day, followed by a marginal trapping final day filled with very fluky shifts and breeze direction changes.
After the dust settled in this eight-race regatta,  defending 2020 NA Champions (and brothers) Justin and Mitchell Callahan sailed a very consistent event with no result out of the top ten, and (except for a retirement in race 4 due to a rudder pin failure) pushed the eventual 2021 regatta champions Tommy Sitzmann/Luke Woodworth very hard all weekend, but in the end, Sitzmann/Woodworth sailed an impressively consistent series themselves, with no race finish out of the top 4.

For full results, go here: https://theclubspot.com/regatta/LkXLtg4osF/results

 Waiting to Launch

 

 Tommy Sitzmann/Luke Woodworth, 2021 North American Champions

 

 Justin & Mitchell Callahan, 2nd Place Overall

For full results, go here: https://theclubspot.com/regatta/LkXLtg4osF/results

 

Airwaves Career Center Spotlight: New York Yacht Club is Hiring a Regatta and Cruising Events Coordinator!

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The NYYC in Newport, RI is hiring! The Regatta and Cruising Events Coordinator is a full-time position based out the New York Yacht Club Harbour Court in scenic Newport, R.I. This role is perfect for a proactive and personable professional who enjoys working in the private club and/or sailing industry. For more information and to apply, please see your job notice HERE.

NEW YORK YACHT CLUB

The New York Yacht Club, founded in 1844, is one of the world’s leading yacht clubs. The Club was instrumental in the early days of recreational yachting and created the sport’s biggest event, the America’s Cup, a trophy which the Club held for 132 years. In 1988, the Club purchased Harbour Court, the former home of Commodore John Nicholas Brown, to be its waterfront facility. Over the past three decades, New York Yacht Club Harbour Court has become one of the premiere regatta destinations in North America, regularly hosting prestigious national and international championships. Our comprehensive events schedule caters to a wide range of sailing disciplines, including one-design, handicap, classics, team racing, cruising, and more. The season is anchored by signature events such as the Rolex NYYC Invitational Cup, the Annual Regatta, Queen’s Cup, Race Week at Newport presented by Rolex and the annual trio of team races, the Morgan Cup, Hinman Masters and NYYC Grandmasters.

The majestic Harbour Court clubhouse sits atop a hill overlooking Newport Harbor as well as the Club’s docks and vast lawn area. The land-side operations are as impressive as the on-the-water activities, and post-sailing social events are a must-attend for all competitors. Tented events for 500 people or more are regular occurrences, and the skill with which they are executed is unrivaled.

In addition to locally hosted events, NYYC has a vibrant Cruising Committee that executes trips around the world. From fully crewed expeditions in exotic locations to local rendezvous with private or chartered boats with member’s at the helm, the cruising opportunities are ample and cater to all cruising interests.

Cedar Point Yacht Club is Hiring a Club Manager/Waterfront Director!

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Cedar Point Yacht Club seeks a full-time Club Manager / Waterfront Director. This position is responsible for overall day-to-day operations, including delivering the Club’s facilities, amenities and services to a standard that ensures maximum member and guest satisfaction in an atmosphere of hospitality, friendliness, and congeniality. The Club Manager works collaboratively with the House Governor / Vice Commodore (these typically are the same person) as well as the various Board committees, including House, Entertainment, Race & Regatta, and Junior Sailing to provide necessary supplies, equipment and staff support for the Club’s volunteers and to ensure “smooth sailing” for all. For more information, and to apply, please see our job ad HERE

ABOUT CPYC
Located in Westport, CT, CPYC is an inclusive club that promotes the enjoyment of sailing for current members and for generations to come. Cedar Point Yacht Club (CPYC) is an inclusive, participatory club with racing, social, cruising, and other sailing-related activities that appeal to sailors of different skills, experience, and interests.


With a 130+ year racing tradition and more than 100 days of racing each season, our members’ commitment to the sport speaks for itself.

CPYC promotes high-quality, friendly competition, good sportsmanship, and camaraderie among sailors.
In addition to our vibrant racing, junior sailing, and women’s sailing programs we host an extensive regatta schedule including numerous regional and national championships.

US Sailing awarded Cedar Point the One Design Club of the Year Award in 2002, 2007, and 2018 and the St. Petersberg YC Trophy for excellence in race management in 1998.

