erie open regatta

the Erie Open Regatta is coming up in a few weeks – June 5th and 6th at Erie Yacht Club in Erie, PA.

This Sunfish regatta may not be a District Championship or a World Qualifier, but come sail anyway at one of the nicest venues on the Great Lakes!

official notice of race is here.

ISCA 50th World Championship Postponed

update from the latest copy of the Sunfish class newsletter, the Windward Leg:

The 2020 ISCA World Championship sponsored by Maclaren, scheduled for October to be held in Sarasota, FL, USA, has been postponed until the spring of 2021. The resolution of the COVID-19 pandemic that the Class was hoping for has yet to materialize and restrictions on international travel in place are unlikely to change in time. As such, ISCA President Rich Chapman (USA) and ISCA Vice President Guillermo Cappelleti (Peru), in conjunction with the host Sarasota Sailing Squadron, recommended to the ISCA World Council that the Championship be postponed. This recommendation was approved unanimously by 16 members of the World Council, and Sarasota Sailing Squadron has agreed to host the 50^thSunfish Worlds during either late April or May 2021. The committee previously organizing the 2021 Worlds for Lake Garda, Italy, has agreed to delay their event until 2022.

“Although this was a difficult decision to make, it was clearly the right action to take. We are looking at our 50^th World Championship to be a very special event and that will require lead times and detailed planning that are impossible at this time. Fortunately, our sponsor, Maclaren, has agreed to carry over to 2021 and LaserPerformance again will provide boats for the Championship,” explained Rich Chapman.

Cindy Clifton, event chairman for the Sarasota Sailing Squadron, noted, “We were looking forward to hosting the 50^th Sunfish Worlds this October, but the pandemic-related barriers facing all regattas in today’s environment made this an easy decision to make. We look forward to hosting the 50^th Sunfish Worlds next spring at The Squadron.”

For more information, contact Sunfish Class Administrator Ed “Buttons” Padin at sunfishoff (at) gmail.com.

sunfish worlds 2019: bonaire – promo video

ok, I’m sold. somebody book me a ticket.  I’ll just go and watch the racing and enjoy a week or two on the beach.

I don’t even know the racing rules of sailing, but the small island of Bonaire looks amazing.

normally, you have to qualify to race in a Worlds event, but they have opened the registration to any Sunfish Class member:

An Amendment 2 to the NoR has just been posted accelerating the date for open registrations from August 1 to July 15. That means that starting on July 16 anyone interested in being part of this epic regatta in Bonaire can register. We will cap the fleet at 72 boats and there are currently 57 entries.

the official notice of race can be found here (NOR, .pdf file).  additional information can be found at the Sunfish Worlds website.

the 2011 Sunfish Worlds were held on the nearby island of Curacao – which also looks amazing.  I’m sure Bonaire will be similar.

1970’s Sunfish sailing comic

I found this great sailing comic posted on Shoreline Sailboats’ Instagram account:

1971-1973 AMF Alcort Sunfish comic book was a 12 page comic highlighting the AMF line of sailboats along with sailing pointers and selling points.

Cypress Gardens Sunfish Regatta

a great video showing off an old Sunfish regatta.

h/t: Small Boat Restoration posted this on the Sunfish Forum.

2017 Sunfish North Americans

the Sunfish Class has posted the NOR and information about the 2017 Sunfish North American Championship: this year it will be hosted by the Sayville Yacht Club in Blue Point, New York.

Sayville YC (photo via SYC website)

there are additional details, NOR, and registration information at the following:

2017 Sunfish Youth NA’s  [6/25 to 6/27]

2017 Sunfish NA’s  [6/28 to 7/1]

Sayville Yacht Club is pretty close to the Wet Pants Sailing Association, so I’m sure Sunfish sailors from WPSA will be there in full force.