Match racing returns

Bryce Alderton

Today marks the start of a four-day sailing competition off the

waters of Newport Pier that continues to attract some of the top

sailors and teams from the United States.

Teams from 10 of the nation’s most prestigious yacht clubs,

including Corona del Mar’s Balboa Yacht Club and Newport Harbor Yacht

Club, will sail against one another in the Pacific Life Yacht Club

Challenge Match Race Series.

Ten teams, including defending champion St. Francis Yacht Club

from San Francisco, will vie for the top spot, to be awarded after

racing concludes Sunday at event host Newport Harbor Yacht Club,

following a round-robin, double-elimination format.

Racing is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. today, with an expected 50

to 60 head-to-head matches expected to take place in the next four

days, spokesman and Newport Harbor Yacht Club member Jeff Solsby

said.

Teams practiced Wednesday in gusts that reached 20 knots, Solsby

said.

The regatta, which began in 1984 and, until last year was called

the United States Yacht Club Challenge, also includes teams from:

California Yacht Club in Marina Del Rey; Bayview Yacht Club in

Detroit; Rochester Yacht Club in Rochester, N.Y.; San Diego Yacht

Club from San Diego; San Francisco Yacht Club from Belvedere, Calif.;

Houston Yacht Club from Houston; and Southern Yacht Club from New

Orleans.

Balboa Yacht Club won the title in 2003.

Sailors will race using one-design Catalina 37 sloops, designed

for competitive team and match racing specifically in Southern

California waters.

Teams were chosen to participate for their record of achievement

in racing, leadership in the yachting community, race management and

junior sailing.

Match racing, in which two teams race against one another around a

buoyed course, is most prominently used in top international regattas

including the America’s Cup, and in the Eastern United States, but is

gaining a larger foothold in Southern California.

Each team will compete against one another a minimum of two times.

Spectator boats are available by calling (949) 723-6869. For more

information, visit www.nhyc.org.

In addition to spectator boats, briefings about match racing will

be available to the public, competitors, friends, family and

supporters of the event and its participants.

This competition marks the start of a busy spring and summer of

sailing in the area that will include the annual Newport to Ensenada

race April 22-24 along with the First Team Real Estate Invitational

Regatta, benefiting Hoag Hospital, scheduled May 20-22.