US Junior Olympic Sailing Festival and SailFest regatta at PYC

by Talbot Wilson on 29 Jun 2012 More than fifty young Gulf Coast sailors will sail the waves on Pensacola Bay this weekend at the 11th annual US Junior Olympic Sailing Festival and Subway® SailFest regatta.

The festivities at Pensacola Yacht Club start on Friday, June 29th with high-powered coaching clinics and conclude with the prizegiving ceremony on Sunday afternoon.

As of Thursday afternoon 40 boats have entered in six classes and event chair Kelley Amos has her hands full with late registrations and last minute details. The young sailors and their families are coming to Pensacola from cities as far away as Ft. Lauderdale, Birmingham and New Orleans.

Classes for the SailFest include Optimist dinghys, Lasers, Laser Radials, Laser 4.7’s, Club 420’s, Flying Scots and new for 2012 the festival has added the exciting Formula 16 catamarans. The Optimists will compete in the US Sailing Junior Olympic division and in the Green Fleet for beginners.

Free clinics are scheduled for all classes on Friday June 29. Julian Richards will work with the Opti kids, Nicole Buechler will instruct all Lasers and 420’s and Olympic veteran Robbie Daniel will coach the F-16 cats.

Robbie Daniel will also be the guest speaker at the regatta dinner Saturday night at Pensacola Yacht Club.
Seven races are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday on courses in Pensacola Bay south of Plaza de Luna Park. Spectators are invited.

The public is invited to come out on the bay to enjoy some spectacular racing and help PYC and these young sailors celebrate sailing.

www.pensacolayachtclub.org

11th annual US Junior Olympic Sailing Festival and Subway® SailFest regatta on the Gulf Coast are presented again this year by local SW Alabama and NW Florida Subway® restaurants. Pensacola Yacht Club in Pensacola, Florida hosts the annual festival and regatta from the clubhouse located at the mouth of Bayou Chico on Cypress Street, Pensacola.