Category: News
2025 Harbor 20 National Championship – Save the Date!
Fleet 1 Championship Reminders
2024 Harbor 20 Fleet 1 Championship – September 21-22, NHYC
Important Reminders
- Boats must be in the water for 60 days before the event (bylaw I.F.9).
- Skippers must have been owners for 60 days before the event (bylaw I.F.10).
So, this year those criteria must be met by July 23.
- Boats must have a measurement certificate (class bylaw III.A.8) which can be verified by clicking your sail number in the harbor20.org member roster.
- A copy of the registration must be on the boat and must list the skipper’s name.
- Crews must have sailed on the boat 12 times since the last fleet championships.
- Petitions (such as for a crew who doesn’t meet the 12-race requirement) must be submitted to the Fleet Measurer before September 17.
Save the Date: Saturday, August 17!
Bettina Bents Memorial Women’s Regatta – Saturday, June 8, NHYC
Bettina Bents was an avid sailor from a young age. She was an active sailor in the non-calm program at Newport Harbor Yacht Club. She sailed in the Adams Cup, which was the National Women’s Sailing championship. She raced in many boats over the years from lasers to Santanas. She was instrumental in organizing the Newport Harbor Maritime Museum as well as raising funds for the ship “Argus” and for the 6 meter “California”. Newport Harbor Yacht Club is pleased to be able to carry on this tradition of the Bettina Bents Memorial Women’s Regatta in her memory.
To register click here.
Boat Handling & Sail Trim – Sunday, June 2, 9:00-5:00, BCYC
Click here to see testimonials
Click here for a detailed course description
Click here to register
Join us also for the on-the-water companion clinic for Harbor 20’s on June 15 at LIYC! Bring your own boat and crew and put into practice what you learned at the seminar. Experienced mentors will also be available to sail with you. For information and registration click here.
If you have any questions about this seminar, please feel free to contact me:
Peter Haynes – peterhaynes201@gmail.com
ALYC Hosts Harbor 20 “C’s the Day” Race and Seminar, Saturday April 27th, 2024 11:00am
For those of you new to Harbor 20 racing or if you need just a little refresher, this is for you. Come
bring you own, borrowed or rented Harbor 20 for a fun-filled day of racing in Newport Bay.
We will meet at the American Legion Yacht Club for basic review of the “Racing Rules of Sailing” and
an overview of how to manage your way around a race course, then out to the water for some
straightforward races around the buoys in Newport Harbor. Put your boat away and it’s back to
ALYC for some photos, food, prizes and conversation.
Getting started in sailboat racing is fun and exciting, but can be a little intimidating, so as an added
benefit we have a limited number of Mentors available to help you gain the skills and confidence
needed to enjoy the competition. Mentors will be available on a first come first served basis.
For the event page on Regatta Network click here.
Cost is $30.00 per boat.
Each attendee will receive a complementary copy of US Sailing’s “Sailors Guide to the Racing Rules
of Sailing” as well as a handy decal guide to the Signal Flags used in conducting a sailboat race.
To reserve dock space, a Mentor or for further questions,
please contact Scott Barnes at race@alyc.com
Hope to see you out on the water!
Moving Up!
Story by Gary Thorne
Congratulations to Puzant Ozbag Zorayan for advancing to the B fleet recently, and to Bill Symes and Mike Kennedy for advancing to the A fleet! Puzant won the C division in the BYC Nov. Sunkist and the NHYC Feb. Winter Series. Bill won the B division in the Feb. 17-18 WD Schock Memorial Regatta at NHYC, while Mike won the BYC January Sunkist and a 2023 regatta in B.
Want to move up? Just win two days of racing in your division, with at least five boats racing in the division. In the Weiss Series, each of the three days counts as a day of racing, as does each Sunkist and Winter Series day. If you win a two-day event like the WD Schock Memorial Regatta, you move up immediately, as Bill Symes did.
One secret to success is to race regularly in weekend regattas, such as Weiss #2-3 on 4/7 and 5/19, and Midsummer on 8/4. (Sorry, summer evenings and Friday Frolics don’t count. Look for high-point races in red or green font on the fleet calendar at harbor20.org/fleet-1-newport-beach/calendar/.) Another secret is to encourage fellow sailors to come out so we have at least five boats in each division.
Once you’ve moved up, you have a year to place in a regatta in order to stay in your new division. For instance, if you win the B division in the WD Schock Memorial Regatta, a 2-day event, you have until next year’s WD Schock Memorial Regatta to place in A, or you’ll go back to B after that regatta. (To see what it means to “place,” see Appendix A of the fleet bylaws at harbor20.org/fleet-1-newport-beach/organization/bylaws/. By the way, once you move up to A, you never go back to C, even if you don’t race for a while. Also, you can stay in A forever by winning the fleet championship.)
Even if you don’t win two regattas during the year, keep racing–you may win one of the season high-point trophies! (See harbor20.org/fleet-1-newport-beach/awards/high-point-series/ for the standings.)
Understanding the Racing Rules of Sailing for 2021-2024, Sunday March 24, BCYC
EVERYONE WELCOME – H20, other one designs, PHRF sailors
Whether you are just learning the racing rules or are already an expert racer, this seminar will improve and update your understanding of the complex rules of our sport. This course covers all the rules which govern the behavior of boats in close proximity when starting, meeting, encountering obstructions, rounding marks, and finishing. Animated PowerPoint and videos bring the rules to life. Includes continental breakfast, lunch, and course materials. Great for skipper and crew because two heads are better than one!
Sunday, March 24
Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club
8:15 Registration / Continental Breakfast
9:00 Seminar begins
12:00 Lunch
5:00 Seminar ends
Please bring a Racing Rules of Sailing for 2021-2024 book. It is free to members of US Sailing.
$119.00 if registered before March 20
$144.00 if registered after March 20
To register click here.
Also, SAVE THE DATE: A companion on-the water clinic will he held at Balboa Yacht Club on April 6.
On-the-water Clinic – Saturday March 9 – LIYC
ONLINE REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED FOR THIS EVENT. If you would like to participate, you can bring your own boat and crew and pay at the door (check or cash) . BUT, A MENTOR WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE TO SAIL WITH YOU.
Phil Thompson will be hosting the H20 on-the-water clinic on Saturday, March 9 at LIYC. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from one of the top racers in Fleet 1! There will be two on-the water sessions. Phil will start by sharing tips on starting and race course analysis followed by practice starts and short races. After a break for lunch, he will do an on-the dock demonstration with sails up talking about mast, rigging dynamics, shroud tensions and sail trim and demonstrating the proper use of the backstay, boom vang, cunningham, main outhaul, jib outhaul, jib downhaul and how to set the jib height using the jib halyard. Then back on the water for longer races with emphasis on boat speed, sail shape and sail trim.
One of the things that makes these clinics successful is that they provide an opportunity to practice elements of sailboat racing with experienced “mentors” aboard each boat. This can greatly accelerate the learning curve, and provides a great opportunity to meet and sail with others!
The clinic will begin at 10:00. Sailing will end at 4:00 when Happy Hour begins!
The registration fee is $49.00 and includes Lunch and Happy Hour.
When you register, please answer the question on the “Checkout” page as to whether you will be bringing a boat, crewing on a boat that someone else is bringing, or are requesting a spot on a boat that we provide. It is very important that we have this information in advance so that we can assure the everyone has a spot on a boat, and that mentors are available to sail on each boat.
To register click here.
We hope to see you there!