Shelter Island Yacht Club Laser / C420 Regatta

BY JAMES BERGSTRO

On July 29, the Shelter Island Yacht Club welcomed more than 114 sailors to their annual JSA Invitational Regatta.

The event was open to those who sailed in LIS’s PGJSA and JSA member clubs, and sailors came to the island to participate in 15 different junior sailing programs. Some came from as close as Southold, others from Connecticut. After not hosting a regatta last summer due to the pandemic, sailors and coaches were thrilled to be racing with a large fleet on the water again.

In addition to hosting regattas, the SIYC Junior Sailing Program runs daily lessons that offer children of different ages and sailing abilities the opportunity to sail. The program allows more than 100 children each summer to improve their sailing skills and have fun spending time on the water.

As soon as the sailors arrived, the volunteers worked on the smooth running of the event. They direct traffic, unload the boats and distribute the famous SIYC regatta jerseys.

When asked, many sailors said they were returning to a regatta that they remembered enjoying in years gone by, but for some sailors it was their first time at the SIYC Laser / 420 regatta. Laser Sailor Richard Kalich was coming back for the third time and commented that he enjoyed the Shelter Island event because “there is a huge and nice fleet and I have a lot of great competitions”.

American Yacht Club regatta coach Will Clemens had participated in the regatta on several occasions. “The memories were totally fun,” he said. “I came here with all my buddies and my coaches were really fun to hang out with.”

In addition to the C420s, Laser Standards and Laser Radials, this year’s regatta also featured two other classes of boats: the Laser 4.7 and the RS Fevas. Junior Sailing Program Director Jeffrey Bresnahan chose to offer these fleets because “the addition of the 4.7 and Fevas allows younger and lighter children to sail high performance boats. The Opti is a great boat, but some kids get too big for the boat due to its size and the lack of extreme boating situations.

Unlike the 2019 SIYC Laser / 420 regatta, where the competitors were bored of the lack of wind, it was clear at the start of the day that this year would be very windy. The day started with strong winds, above 10 knots, and continued to fill up throughout the day. While Mr Bresnahan, who ran the race that day, had wanted to complete six races in order to allow the sailors to lose their worst score, the increasing winds led him to reduce the number of races for each fleet to except C420.

All three Laser fleets completed five races, while the Feva class completed only three. As in previous years, Jim Preston, a long-time SIYC member, led the safety boats and equipment breakdowns were handled safely and efficiently, with one competitor even continuing to race after replacing a broken mast and a torn sail.

In addition to the winds, the day was made more exciting by the arrival of MacGuffin, a 29-meter yacht, who entered the course while the race was underway. The race committee eventually managed to contact the yacht and a boat trainer escorted them off the course.

Shelter Island sailors took the first two places in Laser Standard, second in Laser 4.7, third and fourth place in C420, eighth place in Laser Radial and the first three places in the three-boat Feva division. Many of the island’s sailors also qualified for the JSA of LIS Championship regatta, in which the club competed on August 1 and 2.

Mr Bresnahan said he was delighted with the high level of competition and noted that “everyone was sailing at the highest level”. He also wanted to thank the Yacht Club and all the volunteers who helped make the event possible.