During the last week of April at Long Beach Yacht Club, the 59th Congressional Cup delivered exciting World Championship competition under a new format with more competitors and additional knockout stages, keeping both spectators and sailors on their toes throughout the week-long event. Chris Poole won his second straight victory in back-to-back Congressional Cup appearances. Congratulations to the two Long Beach Yacht Club representatives, Scotty Dickson and Dave Hood. Dickson finished ninth after qualifying in by winning Ficker Cup, and Hood finished fifth, narrowly missing the Semifinal after going the distance with Nick Egnot-Johnson during their Quarterfinal series. Special congratulations and thanks to Chairman Tony Mansour and his Executive Committee, PRO Wendy Corzine and her Race Committee, and the many volunteers who worked tirelessly for weeks to pull it off so well.

Wet Wednesday Series kicked off with the Rules Seminar led by Kirk Brown on May 1, which was very well-attended this year by club members and sailors from around the Long Beach area. Racing began the following week on May 8 with nine classes, including two new classes this year: the J/22 class and Open Kite Foil class. The kites are an exciting new Olympic class featuring boards with hydrofoils racing around a windward/leeward course. Race Committee is gaining valuable regatta experience and learning the many differences with kites in terms of safety needs, course setup, and rule variances, with the goal of preparing for Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. On May 18-19, LBYC and ABYC jointly hosted the Steve Flam Junior Match Race Clinic, which was held in the J/22s and LBYC’s fleet of Club Solings. Thank you to Lead Coach Steve Flam, John Busch, Scotty Dickson and Dustin Durant for volunteering their time and sharing their knowledge with the junior sailors aspiring to become skilled match racers.

On June 7-9, LBYC hosted the Dickson Cup Youth Match Race Invitational, beginning with a practice clinic led by Scotty Dickson followed by two days of racing. Also on June 7 was the second regatta in the Friday Night DragonFlite series, led by Chairman Keith Ives and PRO Tina Ives. The radio-controlled DF95s performed well in the breezy conditions off our Long Dock and made for great evening entertainment for diners on the quarterdeck and passersby on the sidewalk. Later in the month on June 14-16, Catalina Island Series competitors race to Isthmus Cove for a three-day weekend, which will include a coastal race from Isthmus Cove to Arrow Point on the layover day. Then on June 21-23, LBYC and ABYC team up to host Long Beach Race Week, one of our most anticipated fleet race regattas of the year.