The Fleets at Cedar Point

  • Cedar Point offers racing programs in a number of different types of boats. Although membership is required to skipper a boat on a regular basis in many of our programs, crewing on members’ boats is open to non-members and skippering in some programs is open to non-members as noted below. Follow the link for any of the classes of boats below to that fleet’s webpage. Information and the email address of the Fleet Captain is available there to find out more about racing at Cedar Point.

    • Atlantic: 30′ one design keel boats with main, jib and spinnakers and sailed by crew of 3 or 4. Racing on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Non-members are invited to crew.
    • Flying Scot: 19′ one design centerboard boats with main, jib and spinnaker and sailed by crew of 2 or 3. Racing on Saturdays. Extensive local regatta schedule. Non-members are invited to crew.
    • High School Sailing: Race training in both team racing and fleet racing in Club 420s (boats supplied) on weekday afternoons in spring and fall. Extensive local regatta schedule.
    • J/70: 23′ one design sport boat with main, jib and spinnaker and sailed by a crew of 3 or 4. Racing on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. This is CPYC’s newest fleet – come see what all the excitement is about. Get one and join or join in the fun with a member.
    • Junior Sailing: Sailing and race training for 8- to 17-year-olds. Boats used are: 8′ Optimist Dinghies, 14′ Pixels, 14′ Lasers and Laser Radials and 14′ 420s. Late June through mid-August. Extensive local junior regatta schedule. Non-members welcome. Charter boats available.
    • Laser: 14′ one design single-handed centerboard boat. Hugely popular frostbite racing series on Sundays in fall and spring, and Saturdays of three day weekends in summer. Multiple, short course race format. Extensive local regatta schedule. Reduced-rate Winter Membership available. Fleet boat available for a day or two of guest skippering by members or non-members.
    • Lightning: 19′ one design centerboard boats with main, jib and spinnaker and sailed by crew of 3. Racing on Saturdays. Extensive local regatta schedule. Non-members are invited to crew.
    • PHRF Racing: 24′ to 44′ racer/cruisers racing on Wednesday nights, Sundays and overnight rendezvous on Holiday weekends. Non-member owner/skippers as well as crews are welcome to race.
    • Star: 22′ one design keel boats with main and jib sailed by 2 crew. Racing on Saturdays. Extensive local regatta schedule. Non-members are invited to crew.
    • Thistle: 17′ one design centerboard boats with main, jib and spinnaker and sailed by crew of 3. Racing on Saturdays. Extensive local regatta schedule. Non-members are invited to crew.
    • Vanguard 15: 15′ one design centerboard boats with main and jib, sailed by crew of 2. Racing on Thursday evenings and Sunday afternoons with multiple, short course race format. Extensive local regatta schedule. Non-members are invited to crew. Fleet boat available for a day or two of guest skippering by members or non-members.

    These fleets and programs are supported by an outstanding private harbor and drystall facilities, a large fleet of race committee and support boats, and a delightful clubhouse and property with a beautiful view of Long Island Sound and the Saugatuck River.

Black Rock Sailing School is Hiring!!

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Black Rock Sailing School has 2 great job opportunities open:

Black Rock Sailing School and it’s sailing club SailTime Boston are looking for a dock staff member to join our growing team. The applicant for this position should be detail oriented, passionate about customer service, have some experience in the boating industry, be a good time manager, be okay with spending most of their time outdoors on the boats or docks, and be okay with working unsupervised for much of the day.
For more information and to apply, please see our full job ad HERE.

Black Rock Sailing School has been successfully in business since 2008 providing an extremely high level of day sailing and cruising instruction to adults. Currently, we are seeking two full-time sailing instructors for our summer season in Boston MA and Warwick RI beginning in April 2021.
For more information and to apply, please see our full job ad HERE.

Our Motto:

Don’t just learn how to sail… Become a sailor!

Learning how to sail is fun and rewarding, but the ultimate reward comes from the freedom, relaxation, and memories of spending time out on the water – whether it is a day sail, a week vacation, or years aboard a boat of your own. At Black Rock, we can teach you how to sail; but our goal is to make you a sailor. We teach you the skills you need to enjoy sailing, to safely explore new destinations, and to create memories with family and friends. Through our ASA certifications, seasonal sailing club, and charter trips, you will gain the confidence to truly enjoy what sailing offers.

Our Commitment:

It is a simple fact: “Not all sailing schools are created equal.” It takes years of full-time sailing and teaching to acquire the knowledge base, skills, and techniques needed to be a true professional.  The best racers or distance cruisers are not necessarily the best instructors. Being a successful sailing instructor requires both strong sailing skills AND incredible teaching skills.

