2022 U.S. National Championship Opens Registration, Posts NOR
(Pensacola, FL, USA – July 07, 2022) - Get ready for exciting Melges 24 racing on Pensacola Bay this fall. The Pensacola Yacht Club and the U.S. Melges 24 Class Association will bring on three fall regattas within two weeks of each other that offer M24 class one-design racing at its finest.
Come to Pensacola for the new West Florida Open Regatta Challenge (WFOrc) “SpookFest” on Halloween weekend Oct 29-30 followed 10-days later by the 2022 U.S. Melges 24 National Championship scheduled for Nov 10-13 on the club’s annual Bushwhacker Cup weekend.
Pensacola YC’s traditional Jubilee one-design class regatta on the weekend between the WFOrc and the Melges 24 Nationals may also feature Melges 24 racing based on class participation.
Registration is now open for the 2022 U.S. Melges 24 National Championship. The Notice Of Race is posted directly at Yacht Scoring at https://yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eid=15385, — and may also be accessed through links at https://usmelges24.com/2022nationals, and https://pensacolayachtclub.org/Racing.
As a warm-up, bonus, pre-nationals regatta for the Melges 24 Class, the traditional WFORC fall regatta is being reformatted and moved to the last weekend in October, Halloween. The traditional offshore event will be expanded to include an inshore sportboat circle for Melges 24, VX One and Viper classes. This will be in addition to the usual PHRF racing and to another new inshore multihull circle. The new NOR is still a work in progress.
Boat storage for Melges 24’s before, between and after the regattas is available. Contact the Pensacola YC dockmaster Greg Spitzer to reserve your space— call 850-433-8804 ext. 108 or email dockmaster@pycfl.com with your request for storage.
“The U.S. Melges 24 Class is really excited about the forthcoming Nationals at Pensacola Yacht Club this fall. It is a first-class venue with so much to offer in the way of great racing conditions, race management and shoreside activities. We always look forward to rounding out the racing season in Pensacola and this regatta will be no exception. It is the grand finale of our National Ranking Series and we anticipate crowning the overall and Corinthian 2022 Champions. Pensacola YC has always been the perfect partner in hosting Melges 24 Class events — they know we like to have a lot of fun on-the-water and off!
Pensacola Yacht Club has been home to the annual Melges 24 Bushwhacker Cup — including the Atlantic Coast and Gulf Coast regional class championships since 2019.
Race information for both the WFORC and the Bushwhacker Cup … NOR/SI’s, regatta entry, team lists and official notices… is all on respective Yacht Scoring web pages. Links to those pages are on Pensacola Yacht Club Racing.
Sailing on Pensacola Bay
Pensacola Bay and Santa Rosa Sound are 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 and divides the Gulf Islands National Seashore on Santa Rosa Island from the western park on Perdido Key.
The racing area is a matter of minutes from the Bayou Chico channel and the Pensacola YC marina. That’s close racing… more racing and less transit time.
In summer months, sailors find a daily sea breeze that builds from a mid-day southeasterly to the afternoon 12-15 knot southwesterly they love. In other seasons, the winds are determined by frontal passages, temperature variables, sunshine and other factors. Tides, one per day, are minimal, about one foot to one and a half feet.
Pensacola Bay is naturally deep with a white sand bottom. The water is clean, seasonally warm and just choppy in a breeze, but not often rough. The east-west shoreline in downtown Pensacola to the north is perfect for stadium regatta spectating.
All sailors— race or cruise— are invited to come sail on Pensacola Bay. Organizers of both amateur regional, national or international sailing championships and professional sailing events should contact Pensacola Yacht Club to discuss racing on beautiful Pensacola Bay. http://www.pensacolayachtclub.org
Pensacola Yacht Club, the South's Finest—
Pensacola Yacht Club is a championship sailing venue located on approximately 22 acres at the mouth of Bayou Chico just west of downtown Pensacola, Florida. Part of that area is approximately 250 feet of sparkling white beachfront property on Pensacola Bay adjacent to the club marina in Bayou Chico.
Pensacola YC stages local regattas throughout the year and offers a youth Summer Sailing Camp in the summer and both youth and adult sailing instruction year ‘round.
PENSACOLA YACHT CLUB
1897 Cypress Street
Pensacola, FL 32502
https://pensacolayachtclub.org/Racing
Phone: (850)433-8804
REGATTA CHAIRMAN
Tom Pace, Jr. — PYC Commodore and Regatta Chairman
Mobile: 850-572-6727
Email: tomracechair@gmail.com
PRO & PYC FLEET CAPTAIN
Hal Smith— PYC Fleet Captain & PRO
Mobile: 864-275-6290
Email: hal_smith@mindspring.com
PYC REGATTA MARKETING & PUBLICITY
Talbot Wilson— PYC Regatta Marketing & Publicity
Mobile: 850-217-7138
Email: talbot@talbotwilson.com
USM24CA SOUTHEAST DISTRICT GOVERNOR
Tony Stanley (USA-610, Hermes)
Email: tonystanley419@gmail.com
USM24CA CLASS ADMINISTRATOR
Joy Dunigan, U.S. Melges 24 Class Administrator/Communications/Marketing
Email: communications@usmelges24.com
Mobile: 912-398-5776
Racing in the Melges 24 Bushwhacker Cup in Pensacola November 2021. The annual regatta in Pensacola is the final event in the Melges 24 National Ranking Series. In 2022 it is the Melges 24 National Championship Regatta. ©Talbot Wilson
Racing in the Melges 24 Bushwhacker Cup in Pensacola November 2019. The annual regatta in Pensacola is the final event in the Melges 24 National Ranking Series. In 2022 it is the Melges 24 National Championship Regatta. ©Talbot Wilson
Racing in the Melges 24 Bushwhacker Cup in Pensacola November 2021. The annual regatta in Pensacola is the final event in the Melges 24 National Ranking Series. In 2022 it is the Melges 24 National Championship Regatta. ©Talbot Wilson
The Pensacola Bay race area is only minutes away for the Pensacola Yacht Club for more race time and less transit. The downtown location of the club is convenient to the Palafox Place entertainment zone.
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