Please select your home edition
Edition
Henri-Lloyd Dynamic Range

An interview with Duane Guidry about the 2019 Harvest Moon Regatta

by David Schmidt 8 Oct 2019 08:00 PDT October 10-13, 2019
Racecourse action at the 2018 Harvest Moon Regatta © Harvest Moon Regatta/Lakewood Yacht Club

Yacht clubs play many important roles in American sailing including providing an institutional-level push to encourage members and local sailors to use and enjoy their boats more. This, in fact, was the rally cry that sounded in 1987 at the Lakewood Yacht Club, in Seabrook, Texas, beginning first with a rum-fueled conversation that-come the sober light of morning (and after many follow-up meetings)-still sounded like a grand idea involving October winds, great offshore conditions, and a chance to take the fleet out of sight of land for a final airing before the start of the northerlies that historically roil the Gulf of Mexico during winter months.

The result was the Harvest Moon Regatta (established 1987), a 150-mile offshore contest that begins off of Galveston, Texas, and takes the fleet on a tour of Gulf of Mexico buoys before finishing off of Port Aransas, Texas. The Harvest Moon Regatta is open to cruising boats, multihulls, PHRF handicap classes (which will be scored on a time-on-time basis), and the performance-orientated Bacardi Fleet (which will be scored on the ORC Club Offshore time-on-time scoring).

While the inaugural event attracted 17 competing boats, more recent years have seen fleets exceeding 260 boats. A glance at this year’s scratch sheet reveals boats ranging from go-fast monohulls like J/120s, J/109s and J/105s, to lickety-split F27 and F31 trimarans, to venerable cruisers such as a Morgan 46 and an Island Packet 38, to comfortable catamarans such as a Leopard 44 and a Maine Cat 38.

I checked in with Duane Guidry, regatta chair of the 2019 Harvest Moon Regatta (October 10-13), via email, to learn more about this now-classic Southern Coast fall challenge.

Can you explain the race’s culture to the uninitiated?

Harvest Moon Regatta is in its 33rd year as an offshore race with something for everyone, from a first-time offshore sailor to a world class offshore racer, topped off with a big Bacardi Rum party.

Can you describe the levels of competition that sailors can expect to find, once the starting guns begin sounding?

We have cruising sailors with no spinnaker who will fish as they sail, and we have serious racers with large spinnakers who will change sails multiple times through the night. The prestigious Bacardi Cup will go to a serious racer using the ORC handicapping system while the coveted Cameron Cannon will go to a cruising sailor.

Can you give us a 35,000’ overview of the racecourse? Also, do any spots typically give navigators pause for concern?

The race starts off the coast of Galveston, follows the Coastal Bend of Texas in a generally SSW direction, leaving the Freeport and Matagorda channels to starboard, and finishes at the Port Aransas channel.

The most significant navigational challenges involve offshore structures that can be poorly marked, especially at night. The finish inside the Port Aransas channel has been challenging in previous years with foul current, head winds or light air, and commercial traffic, but the finish line is being moved offshore to alleviate these issues.

Conditions-wise, what’s typical for this regatta? Also, what are the best-case and worst-case scenarios?

It has always been said that gentlemen don’t go to weather and the Harvest Moon Regatta has been hyped as a gentleman’s race, but wind on the nose is not unheard of. A nice “reach down the beach” makes for fun cruising but when the wind blows straight up the rumbline boats have to tack back and forth to make forward progress, the race can drag into the wee hours of Saturday morning and slower boats may not make the noon Saturday deadline.

Do you have any advice or insider tips that you’d like to share with first-time racers? What about returning racecourse veterans?

It is a great venue since there will always be another competitor nearby, and a safety day helps newbies learn about offshore sailing…it is a program worth attending even if you never go offshore overnight…and even if you have attended one already; many veterans return year after year to the safety day because they know they will always pick up new info.

Can you tell us about any steps that you and the other event organizers have taken in the last couple years to help green-up the regatta or otherwise lower its environmental wake?

Harvest Moon Regatta has participated in the Sailors for the Sea “Clean Regatta” program for a number of years, and [we] continue to provide reusable lidded tumblers to reduce or eliminate the use of disposable water bottles.

Related Articles

Foiling Frenzy at Fraglia Vela Malcesine
The Moth Worlds at Lake Garda are something else! The Moth Worlds at Lake Garda are something else! Regardless of where sailors are in their careers, or the reputation they have, everyone wants to be there and have a tilt at the title. Posted on 7 Jul
The oldest video footage of Moth sailing
A look back into our video archive, to when the name of this class first settled down We delve into our video archive to find the oldest possible videos that show Moth racing. Are these International Moths, British Moths... or was the name still Olive, Inverloch 11ft, National Moth or Brent One-Design?! Posted on 6 Jul
The power of tech
What is the cost of safety? How do you measure it? More importantly, how do you appreciate it? What is the cost of safety? How do you measure it? More importantly, how do you appreciate it? Posted on 2 Jul
Some thoughts on provisioning for distance sailing
A new perspective on provisioning and time spent at sea One of the great joys of distance racing unfurls the moment that the dock lines are untied. Suddenly, the myriad packing lists that inevitably define most trip-planning efforts become about as relevant as a tax return from eight years ago. Posted on 1 Jul
Bill Guilfoyle on the 2025 Transpacific Yacht Race
Bill Guilfoyle discusses the 2025 Transpacific Yacht Race When it comes to offshore sailing in the United States, the biennial Transpacific Yacht Race reigns supreme for its distance and promise of off-the-breeze sailing angles. Posted on 1 Jul
Jazz Turner completes Project FEAR
Drama right to the end in her non-stop, solo, unassisted navigation of the British Isles Jazz Turner has completed Project FEAR, her non-stop, solo, unassisted navigation of the British Isles in her Albin 27 yacht. A flotilla of supporters met her in Seaford Bay, which grew and grew the closer they came to Brighton Marina. Posted on 1 Jul
One thing. One big, very fast boat
One thing that opened the door, another made us enquire some more - 50 knots! Yes. It was one thing that opened the door, as it were. One thing that piqued the curiosity enough to go, ‘I'll take a look at that!' One thing that when you're trying to crack in excess of 50 knots... Posted on 30 Jun
A brief history of marine instrument networks
Hugh Agnew has been involved since the outset, and continues to develop at the cutting edge One man who has been involved since the outset, and continues to develop at the cutting edge, is Hugh Agnew, the Cambridge-educated mathematician who is one of the founders of A+T Instruments in Lymington, so I spoke to him to find out more... Posted on 25 Jun
Harald Findlay on the 2025 Edgartown Race Weekend
A Q&A with Harald Findlay on the 2025 Edgartown Race Weekend When it comes to racing sailboats on the East Coast of the United States in the summer months, few places are as classic as the waters surrounding Martha's Vineyard's northwestern flank. Posted on 18 Jun
Sailing and the summer solstice
Celebrating sailing and the longest day of the year If you love long evenings and early mornings, this is one of the best times of the whole year, as the summer solstice (Friday, June 20) and the entire rich expanse of summer are about to burst into bloom. Posted on 17 Jun
Palm Beach Motor YachtsRooster 2025Cyclops Marine 2023 November - FOOTER