SCYA MIDWINTER Regatta 2013 successful

The 84th Southern California Yachting Association’s annual Midwinter Regatta was held on February 16-17, 2013 at over 20 yacht clubs throughout Southern California. From Ventura to San Diego County, over 600 entrants raced a variety of sail boat classes in support of one of the largest organized races in the United States. “The weather was a typical sunny California day with good wind so skippers and their crews of all ages turned out on the water to participate in this event. Yacht clubs from Oxnard down to San Diego Bay and stretching across to the Colorado River make this event one of the best Regattas in the nation. SCYA is very thankful for the countless hours of volunteers that support the race and those at the yacht clubs that manage individual races at their respective clubs” says Simon Dekker, SCYA Midwinter Regatta Chairmen. This year, the race was sponsored by several local businesses including Dr. Bray and the DISC Sports and Spine Center, West Marine, Boat U.S. Foundation, Vessel Assist, the Log, the Boarder Run, and the Mariner.

The largest venue was Alamitos Bay Yacht Club which hosted over 80 boats of multiple classes. The larger fleets that were represented at Alamitos Bay were the Lido 14 and Laser classes. Mission Bay Yacht Club and Newport Harbor Yacht Club hosted 69 boats each according to their respective websites. California Yacht Club and Del Rey Yacht Clubs had 42 and 38 boats respectively. Newport hosted the largest fleet of Sabots and Mission Bay hosted Snipes and Laser classes as well. PHRF fleets were supported by South Western Yacht Club, Dana West Yacht Club, Dana Point Yacht Club, Channel Islands Yacht Club and American Legion Yacht Club. Boats of all sizes from small racing dinghies to larger yachts supported by PHRF fleets had a place to kick off the 2013 racing season. Even model fleets were supported with the V-32s at Silver gate Yacht Club and a variety of model classes supported by the Helmsman Model Yacht Club who raced at El Dorado Park in Long Beach. There was a location for virtually all skippers and their crews to hone their skills for the upcoming season.

Like all Regatta’s, the struggling economy has caused a decline in entrants over the past years. In addition, venues able to support the race have had to make sacrifices in order to support the regatta. This is the third year in a row where the number of entrants has been over 600 boats. “There is no doubt that there is a correlation between boating and the economy so overall number of participants may be a sign that recreational boating, and sailing in particular, may be on the rise. SCYA is excited about the outcome of this race and looks forward to the next SCYA Midwinter Regatta in February 2014”, according to Simon Dekker. For race results select the Race Results Tab above.

Since 1921, Southern California Yachting Association has been supporting amateur, recreational and pleasure yachting from Santa Barbara to San Diego and Arizona through a forum to foster local, regional, national and international yachting competition, coordinate race schedules, activities and regattas, conduct seminars, and provide training and education on race management and safety at sea. To learn more about SCYA, please visit the website at www.scya.org.

84th Annual SCYA Midwinter Recap