Southland Sailing : Dinghy Skippers to Race for E.E. Manning, Other Trophies

The America’s Cup defense began today in Fremantle, Australia, but dinghy sailors in Southern California had other trophies on their minds.

Skippers of undecked dinghies up to and including 16 feet will be competing today and Sunday for the E. E. Manning Trophy. One of the oldest sailing awards in Southern California, it dates back to 1935.

The host club will be Alamitos Bay Yacht Club of Long Beach, whose skippers have won it more times than any other club.

The Manning award goes to the winning skipper in the numerically largest class. The Skimmer Trophy is awarded to the winning skipper in the second-largest class, and the Host Club Trophy, at the discretion of the race committee, goes to the most deserving individual.

Classes will be established with a minimum of five entries.

Scoring will be regatta style--three-quarters of a point for first place, two points for second, three points for third, and so on.

The event draws more than half a dozen classes, but in recent years the regatta has been dominated by the eight-foot Naples and Windward Sabots.

There will be three races today and two Sunday. Warning signal for each day will be at 11:50 a.m. Subsequent classes will start at five-minute intervals.