2023 Fishing Bay Yacht Club Annual One Design Regatta

August 01st, 2023

After a 20 year multihull hiatus at the Fishing Bay Yacht Club Annual One Design Regatta, the Mid-Atlantic Wētā Fleet started a new trend. On July 22-23, nine Wētās swarmed Deltaville Virginia bringing along our Isotope Catamaran friends from Carolina Sailing Club. Two multihull fleets and seven monohull fleets rounded out the 101 registered boats.

Fishing Bay Yacht Club is the home of two Virginia Wētā sailors, Stuart Burnett and Jim Morrison. A group of North Carolina Wētās decided to make the trek to the Chesapeake to meet them for the first time and go from the Piankatank River to the pool after sailing.

On Friday, after rigging, many of the sailors headed to the local oyster bar for a variety of raw, steamed or fried seafood along with some local libations and live music. As the sun set, the temperature cooled down on the deck overlooking the water and made for an enjoyable evening to socialize.

All weekend FBYC had a volunteer in the beach launching area taking every dolly up to keep things moving. “Operation Launch”: get your boat in the water, volunteer takes dolly up while you hop on and sail away and the next boat goes in the water. This worked like clockwork!

After a 45 minute sail, boats made it out to the course to check in for racing. The day began with winds around 10 knots and a two foot chop. Four long races were completed with Alan Taylor winning them all except race two. With a big lead in that race, Taylor decided to do another lap before finally crossing the finish line after the entire fleet had finished. Guess he was having too much fun sailing! Jim Thompson from Asheville Sailing Association was having a great day with a 2nd and 1st in the first two races while Stuart Burnett was consistent with mostly 3rd's across the board. Someone get Waldo an alarm clock. “Where’s Waldo” could be heard multiple times. After making an appearance, he finished 2nd in his best race of the day. Tropical Green can still move! Bruce Koch and Chuck Carroll had fun battling for fourth place with Koch winning the tiebreaker.

After racing, many of the sailors jumped in the pool to cool off and socialize with other fleets. As the dinner bell rang, it was time to dry off and enjoy the regatta dinner. Although, some opted to stay in the cool pool awhile longer. Can’t blame them!

On Sunday, light wind was seen across the Piankatank. Sailors launched early to ensure there was enough time for all the boats to get to the race course. Less than an hour before the first warning, AP was posted on shore. Some of the Wētā sailors stayed out for a few hours and practiced their light air sailing until the Piankatank looked like glass and racing was cancelled for the day.

Congratulations to our top finishers!

1st - Alan Taylor, Greensboro NC

2nd - Jim Thompson, Hendersonville NC

3rd - Stuart Burnett, New Kent VA

As the first trimaran fleet to ever race in the 84 years of this regatta, Wetas made a positive impression and plan to return for more fun!

By Stephanie Taylor

Complete results can be found here: https://www.regattanetwork.com/clubmgmt/applet_regatta_results.php?regatta_id=25919

Photos by Paul Almany and Bob Waldrop: https://www.fbyc.net/events/2023/230722-onedesign-84th-annual-one-design-regatta/20230722-attachment/

Photos by Jon Deutsch: https://www.fbyc.net/events/2023/230722-onedesign-84th-annual-one-design-regatta/20230722-pictures-jon-deutsch/