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
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!
2024 Class Board Election Results
Here are the results of the election of Harbor 20 Class directors that concluded in January. Class owner-members voted for the following directors:
| Fleet | Directors | |
| 1 | Peter Haynes Newport Beach | |
| 1 | Ed Kimball Newport Beach | |
| 1 | Gary Thorne (President) Newport Beach | |
| 1 | Kari Bretschger Newport Beach | |
| 1 | Bob Yates (Measurer) Newport Beach | |
| 3 | Joe Highsmith Hilton Head | |
| 3 | Eric Norman (Assistant Measurer) Hilton Head | |
| 4 | Lee Cushman Santa Barbara | |
| 4 | Richard Miller Santa Barbara | |
| 5 | Marino di Marzo Annapolis | |
| 5 | Bill Chapman (Treasurer) Annapolis | |
| 7 | Richard Brown Smith Mountain Lake, VA | |
| 8 | Michelle Wood Eugene, OR | |
| 9 | Grant Williams Mission Bay, CA |
On-the-water Clinic – February 10 – LIYC
Fleet 1 – Friday Frolics for 2024
Posted on behalf of Frolic Meister Bob Yates:
Harbor 20 sailors are welcome to a new season of Frolicking.
Frolics will be sailed from the Dick Sweet RC boat starting at 2 pm in the Turning Basin just north of NHYC. The Race Committee will announce the course and provide sailing information verbally from the boat before the first warning. They will continue until the Race Committee gets tired or thirsty, whichever comes first. Sportsmanship is of paramount importance. Don’t foul or hit other boats. If you make a mistake, do a turn. If you hit a boat (and possibly cause damage), sailors must report to the Race Committee on the NHYC patio after the race. Scores will not be recorded, and trophies will NOT be awarded.
All participants are invited to join us afterwards on the NHYC Deck for friendship, drinks and a lively discussion.
Our planned schedule is shown below. An email will go out the week before to remind all Fleet 1 sailors of the event and telling of any changes.
January 12 and 26
February 9 and 23
March 8 and 15
April 12 and 26
May 10 and 24
June 7 and 21
July 12 and 19
August 9 and 16
September 13 and 27
October 4 and 18
November 8 and 22
December 13
You can also find each Frolic in the Fleet 1 2024 Calendar.
2024 Fleet 1 Learning Opportunities!
The learning program for Fleet 1 is being enhanced this year by combining class room education with on-the-water exercises. This makes sense because classroom knowledge is of no value unless put into practice and sailboat racing is complex enough as to require classroom education in order understand the game.
Program Overview
There are three large but essentially separate bodies on knowledge required to be a proficient sailboat racer each of which will be covered in detail in a day-long seminar in a classroom setting. Each will be followed up 2 – 3 weeks later with an on the water clinic. Bring your own boat and crew to the clinic, and as in the past, experienced mentors will be available to sail with you.
Seminars are day-long events that include a continental breakfast and lunch. Clinics will start later in the day with an on-the dock “chalk talk” starting at 11:00, lunch at 12:00, and sailing from 1:00 until 4:00 with break halfway through. Happy hour will commence at 4:00!
The schedule of events is:
January 21 Seminar “Strategy & Tactics” BCYC All day Click here for the event page
February 10 On-the-water Clinic LIYC 11-4 Click here to register
March 24 Seminar “Understanding the Racing Rules of Sailing” BCYC All day
April 6 On-the-water Clinic BYC 11-4
June 2 Seminar “Boat Handling & Sail Trim” BCYC All day
June 15 On-the-water Clinic LIYC 11-4
Registration Fees:
Seminars. $119.99 per event
Clinics $50.00 per person per event
Events such as these are scheduled far in advance so don’t miss these opportunities to up your game in 2024!
If you have any questions about this program, please feel free to contact me:
peterhaynes201@gmail.com
We hope to see you there!
Online Learning now Available
I have often been asked whether my classroom seminars are videoed. The answer is yes, but not for the purpose of releasing unedited footage, Rather the intent has always been to edit the raw video and use it as content for self-paced online courses. Two are now available:
Understanding the Racing Rules of Sailing 6 hours 8 minutes
INTRODUCTION – HOW THE GAME IS PLAYED 31 minutes
RIGHT OF WAY 34 minutes
GENERAL LIMITATIONS ` 1 hour 40 minutes
AT OBSTRUCTIONS 55 minutes
AT MARKS 1 hour 50 minutes
THE START 29 minutes
SUMMARY 9 minutes
Boat Handling & Sail Trim 5 hours 29 minutes
AERODYNAMICS 20 minutes
SAILING THEORY 1 hour
SAIL SHAPE 1 hour 40 minutes
DEMONSTRATION 51 minutes
SAIL TRIM 38 minutes
BOAT HANDLING 1 hour
The courses include a PDF copy of the course book.
To access the online courses, click here.
The upcoming Strategy & Tactics seminar on January 21 at BCYC will also be recorded, and an online course will be released in the future. If you are in the Fleet 1 area and plan to attend this event, please note that this is NOT a rules seminar. “Strategy” is about getting around a course as quickly as possible, and “Tactics” is about how to implement your strategy in the company of all the other boats, i.e. it is about boat-on-boat interactions – which are dependent on the rules. If you do not have a good working knowledge of the rules, completing the online course in advance would greatly enhance your enjoyment and ability to understand the information presented in “Strategy & Tactics”.
I you avail yourself of these learning resources, I would be very interested in your feedback. Please see free to contact me:
Peter Haynes
peterhaynes201@gmail.com