Del Rey Yacht Club sent a team to the Musto International Youth Match Racing Championships at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia from November 27 to December 1. Skipper Sydney Gathrid was accompanied by mainsail trimmer Chris Wise, spinnaker trimmer Dylan Finestone, bowman Alex Burrow, and Finn Neimeier of Darwin, Northern Territory as float.

The grade 2 event fielded the who's who of youth match racing, with top ranked professional sailors in contention. Teams came from various parts of Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Sweden, The Netherlands, Japan, and the USA. DRYC sailors battled various conditions, with breeze ranging from five to twenty-five knots on the challenging chop and wind shifts of Sydney Harbor. The DRYC team finished tenth out of fifteen in a challenging international field.

This was a major step for the DRYC Junior Sailing Program. After promising showings at match race events such as the Governor's Cup and Ficker Cup, taking strides in the international youth match racing circuit shows the commitment and depth of the DRYC team. The Club is looking forward to more international events in the future.  

The Optimist team had a great weekend at the Carrie Series #3 at CBYC. With some unexpected wind on Saturday and beautiful conditions all weekend the kids had a blast! Thank you to CBYC for hosting a great event!

Sidney Gathrid and Richard Rychlik take 4th at the 4th Shadden at ABYC, which put them in 4th overall in the series. We had some great conditions on Saturday with some heavy rain and winds on Sunday. Everyone on the team had a fantastic time at the event.

Santa Monica High School had a great weekend competing in the Golden Bear Regatta hosted by Treasure Island Sailing Center. First day was tough sailing conditions, with more current than consistent breeze. Then the bay turned it up with some great wind and beautiful conditions on the second day. Thank you to the race committee for running a great regatta, even without optimal breeze. 

DRYC will be hosting the 2017 Opti Midwinter Regatta this weekend. We hope to see you all here!

DRYC will now be continuing its morning FJ Class into the afternoon. Contact the Junior Room for details! 

By Michael Hanson

TREASURE ISLAND SAILING CENTER – Fifty-nine high school sailing teams gathered at the Treasure Island Sailing Center in San Francisco this weekend to compete in the Golden Bear Regatta. Teams were divided into gold and silver fleets, and throughout the weekend, forty races were sailed to determine the winners of each fleet.

In gold fleet, Newport Harbor High School came away with the victory. In silver fleet, Marina Del Rey locals from Windward High School won their second event of the year. Senior skipper William Line and crews Isabel Kibreab and Ben Meyer won A division with 48 points. Yet it was the late-day heroics of Freshman skipper Elan Molko, with the help of crews Ezra Park and Andie Munoz, that sealed the deal for the Wildcats.

Molko had been putting a respectable event together, sailing consistently in the top ten to keep the Wildcats in the hunt. Yet the B Division team saved their best races for last, and as Molko and Park put up a second place in the second-to last race of the event, the Windward team pulled in to first place by a single point. It was then up to Molko and Park to defend their lead, which they executed in brilliant fashion as they pulled a horizon-job on the last race, beating the second place boat by fifty seconds.

The Windward competitors showed their grit this weekend. They demonstrated the team-oriented aspect of high school sailing. The ultimate value of high school sailing is to get as many kids involved as possible. With everyone contributing and doing their part, it puts the team in a position to succeed.

The next PCISA event is the Gaucho Regatta in Santa Barbara on March 12 – 13. Look for the Wildcats to return to the race course, hungrier than ever to put their skills to the test.

Results Here: http://scores.hssailing.org/s16/pcisa-golden-bear-silver/

By Michael Hanson

DEL REY YACHT CLUB – Seventy-four Optimist Dinghy sailors gathered for the Stephen M. Pitts Memorial Regatta at Del Rey Yacht Club last weekend, February 6th and 7th. The event acted as the fourth installment of the 2015/2016 SCYYRA Carrie Series, as well as the SCYA Midwinter Regatta for the Optimist Class.

On Saturday, sailors were greeted with light, shifty breeze, starting at a Southerly direction in the morning, and shifting to the West and North West throughout the day. Three races were completed in the forty-boat Championship Fleet and five races were completed in thirty-three-boat Green Fleet.  After racing, sailors and parents enjoyed reggae music and a barbecue served by DRYC member volunteers.

On Sunday, sailors were again greeted with light breeze, ranging from the South to West directions. On the Championship Fleet course, one race was completed in light to variable conditions. On the Green Fleet course, three additional races were completed in similar winds.

This year’s event marks the largest turnout DRYC has ever had for the Stephen M. Pitts Memorial Regatta. Special thanks to all the volunteers, parents, coaches, and especially sailors who made this event so much fun for everyone involved.

Results Here: http://www.regattanetwork.com/clubmgmt/applet_regatta_results.php?regatta_id=11699&preview=1

By Michael Hanson

Sailors were greeted with fifteen knots and rain Sunday morning as they gathered at Santa Monica Windjammers Yacht Club for the 2016 Superbowl Charity Regatta. Due to high winds, Green Fleet Optimists were cancelled, and Championship Fleet sailors waited ashore for the race course to be set. Due to a Southerly breeze, the race committee set a course in the middle of Marina Del Rey with a start line just West of Burton Chase Park.

By the time the course was set, gusts were up to twenty five knots. When the call was made to launch, sailors braved the high winds and shoved off. Even though many were quickly overwhelmed by the adverse weather, sailors faced their fears and learned to cope with the conditions. Though only four sailors were able to make the first start, everyone who made it off the dock learned a valuable lesson. Even when the winds are strong and the skies are gray, it is pivotal to give it a try. The only way to find the Edge is to occasionally topple over. 

The Super Bowl Regatta will resume on Sunday, February 13th. The awards and raffle banquet will be at 4:00 PM in the Santa Monica Windjammers Yacht Club clubhouse with warm food and lots of prizes.

If you picked up an entry package with a raffle ticket or purchased tickets for the regular raffle or the blue tickets for the sails raffle, bring them with you to the banquet, send them with a friend or let the event staff know your numbers and color of ticket at superbowl@smwyc.org .  

SANTA MONICA BAY WINDJAMMERS YACHT CLUB - On Saturday, January 31st, 2016, sailors from around Marina Del Rey will participate in the Annual Super Bowl Regatta. This unique event offers dinghy racing in both youth and senior classes. An ocean course will be provided for Lasers, Championship Optimists, CFJ's, C420's, while the Lido 14's, C 15's, Classic Snipes and Optimist Green Fleet will sail inside the harbor. Feel free to come down and support some local racing. Both parents and kids are welcome. All proceeds are donated to charity.

Event Website: here