At Black Rock Sailing School, you will notice a difference. Our instructors are not only experienced professionals, they also care about your goals and progress. We teach a few students at a time on some excellent training boats, offering an extremely high level of instruction. This commitment to excellence has already been recognized by the American Sailing Association as Outstanding School 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, & 2012 as well as Outstanding Instructor 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 (x2 staff), 2015, 2016 (x2 staff), 2018, & 2019.

The Making of a Youth Program in the Mountains: Asheville Youth Sailing

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by Airwaves writer Olivia Hennon

Growing up in Cleveland, Paula Hennon has raced sailboats from a young age throughout Ohio, New York, Florida, and North Carolina. She has raced many varieties of sailboats, most notably

the author (in red) with some happy young sailors

Jet-14’s, as well as Thistles, Interlakes, Snipes, and some big boats. She is a Jet-14 Class past-President, sits on the board of The Asheville Sailing Club, and has extended her leadership skills and sailing knowledge into a newly developing youth program – Asheville Youth Sailing, in Asheville, North Carolina. Paula is the director of the Asheville Youth Sailing program and the founder of the Asheville Sailing Foundation. We conversed about the makings of the youth program, the challenges, and hopes for the future.

Where does Asheville Youth Sailing take place?

The program takes place at Asheville Sailing Club. It’s a small lake made by a reservoir in the middle of the mountains in Western North Carolina. Asheville itself is surrounded on 3 sides by mountains so the sailing isn’t really that great– the wind often gets confused and swirly! I kind of feel like if you can sail here, you can sail anywhere. The sailing club demographic is made up of mainly older members. Many of them have found a One-Design class to race in– we have mainly Jet 14’s, Flying Scots, a couple Thistles, Lasers, and junior program boats that are active on the water.

What made you decide to start a youth program?

I actually took it over for someone else who was having a difficult time getting it going because of health-related issues. I sort of jumped right into the fire– our first season was well-intentioned, but ill-planned. Our next season was much better!

What does the youth program consist of?

This year with COVID-19 it was not really the best program. This year we chose to not teach brand new sailors, so kids who sailed with us this year had already sailed with us in the past. In prior years in pre-COVID land and hopefully in post-COVID land, we have a Learn-to-Sail Program which starts with what I call “Peanut Butter and Jelly Sailing.” These 90-minute lessons are for tiny kids usually ages 5,6, and 7 that we tow around in Sail Cubes with counselor instruction where we let them use the tiller, figure out the mechanics of the boat, and get a feel for how to maneuver. We even have life jackets for their stuffed animals! We do crafts and fun activities with them off the water. So we start with the little kids, and then we have a general Learn-to-Sail Program. We get the kids in the prams, they learn to sail them around, we do scavenger hunts and other things so essentially we just have a fun summer since there isn’t a ton of racing nearby anyways! During the other months, since we sail year-round, we have more racing-intensive programs. We have a Junior Racing Team that mostly crews in Jet-14’s and travels to regattas, and we have some high school sailing we have been trying to get off the ground. Sometimes it’s difficult because we are in the mountains and many people don’t view sailing as a sport.

What were the biggest challenges with the youth program?

The biggest challenge was maneuvering some strong opinions that many of the adult members had about introducing a youth program. There were some questions about liability and such but in the end, everyone agreed that the youth are the future of sailing. We ended up getting a community grant from our county’s sport and recreation department which helped us get our first boats. We tried to start a program that was open to anyone so there was no need for any experience, money, or anything. It was sort of like a community sailing program. The biggest obstacle though was transportation. Our lake is a little bit far from town and the group that we originally targeted didn’t have reliable transportation to get to practices. Also, the competing sports like soccer, track, and lacrosse make it hard to have consistent practice times.

What is your favorite part about the youth program?

My favorite part is watching the kids gain confidence. Going from capsize games and climbing around the boats to actually sailing on the race course is really inspiring and is really fun to watch!

What do you hope for the program in 2021?

I hope that we can get a little bit back to normal and maybe get some more kids that want to sail competitively. There is a really great racing program around the area and it would be cool to get to more of those regattas. The high school sailing around here is also really fun even though we have to travel further than many on the coast do, but it is a really great experience and opportunity. It’s especially good for those who aren’t really into giant team sports! I hope that we can do some fundraising since we have a foundation in place now, and I hope we can get some more boats for the program!

 

Club Profile: Mission Bay Yacht Club

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Mission Bay Yacht Club in San Diego, California is a top-notch small boat club with a growing footprint, even with the challenges of 2020. It has been previously named by US Sailing Association as the “One-Design Yacht Club of the Year,” and we took a deeper look into what makes MBYC such a special place by talking with its General Manager, Jason Proctor.

