SAYRA One Design Fleet of the Month

Racing sailboat classes tend to come and go over time due to a variety of factors.  Most of them are usually well performing boats and all it takes is the right leader or combination of leaders to make to class grow and to keep the class alive.  There will always be turnover in a fleet and the longevity of a fleet has to do with the ability to attract new sailors and to retain existing members. 

People move out of fleets for a variety of reasons. For many people their interest and personal situations change.  A boat that’s right at one time in our lives may not always be the case.  Life happens, bringing changes in responsibilities and abilities to sail the boat or the schedule we used to enjoy.  Family’s interests often need to be accommodated. 

The Flying Scot attracts many people because it meets the needs of a wide audience.  Adults young and old like the level of competition found at district, regional and national events.  There are eight active Flying Scot fleets and 130 boats registered with the Flying Scot Sailing Association in the SAYRA area.  Adults with families enjoy the ability to sail with their children and to compete in a boat they can sail and race for a life time.  Most boats are sailed two-up with many wife-husband or parent-child teams racing throughout our district.  Not requiring a third crew really simplifies the logistics of preparing for a regatta.

One of the things that attract Scot sailors is the existence of eight active fleets in the SAYRA area including six racing fleets in the Carolinas district with 4 in North Carolina, one in the northern part of South Carolina and one in south central Virginia.  We host 8 regattas each season.  There are also two South Carolina fleets which belong to the recently formed Dixie Lakes district.  See the list below.

The Carolinas district has is a traveling trophy called the Helmold/Singletary trophy.  To qualify you sail in as many of the regattas as you like but count only your best 4 regattas for the season using a low point system.   In 2009 we had twelve (12) skippers qualifying in at least 4 regattas and 8 competed in 5 - 7 regattas.  There were 127 regatta starts by 62 different Carolinas district teams plus 14 different non-district competitors.  These numbers are up because of attendance near records  for most clubs (for recent history at least) and new records were set at several regattas.  The Lake Norman Yacht Club has hosted at least 4 North American Championships since 1976 and the Carolina Sailing Club near Raleigh has hosted the Atlantic Coast Championships in Edenton, NC on 3 occasions. 

The ability to travel to regattas and compete against excellent teams all over the Carolinas keeps the class alive and well, and has for many years.  Meeting new sailors and seeing old friends is what keeps many people on the circuit.  Come out and join us.  Contact the fleet captains in your area at http://www.fssa.com/carsdist/fleets.htm and ask to catch a ride on a great boat.   Check out the articles and regatta reports on the site as well.

Scot Fleets in the SAYRA Area

Snipes
D12 Lasers
Flying Scot