2021 Ullman Sails Long Beach Race Week on hold until June 2022

Long Beach Race Week © Tom Walker

Alamitos Bay Yacht Club and Long Beach Yacht Club have announced the 2021 Ullman Sails Long Beach Race Week (LBRW) has been canceled.

City-wide pandemic restrictions have prompted the decision, according to event Co-Chair Steve Mueller, including constraints on dock space and parking lot permits which would limit participation of several classes of boats.

"If we are forced to eliminate a lot of our competitive classes, and can't have our traditional parties, it just won't be Long Beach Race Week!" Mueller added. "As we cannot run it in the fashion it deserves, and history demands, we regrettably have decided to cancel."

LBRW has a reputation for combining top notch, expertly run competition alongside lively, nightly parties which rotate between hosts LBYC and ABYC. Rivalries and racing aside, "fun" is the key ingredient in the 40-year success of LBRW, as it turns Alamitos Bay into a gathering place for old and new friends alike.

Each year the regatta draws more than 100 teams from the West Coast of the US, Canada and Mexico, and beyond. Three days of windward/leeward and random leg races, in both one-design and PHRF fleets, tap race management pros from ABYC, LBYC and other area yacht clubs, to run courses known for excitement and professionalism. And Long Beach' "classic conditions" guarantee a challenging breeze and venue for premier racing.

LBRW 2020 was canceled in April 2020 as the pandemic was ramping up, with high hopes of returning in 2021. Last run in 2019, the regatta saw winds grazing 20 knots and testing conditions. In that event, Bruce Golison's J/70 Midlife Crisis won the Satariano Boat of the Week trophy, while PHRF Boat of the Week went to Gator, skippered by Long Beach sailor Todd Wheatley, who has since passed. The Ely family and Elyxir received the Kent Golison Family Trophy for the second year in a row, and Aussie Airwaves won the Travel Trophy for venturing the furthest to compete.

LBRW is frequently a platform for national and regional championships, including the Schock 35 Pacific Coast Championship, which was won by Code Blue. And the thrilling battle for the Catalina 37 National Championship is a mainstay of LBRW. In 2019 LBYC's Team DH3 recaptured the title for the fifth time in nine years, while ABYC triumphed in the Yacht Club Challenge. But competitors will have to wait another year to defend their titles, or knock their rivals off the podium, as LBRW 2022 is slated to return June 24 to 26, 2022.

Ullman Sails Long Beach Race Week is a collaboration between ABYC and LBYC: Co-Chairs of the 2022 event are Dan DeLave and John Busch, respectively.

"We'll see you in 2022!" Mueller declared, noting the June 24 to 26, 2022 dates, and promised to make up for lost time, saying, "It will be three times the fun!"

For more information visit www.lbrw.org.