Tomorrow begins the Baldwin Cup at Newport Harbor Yacht Club – a national level, 4 versus 4 team race, sailed in Harbor 20’s. The racing occurs in an arena-type setting, created by a vacated NHYC mooring field, which allowed the members to witness the excitement of the event happening just feet from the NHYC main dock. The Baldwin Cup Team Race has become an institution among national level team racers and is one of the most sought after invitations in the country.

More information can be found on the event’s website, or follow the action on the iPhone, iPad or Android Apps.

The annual Harbor 20 Class Association fees are now due. For membership for the 2012/13 year, the fees are due before March 1, 2013.

To save the costs of printing and mailing, we will be accepting the fees online. We will also be keeping on online roster of members which will further save costs in printing and distributing membership directories.  You will be able to “print on demand” a custom roster of your fleet or the entire Class Association.

Instructions for Joining or Renewing your Class Association membership

1. Pay your annual Class (and Fleet if applicable) membership fees on Join page located on the main menu.  Select the appropriate membership and provide your Boat Name and Sail Number (if you have one).

2. You will be taken to PayPal to pay with either your existing PayPal account, or you may choose to pay with your credit card. Just choose this option if you wish to pay with your credit card.

2.  After we receive your payment confirmation, you will receive an email from the Class Membership with instructions on how to login to your account and update your personal and contact information.

And that’s it.  Hopefully, simple.  Go to the Join Page Now.

The  East / West Challenge Perpetual Trophy traveled from the East Coast to NHYC earlier this week, and now, it is headed back to the East Coast again. On day two of the Harbor 20 East/ West challenge, the weather was perfect, the wind was steady out of the South East at about 7-9 knots, the mooring field was clear of boats and moorings, and the dredger was no where to be seen. A very unique situation and one not seen at NHYC in decades. Heading into the day, the East Coast team of Fleet 3 (Hilton Head) and Fleet 5 (Annapolis) had an 8 point lead over the West Coast team of Fleet 1 (Newport Beach) and Fleet 4 (Santa Barbara).  But after 4 races on Sunday, and a total of 8 races, the East Coast team widened their lead and took the prize. Individual Winners

1. Tom Schock (Fleet 1, sailing for Fleet 5)
2. Scott Deardorff (Fleet 4)
3. Karl Pomeroy (Fleet 1, sailing for Fleet 5)
4. Lee Sutherland (Fleet 1)
5. Ed Kimball (Fleet 1, sailing for Fleet 5)

East Coast Team

Fleet 3 – Hilton Head

Domenico De Sole, Joe Highsmith, Paul Miller, Peter Brower, Tom Webster, Ned Nelsen, Kevin Keogh, Marvin Carlson

Fleet 5 – Annapolis

Karl & Cole Pomeroy (Fleet 1); Ed Kimball & Anne Costello (Fleet 1); Marshal & Susan Steele; Tom & Jane Schock (Fleet 1)

West Coast Team

Fleet 1 – Newport Beach

Rolly Pulaski, Peter Haynes, Helen Duncan, Lee Sutherland, Nik Froehlich, Jeff Gordon, Tom Corkett

Fleet 4 – Santa Barbara

Richard Miller, Tom Kelleway, Chester Gillmore, Ann Hutchins, Scott & Leslie Deardorff, Al Salzer, Bill Bench

Full results can be downloaded here.

Complete online photo albums will be posted to this website once the photos become available.

The annual East / West Challenge kicked off Friday evening with a competitor check-in and reception at the Newport Harbor Yacht Club in Newport Beach.  Over 85 competitors, boat owners, race committee, housing hosts and guests are participating in the regatta which has grown this year to include four Harbor 20 fleets.

Representing the East Coast are Fleet 3 from Hilton Head and Fleet 5 from Annapolis. Representing the West Coast are Fleet 4 from Santa Barbara and Fleet 1 from Newport Beach.  Each Fleet has sent four teams (skipper and crew) for a total of 16 boats in the regatta. Additionally, each of the Harbor 20 boat owners is the “3rd crew” providing the team additional insight on “local knowledge” and familiarity with their boat.

The Friday reception, which included hosted beer and wine and a Taco Bar, allowed participants to meet and greet each other and discuss the upcoming regatta.

The format of the regatta is Fleet racing (not team racing as one may deduce from the name). Awards will be given to the top 5 individual competitors.  Additionally, the scores from all the competitors representing the East Coast will be combined and compared to that of the West Coasts fleets, and the lowest overall score will be awarded the East / West Challenge Perpetual Trophy.  Currently, Fleet 3 (Hilton Head) possesses the trophy by defeating Fleet 1 at Hilton Head.  This year is the first year that more than 2 fleets have participated in the East / West Challenge.

The regatta will consist of a planned eight (8) races over two days. The courses are place in the Harbor Harbor area adjacent to the yacht club docks making it easy and comfortable for spectators to watch the action.

