Bushwhacker Cup Adds Melges 24 Gulf Coast Championship

Entries are now open for two major Fall regattas in Pensacola, Florida… the WFORC (now the West Florida Open Race Challenge) October 15-17 and the Melges 24 Bushwhacker Cup/Atlantic Coast Championship November 12-14. Pensacola Yacht Club has posted NOR/SI’s and other regatta information on www.yachtscoring.com and on www.pensacolayachtclub.org/Racing.

Bora Gulari [USA820] with his crew of Kyle Navin, Norman Berge, Ian Liberty and American Magic’s CEO/Skipper Terry Hutchinson took second in the inaugural Bushwhacker Cup with a 4-5-1-2-2 record.
Pensacola YC's annual Melges 24 Bushwhacker Cup and Atlantic Coast Championship returns to Pensacola November 12-14. The 2021 regatta in Pensacola is the final event in the Melges 24 National Ranking Series. ©Talbot Wilson

Bruce Ayres’ Monsoon [USA 825] with crew Brian Porter, George Peet, Chelsesa Simms and America's Cup challenger Stars+Stripes USA CEO/skipper Mike Buckley won the inaugural Bushwhacker Cup with scores of 2-1-2-5-1 for 11 points. Pensacola YC's annual Melges 24 Bushwhacker Cup and Atlantic Coast Championship returns to Pensacola November 12-14. The 2021 regatta in Pensacola is the final event in the Melges 24 National Ranking Series. ©Talbot Wilson

Pensacola, FL Sept. 27, 2021: It’s Back. Last year the combined Melges 24 Gulf Coast and Atlantic Coast Championships were sailed on Mobile Bay because the Pensacola YC marina had been damaged by Hurricane Sally. The Annual Bushwhacker Cup is back on track for November 2021… The Race is On!

The 2021 Melges 24 Gulf Coast Championship previously planned for Southern Yacht Club this time was scheduled for the same weekend as the postponement date already published for the 100th Anniversary Gulf Yachting Association Lipton Cup Regatta and celebration.

Pensacola Yacht Club is adding the Melges 24 Gulf Coast Championship back to the Annual Bushwhacker Cup November 12-14. Once again the Bushwhacker Cup includes both the Atlantic Coast and the Gulf Coast Regional Championships. And it is the 10th and final event of the US Melges 24 Class National Ranking Series.

All National and International Melges 24’s are invited to Pensacola for excellent racing and hospitality, including some free Bushwhackers. Come to Pensacola for excellent Melges 24 racing in the annual Bushwhacker Cup including the Atlantic Coast Championship. Practice racing and a dockside clinic will be offered on November 12th.

Ten (10) races are scheduled for the regatta. The RC will attempt to complete five (5) races per day.

Registration for the combined events will be on Yacht Scoring. https://yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=14722
November 12 - Registration, Practice racing & sponsored class clinic/party
November 13 – Five races scheduled & Party
November 14 – Five races scheduled & Party & Prizes

The Bushwhacker Cup also serves as Race #10 of the Melges 24 National Ranking Series.

Pensacola YC will provide a month's free trailer parking through to the Bushwhacker Cup for Melges 24's also entered in the WFORC. Free trailer parking is also available for a layover before heading to South Florida for the winter series racing.

Fun and Fair Racing
Come on down to the South’s finest, friendliest Yacht Club. Enjoy a bucket of Bushwhackers, and race on the world famous waters of Pensacola Bay under the expert direction of Pensacola’s PRO Hal Smith.

Pensacola Bay is naturally protected by Santa Rosa Island to the South. The pass to the Gulf of Mexico is located to the southwest, across from the Naval Air Station Pensacola. It divides the Gulf Islands National Seashore on Santa Rosa Island from the seashore park on Perdido Key.

The Pensacola Bay racing areas are a matter of minutes from the Bayou Chico Channel and the Pensacola YC marina. That’s more racing and less transit time from the club to the courses.

In October and November, Pensacola sailors often find a daily sea breeze that builds from a mid-day southeasterly to the afternoon 12-15 southwesterly they love. In other seasons, the winds are determined by frontal passages, temperature variables, and Florida sunshine.

All sailors are invited to come sail on Pensacola Bay. Organizers of amateur regional, national or international sailing championships and professional sailing events should contact Pensacola Yacht Club to discuss racing with us on beautiful Pensacola Bay. https://www.pensacolayachtclub.org.

Pensacola Yacht Club sits on 22 acres where Bayou Chico flows into Pensacola Bay. Small boats launch from the 250 foot beach. Plenty of trailer space is available for boat storage between regattas. Pensacola YC is known as the South's Finest yacht club. Photo by Tim Ludvigsen/Pensacola Yacht Club