2010 Melges 24 Texas Gulf Coast Championship

Corpus Christi Yacht Club hosted the ultimate warm-up for the premiere 2011 Melges 24 World Championship May 12-15.

The Texas Gulf Coast Championship (TGCC) provided the perfect opportunity to check out the facility that will host the world championship. The venue boasts fabulous sunshine, gulf coast winds, and perfect sailing weather.

The TGCC held this summer is the 4^th North American ranking event of the 2010 International schedule.

The ten boats competed under challenging conditions on the coast and enjoyed true Texan hospitality from the Corpus Christi Yacht Club. With 8 races scored over the weekend Alan Field and his crew secured the top spot on-board WTF.

The Corpus Christi Yacht Club, the Internation Melges 24 class association, and the U.S. Melges 24 class association will host the 2011 Melges 24 World Championship Regatta May 11-12, 2011 in Corpus Christi, Texas. Great competitors from around the world will be ready to race in the sea breezes of the Gulf of Mexico.

Contact us for registration information.

2010 Elvstrom Zellerbach Regatta

Spectacular Racing For St. Francis Yacht Club 2010 Elvstrom Zellerbach Regatta



Day one of the St. Francis Yacht Club's Elvstrom Zellerbach Regatta was sailed in spectacular conditions. Somehow day two was even better.

With most fleets sailing four races on the first day the Formula Windsurfing fleet was one race behind having only 3 races under their belts from Saturday's racing.

The Elvstrom Zellerbach Regatta includes Finn, 29er, Laser, and Laser Radial classes in conjunction with the Formula Windsurfers. Conditions for Saturday were a bit late in arriving so the fleet had been held on shore while the Olympic class dinghies' went at it.

The St. FYC is famous for mixing up traditional racing with newer 'boats' in their course racing regattas and has been including the Formula Windsurfing classes alongside the standard Olympic class dinghies' for years.

Sunday's conditions were right on time and just as St. FYC race committee head, John Craig, had promised the fleet the day before, a 12:30pm start, he boldly called the Formula Fleet out first. Usually needing a bit more breeze than the dinghies it was a display of skill by the race committee in instantly recognizing sailable conditions for the boards that only comes with years of experience. Most sailors grabbed their 11.0 sails, the ‘big' sail for the local fleet, and headed out.

With 12-16mph winds blowing the first race was to be the lightest of the day with each race picking up 4-5 mph of wind until the final race of the day with was sailed in 25-30mph of breeze.

The competitors were profuse with thanks for the professional race committee and incredible hospitality of the St. FYC staff. One the most incredible efforts put forward was that of the 20 strong volunteers who helped make the regatta possible. The applause put forward for the volunteers at the award ceremony was the day's loudest. One note regarding the nature of the competitors and the management of the event was that across some 65 boats, sailing 7 races each, across two days of competition, in 25mph+ winds, not a single protest was lodged.

Written by: David Wells, www.waterbound.com

Laser Northern California Championship

The Laser Northern California Championship at The Santa Cruz Yacht Club produced exciting conditions for its competitors on May 8. The one-day event served as the Area G qualifier for the 2010 US Sailing Single-Handed Championships.

The low-key event held favorable winds for the sailboats as they fought for the number one spot.

10 boats competed in the men's standard laser class. The battle for the win from the Elvstrom Zellerback Regatta held the previous week continued between Stephen Bourdon, Tracy Usher, and Peter Vesella.

After five races the results turned out the exact same as the previous week. First place went to Bourdon, Sequoia Yacht Club, second place went to Usher, St. Francis Yacht Club, and third went to Vesella, St Francis Yacht Club.

The radial class had three boats compete first place went to Roger Herbst, Sunnyvale, Calif., second went to Christy Usher, St. Francis Yacht Club, and Jacques Kerrest, Palo Alto, Calif., in third.

The top male competitor in the laser standard fleet from this event qualifies for the men's U.S Single-Handed Sailing Championship and the top female competitor in the radial fleet qualifies for the female US Single-Handed Sailing Championship.