June is proving to be a top tier month in the sport of sailing in Marblehead with a world championship, the return of the PHRF New England Championship, the Thayer Cup and more to fill the sailing calendar, not to mention the ongoing summer Marblehead Racing Association weekend and week day evening races.
The PHRF New England’s begins this Friday, June 12, and Saturday, June 13, and will revive a regatta that was always a town favorite. Hosted by the Boston Yacht Club, the New England Championship will feature over 30 boats on the starting line. Both fully crewed and double-handed divisions will compete. A favorite of this event will be a pursuit race which also adds real drama: fast boats start last and chase down the slower ones, and it gets thrilling when the fleet converges at the finish.
While the event is new to many boats, Marblehead knows how to run an exciting race — and how to throw an excellent after-race party, with drink sponsors, food and a band.
“The PHRF New Englands have brought back this momentous event and we are off to a good start,” said Bump Wilcox of New Wave Yachts, one of the event organizers. “Marblehead once again the site of a great sailing event.”
The event is open to sailors and non-sailors alike with tickets that include a meal and live music for $50 at the door.
Also on the calendar this coming weekend of June 12-14, the Corinthian Yacht Club will host the National Women’s Invitational Team Race for The Thayer Trophy. This is the U.S.’ only 3v3 women’s team racing event in keel boats with spinnakers, a format that requires exceptional boat handling and split-second decision making.
The Corinthian Yacht Club will host a field of outstanding field of women sailors representing yacht clubs and sailing associations that include the Chesapeake Bay Yacht Racing Association, Corinthian Yacht Club, Eastern Yacht Club, Newport Harbor Yacht Club, New York Yacht Club and Sewanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club.
From June 13-19, the Eastern Yacht Club will be hosting the International One Design Worlds champion regatta. Five past IOD world champions, including Marblehead racer Bill Widnall (10x world champion) and defending world champion John Burnham (5x world champion) headline the 12-team field. Marblehead has a second team in the field, helmed by Carolyn Corbet — she leads a team of Northeastern Sailing alumni, and they will try their best to outsail their former coach. Teams from Bermuda, Sweden, Canada, Maine and Nantucket round out the field.
The International One Design sloop has been a central figure in Marblehead one-design racing since 1938. These beautiful boats have never fallen out of favor. In breezes heavy or light, you can count on almost perfect attendance from the IODs, every week of the racing season. The class endures in part because it has one of the strongest one-design rules in keelboat racing.
The Eastern Yacht Club will run the racing, which will take place from Sunday through Friday just off Marblehead Neck.
Also, summer sailing is underway with the following ongoing events that include Marblehead Racing Association Weekend Series: Every weekend (Saturdays) through September 19. Also, the Marblehead Town Class Association Series features spirited town class racing with Thursday Twilight Series and Sunday Morning Series running throughout the summer. And the Eastern Yacht Club hosts Friday Pursuit Races beginning June 19 offering a fun, staggered-start format for local sailors.
Greg Mancusi Ungaro contributed to this report.
