Pensacola's Bushwhacker Cup a first for Chandler Self

On-the-water practice for Bushwhacker Cup © PYC Bushwhacker Cup

For Galveston girl Chandler Self, the Pensacola Yacht Club Bushwhacker Cup is her first Melges 24 regatta. She is new to the class and will be working the bow of Zane Yoder's lime green Melges< 24 Friday Night Gigolos. She is the only lady sailor on the five-person crew.

"This is my first time out, so I'm super excited to be here." Self said. "For the Gulf Coast Championship, our team has representation from all over the northern Gulf Coast. I'm from Galveston Texas, we have a guy from Mobile, one from New Orleans and from Fairhope, Alabama."

"I'm pretty new to sailing." She added. "So anytime somebody needs crew, I'm answering the call. Can I jump on your boat, what can I do? Put me in any position. I just want to go sailing."

Her skipper said he built his team out of a group of juniors that he coached out of his yacht club in Fairhope and Mobile Alabama. "But Chandler...- I found her off of Facebook on the internet. She fit the weight and had the experience. She's new to the team and we'll see how it goes."

When asked about celebrity sailors in Pensacola for this regatta Self noted again that she is pretty new to sailing. "A lot of these names, they are saying that so and so is here, the Olympic guy is here. I don't know their names but everybody is talking about them. I hear everybody talking about how awesome it is to have such a great competition. I'm super stoked to be here"

Friday was a perfect day for tuning up for Saturday's inaugural Pensacola Yacht club Bushwhacker Cup for the Atlantic and Gulf Coast Championships. Sun broke through earlier than expected and by early afternoon the morning breeze had moderated to 10-12 out of the north. The same is expected for Saturday with 5-7 on Sunday swinging to the East as the sun warms the land.

Yoder, who gave a Quantum Sails clinic after practice, served the competitors some local knowledge. "I see local knowledge for this regatta as primarily current. Wind is not so much of a factor. Coming from the north it will be shifty. But with all the inlets and the water flowing out into the gulf it's going to be a current regatta."

Melges24 racing will start for real on Saturday. The 'First Warning' will be at 1055 CST.

For more information visit website pycbushwhackercup.com, Facebook on PYCBushwhackerCup, and twitter at BushwhackerCup #bushwhackercup.

The complete entry list is at Bushwhacker Cup entries.

This is the inaugural Atlantic and Gulf Coast Championship for the Bushwhacker Cup "We want to offer a fun, competitive regatta in our fantastic venue. Pensacola Bay is perfect for Melges24 sailing," said Smith. "To that end, we invite all one-design class sailors to stage their championships here and catch the magic on Pensacola Bay. Pensacola Yacht Club is ready to shine."