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OPCYC Racing Program
The OPCYC Sailboat Racing Program is called the "Yankee Station Regatta" and consists of a spring, summer and fall series of six races each, conducted under PHRF handicap rules. The races are normally held on alternate Saturdays in the Chesapeake Bay off Buckroe Beach.
The first few races of the spring series and the last few races of the fall season will be held in the Hampton Flats south of Hampton. This lets us avoid the worst of the seasonal weather in the Bay. In the early spring, we hold free Racing Rules and Sail Trim seminars. These are good courses to start learning about racing or to refresh your memory from last season.
The Racing Rules seminar is a great place to ask about something that happened last season that you were unsure about. We encourage racers of all experience levels to participate in these courses. Unlike some other racing series in the Bay, this is "friendly" racing and we encourage sailors of all racing experience to participate. For some of us, the Yankee Station Regatta was our first exposure to organized sailboat racing and gave us the opportunity to learn along the way. That's not to say the racing isn't competitive because it is, but we all realize this isn't qualifying us for a national title. If you don't have a PHRF rating, we'll give you a courtesy rating and show you how to get an official rating.
If you don't own a sailboat, we always have a few skippers who need, and would welcome extra crew. Most of them have raced for some time and will be willing to teach as you crew with them. If you have a boat, but are concerned about your "first" race, we'll arrange for one of our experienced racers to crew with you for your first race or two.
We support all three classes of racing (Spinnaker, Non-Spinnaker and Cruising). Most of our racers race in Non-Spinnaker and Cruising class. Cruising class is for folks who own true cruising sailboats and for beginners who want to get a feel for racing before moving on. Unlike other clubs, in OPCYC's Cruising class, we give a handicap credit for certain cruising amenities so you don't have to strip down your boat to race with us; it's a great way to start racing. We had several new boats start racing in the Cruising class last year and hope more try it this year.
In each series, we count your best three scores towards the series total, so you don't have to race every race in a series to compete well. If you can race more than that, we give a small credit which encourages regular participation, but doesn't significantly change the series results. Race three times in all three series and you compete for our annual awards. While our racing is competitive, we're all out there to have fun. We use various courses based on wind strength and direction. Optimally, the races last approximately two hours, so these aren't all-day affairs.
After the race, many of us gather in the club house to determine the race results and toast the winners. For those of you who can't make the post race event, we'll put the results on the OPCYC web site.
In addition to our regular races, we count several other races in our series. We host the 'Round the Lights Race in the fall. This race starts and ends in Mill Creek by our marina. The object is to sail around both Thimble Shoals lighthouse and Middle Ground lighthouse. You pick which direction based on wind and current. This is a fun race which forces everyone to do a little "preplanning" and hope the wind stays as forecast once the race starts. We also co-sponsor the Southern Bay Race Week in the late spring. This is a three-day series which involves racers from all yacht clubs in the southern Bay. Both of these events are sanctioned by the Chesapeake Bay Yacht Racing Association.
Our biggest event of the year is the Tri-Service Cup which is a competition between the yacht clubs from Ft. Monroe, Langley AFB, and Norfolk Naval Base. This race has been run for many years and Ft Monroe has won the "Old Silver Mug" for the last thirteen years.
Lastly, for those who just can't get enough, we co-host the New Years Madness Race with Hampton Yacht Club - it's great way to begin the new year. Our club normally does well in the larger races and this is a direct result of our Yankee Series races and the experience it gives us in racing. However, we need to continue attract new racers and will do everything we can to help you if you are interested in trying the sport.
If you are interested in racing with us or have questions about starting racing, please contact one of us:
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