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.

Harbor 20 Fleet 3 in Hilton Head, South Carolina will host the annual DDS&A Cup regatta on May 3^rd and 4^th.  Competitors will race in Calibogue Sound for trophies provided by Domenico De Sole & Associates.  The regatta is open to all Harbor 20s in every fleet.  Online entry is required at www.regattanetwork.com/clubmgmt/applet_registration_form.php?regatta_id=7892

The deadline for entries is May 1^st.

The competitors’ meeting will be held on Friday evening, May 2^nd at South Carolina Yacht Club accompanied by cocktails and heavy hors d’oeuvres.  The first warning signal each day will be at 11 AM and several races are scheduled, depending upon wind conditions.  Wayne Bretsch, a National Race Officer, will be the principal race officer.  The regatta is being held at the same time as the annual Windmill Harbour Boat Show in the marina at South Carolina Yacht Club.

Notice of Race

Owners of Annapolis Yacht Club‘s (AYC) newest fleet of one design boats, the Harbor 20’s, hosted their first East/West Sailing Regatta this past weekend. Forty-eight sailors representing four of the five national fleets participated. The East coast teams hailed from South Carolina Yacht Club (representing Fleet 3) in Hilton Head and Annapolis Yacht Club (representing Fleet 5). The West coast sailors flew here from Newport Beach, California (Representing Fleet 1) and Santa Barbara, California (representing Fleet 4).

The planned two day sailing event became an intense single day of racing when races were cancelled the first day due to lack of wind. Sixteen boats bobbed on the bay for 5 hours Friday morning waiting for enough of a breeze to pull off the 4 races that were scheduled.  The sailors were good natured and enjoyed cocktails and dinner in the Skipjack on a beautiful sunny evening regardless of the disappointing start to the East/West Challenge.

After a night of prayers to the weather gods, the race organizers were rewarded with a gentle breeze Saturday morning that built to 12 to 13 knots by the end of the day allowing the race committee to orchestrate  6 races between 11am and 4:30pm to make up for the day before.

At the awards banquet in the Commodore’s room later Saturday night the winners of the East West challenge were announced. Tom and Jane Schock from NHYC won first prize scoring nothing less than 2nd place in all 6 races. Second place was awarded to Skipper Eric Norman from SCYC.  Gary Thorne from BYC received third place and fourth place was given to Marshall and Susan Steele from AYC.

The winning Fleet was Fleet 1 of Newport Beach, followed by Fleet 3 of South Carolina, Fleet 5 of Annapolis and then Fleet 4 of Santa Barbara.  Most importantly, the winner of the East/West Regatta was the East Coast. The Annapolis Yacht Club will keep the trophy for six months and then send it down to Hilton Head for the remainder of the year.  At the conclusion of the weekend’s activities, Howard Brooks, Harbor 20 Fleet Captain expressed gratitude to all who contributed to the success of the event. “It was rewarding to have the East Coast win the trophy for the second time.  Judging from the comments of those who attended, I think it is fair to say that AYC and Fleet 5 have now set the pace for future East / West Challenges. I would especially like to thank all of our members who hosted out of town guests, those who allowed the use of their boats, and those who provided owners representatives for the races.”

Needless to say, hosting a Harbor-20 event such as this in just our 2nd year of Annapolis Fleet 5 existence was a big challenge and a new experience for our Harbor-20 owners.  It was  rewarding for us to work closely with George Anderson and his Race Committee team who did an outstanding job of conducting the races, and scoring the results.  Regatta Manager Linda Ambrose was a tremendous help in the registration and budgeting process and work closely with Annapolis Yacht Sales, who helped sponsor the event and with Weems & Plath who contributed to the awards, and keepsakes for the event. Putting this combination of talent together with our outstanding chef and banquet management team provided a winning combination that shined the spotlight on AYC as one of the nations truly great Yacht Clubs.

Our thanks also go’s to John and Marline Patmore, & Brooks Stallings for providing the support boat, to Pat Brooks for providing the host boat, and to Renee Kizziar for helping with the lunch program.  Without them and the many other people who helped with the program, we could not have had such a successful event.

Respectfully Submitted,

Howard Brooks & Cathie Trogdon

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.

Members of Harbor 20 Fleet 3 in Hilton Head, South Carolina sailed a five-race series against sailors from American Yacht Club of Rye, New York on March 31^st and April 1^st.  The team from American Yacht Club came to Hilton Head for the weekend for the first running of a home-and-home invitational regatta between the two clubs.  A team from South Carolina Yacht Club will go to Rye, New York in May 2013 to race in Ideal 18s, the class of boat that American Yacht Club uses for club racing.  The regatta was run as fleet racing with team scoring—no team racing tactics but the team with the best combined score at the end of the series won the trophy.  The South Carolina YC team won by 10 points—a relatively close score for a five-race series with four boats on each team.

The weekend included a welcoming reception at the Club on Friday evening, March 30^th, dinner at the home of Susan and Kevin Keogh on Saturday evening and breakfast at the home of Sally and Ned Nielsen on Sunday morning.  South Carolina Yacht Club Commodore Dudley King welcomed the visitors on Friday and exchanged Club burgees with Duncan Hennes, the Commodore of American Yacht Club who was racing on their team.  Commodore King also presented the trophy to the winners at the prize awards ceremony on Sunday afternoon.

The visiting sailors were housed by fleet members who live in the Windmill Harbour area of Hilton Head so they were all within walking distance of the Club.  The sailors racing on the South Carolina Yacht Club team were Don Buchanan, Marvin Carlson, Domenico DeSole, Joe Highsmith, Paul Miller, Ned Nielsen, John Rumsey and Tom Webster.  On the Race Committee for the event were Kevin Keogh, principal race officer, Peter Brower, Bob de Veer, Dwight Emanuelson, Bill Tyler and David Wilson.

The next events for Harbor 20 Fleet 3 are the Harbour Town Regatta run by the Yacht Club of Hilton Head Island on April 28^th and 29^th and the Domenico DeSole & Associates Regatta run by South Carolina Yacht Club on May 5^th and 6^th.   The DDS&A regatta is designated as the East Coast Championship for the Harbor 20 Class so visiting boats from Harbor 20 Fleet 5 in Annapolis, Maryland and other Harbor 20s from Savannah, Georgia and locations in Florida are expected to come to South Carolina Yacht Club to compete.

Following these regattas, Fleet 3 will run an event for Club members called “Learn What It’s Like to Sail a Harbor 20 in Calibogue Sound.”  Club members who are not regular Harbor 20 sailors are invited to sign up to sail with experienced Harbor 20 sailors on Saturday afternoon, May 12^th from 1:30 to 4:30.  They will learn how to handle the boat and enjoy the excitement of sailing it.  The afternoon will not involve racing but will be an opportunity to experience what Harbor 20 sailing is like.

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.

—