On Saturday, the winds were pretty steady at about 7-9 knots out of the South/South West. As is usual in Newport Harbor, shifts and current provide for a challenging venue where local experience can give competitors an advantage.  The race committee was able to get off four (4) windward / leeward races, each about 35 minutes long.

At the end of the day, the East Coast leads with 268 points to the West Coasts 276 points. With only an 8 point spread, the challenge is close even as the second day of racing begins. The leaders in the individual competition is as follows:

1. Tom Schock (sailing for Fleet 5) – 12 points
2. Jim Kerrigan (Fleet 1) – 18 points
3. Scott Deerdorf (Fleet 4) – 20 points
4. Lee Sutherland (Fleet 1) – 22 points
5. Karl Pomeroy (sailing for Fleet 5) – 23 points

After racing on Saturday evening, the out-of-town guests were treated to an hour-long guided tour of Newport Bay in the iconic “Duffy”, electric boats. Wine, cocktails and snacks along with commentary on the interesting facts and notable landmarks provided the background for this sunset cruise to Lido Isle Yacht Club for the Saturday Party.

Saturday was capped off with a festive party with a variety of food, live music, dance floor and hosted bar. There was a lot of energy left over from the day as was evident by the chatter, energy and plenty of dancing.

Sunday, racing begins at 1pm and will conclude with awards and an Awards dinner at the NHYC.

Pictures of the event will be added to this post and included in the final regatta wrap up post.

Classroom learning can really improve your understanding

Starting with the fundamentals

The demonstration brings the concepts to life

Thanks to Tom Madden, BCYC Vice Commodore, for making his Harbor 20 “Cool H20” available for the dockside demonstration. And thanks to the management and staff of BCYC for flawless support of the event.

This was the second in a three seminar series. The first was “Understanding the Racing Rules of Sailing” on January 29. The third in the series will be “Strategy & Tactics” on June 3. Watch this website for details, and we hope to see you there!

Sail Safe & Sail Fast!

Peter Haynes

January 31 has passed, and we’re closing out the 2012 Harbor 20 Roster.

If you are a racing member, I urge you to take care of this in the next two days, PLEASE! You’re going to have to pay anyway, why not now. Any racing after January and you will not be “legal” without paying dues! I want to include you in the 2012 Roster, it will be a sellout blockbuster!

I’d rather include everyone, especially those procrastinators who put things off, the eventually pay, and then say, “I wish I had…”

IF YOU PLAN ON BEING INCLUDED:

1. SEND ME AN EMAIL AND TELL ME “I’M IN,” OR “I’M OUT.” THE “I’M INs” will be in the Roster, and we’ll trust you to send a check. The “I’M OUTs,” well, thanks for your participation in the past and “Good Sailing.”

2. FOR THE “I’M INs,” WRITE A CHECK, CHECK OVER YOUR ROSTER DATA, AND MAIL YOUR DUES TODAY. YOUR ROSTER DATA WILL BE THE SAME AS LAST YEAR UNLESS YOU SEND IN CHANGES BY MAIL OR EMAIL IN THE NEXT TWO DAYS.*

Pretty simple. Please make my/our life easy and take care of this so WE don’t make a mistake regarding your intent at participation in 2012.

Many thanks,

Jim Kerrigan

Roster Maven

* If you’ve “lost it,” go to harbor20.org, second tab from the left, “About the Class,” and below, click on “Join.” The information and the link to the roster form are linked to this. At least markup and highlight data that’s new, the mailing address is there, and then you’re done.

—

“…Everyone in Seattle knows about the popular Duck Dodge series that runs on the city’s Lake Union in the summer.  Almost 100 boats turn out each Tuesday for a different themed race each week.  From Hawaiian Night to Toga Night, this popular series focuses on having fun. There is no cost to enter, and there is only one rule: Don’t hit each other.

Less well known, but still well attended, is the Goosebumps series every Sunday in January and February, also on Lake Union.  Of course, it is hard to have a Hawaiian Night or a Toga night in the winter in the Pacific Northwest.  If there were a theme for the Goosebumps, it might be fleece and foulies.

With more than 20 Harbor 20s scattered around Puget Sound and various lakes, Signature Yachts, located on Lake Union is working to get boats out sailing together this winter. Five boats have already committed to at least one or two of the Sunday events, with Signature Yachts hosting the boats at its dock after the races.  2 of the 5 Boats are skippered by Women.

Plans call for tuning sessions, sail trim clinics and Harbor 20 gatherings in the spring. Signature is trying to build the Harbor 20 fleet and get the existing boats out in a fun and casual setting….”

The fastest growing fleet at the Annapolis Yacht Club is the Harbor 20. We currently have 12 Harbor 20’s registered in this years AYC Frostbite Series. The Series starts on Nov 6 and runs on sundays through March. The Harbor 20 has been a successful addition to a number of other Yacht Clubs fleets across the nation. AYC is Fleet 5 in the National Harbor Class Association.