Ahmanson Cup is all about fun

NEWPORT BEACH — The annual Newport Harbor Yacht Club, Ahmanson Cup will return to the bay, Sept. 20 to 21.

The cup has long been a staple on the Southern California yachting calendar for decades. Usually entertaining a spectrum of grand yachts such as  Roy Disney’s 68 foot, Pyewacket, spectacular TP52’s, One Design classes and racer cruisers to as small as 20 feet in length.

To enhance the 2014 regatta, several new and fun events have been added to the beloved event. According to Race Chairman Philip Thompson, there are two very unique additions to this year’s regatta. The first is The California Family Cup, which is open to any sailing family, Participants can charter one of the 12 identical Governor 21 class yachts, as used in the international youth match racing series the Governor’s Cup, crewing with three or four teammates. All crew members must be direct family with one exception allowed. One crew must be 18 years old younger; if you do not have a child of this age in your family you are allowed to tap into any child of this age group.

The second item is a Cruising Class, for the “not so serious” sailor, who owns a cruising yacht and usually circles to Catalina Island and back. The intent is to load all their friends on board and have a great time. It will be like the super popular “beer can” type races but in the ocean. No spinnakers are allowed and the courses will not be complicated.

PHRF racers will have a choice of course type so they can match to what they prefer.

The exciting new J70 class is having their West Coast Championships as part of the regatta. With the 2015 North American championships recently being awarded to San Diego, local J70 sailors will likely be looking to get some regatta practice in.

Racing area is primarily off the Newport Beach pier area. Registration can be found at the Newport Harbor Yacht Club website, NHYC.org.

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