Great Lakes Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta heads to Chicago
by Morgan Kinney on 11 Apr 2015
2015 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta Stan Mehaffey
Columbia Yacht Club will host the inaugural Great Lakes Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta September 26-27, 2015. The Chicago Tartan 10 Fleet first approached Columbia in the fall of 2014 with the idea of hosting this event following the success of the Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta in New York. The announcement was made at the Midwest Collegiate Sailing Association’s Midwinters Meeting in January, and teams have been clamoring for the opportunity to register ever since.
The GLIOR will host 14 college teams aboard Chicago’s largest and, arguably, most competitive fleet - the T-10s. Teams are not required to have keelboat experience, and will have the opportunity to practice on the boats on the Friday before racing. The boat owner and a crew representative will be present onboard while racing in case of emergency.
“We are failing our youth sailors. After racing dinghies in college, graduates have no direct outlet into the world of keelboat racing,” expressed Steve Karstrand, Chicago T-10 Fleet Captain. “It is our hope that events like this will provide students with the confidence to go out with the offshore boats.”
“College sailing has historically been a very narrow field of double-handed racing. Teams are really looking forward to something different in their racing schedule this fall,” voiced Jacob Bruce, Regatta Chairman of the MCSA.
Racing on Saturday and Sunday will conform to true-college fashion – run as many races as possible within the time limits. Racing on Sunday will conclude by 1:00 P.M. to allow teams enough time to travel back to their schools before class on Monday.
College teams will not pay any fees to participate in this event. Karstrand explained, “This event is for the students. The T-10 owners just want these kids to race and have fun. We hope that more fleets will join us for this event in the future.”
Columbia Yacht Club is excited to partner with the Chicago T-10 Fleet and have Line Honors Yacht Racing Outfitters as a sponsor for this event. “This event is just going to explode and attract teams from all over the country. We’re happy to be joining the event from the start,” exclaimed Bob Hillier, owner of Line Honors.
For more information on and to request an invitation to the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta, please visit the
website. Interested sponsors may contact Offshore Manager Morgan Kinney at morgan@colyc.org.
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