History 

It was a humble beginning on Crown Point, but it was Tom Scripps and Leo Carroll, the first handicappers, and a few others whose ideas for handicap and one-design racing grew into the highly refined programs and facilities enjoyed today. Their foresight and enthusiasm have helped to produce world and national championship sailors in many classes.

The early sailboats had to be flat bottomed to maneuver in the shallow water of the Bay. The Flapper, a 12-foot catboat, was the first class to race at the club. A variety of boats, including some from San Diego Yacht Club, formed a handicap fleet and raced when the tide permitted. By 1931 the Skimmer was the hot boat in this area.

Mission Bay Yacht Club has a strong tradition of Corinthian sailboat racing. This is encouraged by Club sponsored regattas throughout the year. You will find national champions and novices alike competing in their regattas. Mission Bay Yacht Club’s ideal location makes it a favorite venue for national and world championship sailing regattas.

Jason Proctor – General Manager 

Jason Proctor is the General Manager of the Mission Bay Yacht Club. Jason’s introduction to the water was spending time on a little lake north of Boston where he used to sail a Sunfish. When Jason first got to San Diego in 1999, he was working in the golf industry as an assistant General Manager for a club. Jason was looking for a change and signed on with MBYC in 2008.

One of the main problems he had to address when he came onboard was MBYC junior sailors moving to the other clubs as they progressed. Jason worked with the Waterfront Director, Chris Wright, and other active club members to grow the footprint of the junior sailing program in all aspects. To get more kids of all ages interested, they prioritized instilling the love of sailing by having adventure days, making it fun, and having picnics. They decided to focus on the entire experience besides only the racing. They take great pride in the continuously rising junior participation since 2008.

Junior Sailing 

MBYC summer camp consisted of roughly 100 kids each week with students in smaller groups with staggered start times taught by a staff of around 15 coaches. They were able to run this past summer’s camp almost as normal minus the use of double-handed boats for instruction unless the sailors were from the same household. By bringing people in every half hour, the sailing program was able to operate with smaller numbers, but it led to a better quality of coaching. Their impressive coaching staff has also been a factor that has led to this success.

Jason credits much of junior programs success to Chris Wright who was incredibly proactive and participated in every zoom call that US Sailing had to offer about how to meet the challenge of continuing sailing education with the pandemic.

Club Sailing and Regattas

In addition to the junior classes, MBYC has other small boat classes such as the Finn, Snipe, Laser, Lighting, Multihull, Solings, Sunfish, Victory, Lido 14, MC Scow, Sr. Sabots, and Thistles.

MBYC is a club that is certainly more family-friendly than others and has a big sense of volunteerism. On their volunteer days, they get regularly get 200 members coming down to help out.

The clubs have weekend series for all one-design fleet members along with Thursday Night Club racing in which every fleet gets one start. The club consistently hosts Championships for different classes each year. Last year they were scheduled to host the Lighting North Americans, Thistles Midwinters West, Lido 14 Nationals, Victory Nationals, F18 North Americans. The club has a great turnout for member volunteers for supporting the events. The club scheduled a bunch of make-up regattas postponed due to the pandemic.

 

 

 Club Facilities 

Another huge draw for MBYC is the facility. It is a great place for families to come and enjoy. Situated on the sandy beaches of Mission Bay, families can feel safe letting their children run around, enjoy the private beach and BBQ areas. They recently finished a remodel of the junior sailing building and signed a 25-year lease for an extension on the property and by the end of 2021, they will be starting on a a remodel the main clubhouse.

The facilities are impressive with around 400 boats dry stored, and a sizeable marina to accommodate 18ft to 55ft boats. MBYC is very active socially, hosting club parties once a month for its members and encourage people to get involved. If you are looking to get more into sailing just head to the bulletin board – where people are always looking for crew of all skill levels.

MBYC currently has around 900 club members. They have had success using learn-to-sail classes for getting social members more involved to convert them into full flag members. The club also hosts a number of different social committees for all sorts of activities and interests.

MBYC has been adjusting to operating with the pandemic. Once California lifted its recreational boating restrictions, they saw a huge increase with activity, which also helped to support the restaurant that was carry out only for much of the year.

 

 

You can find out more about Mission Bay Yacht Club and membership with the links below.

https://mbyc.org/index.cfm?ID=1

https://mbyc.org/membership

 

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