For those who bemoan the decline of dinghy racing in the Northwest (I know I do in my darker moments), take this from this past weekend’s Turkey Bowl Regatta in Seattle: There were seven classes, eight if you count the lone FJ on the water. Depending on the class, 5-10 races were sailed.
Most importantly, a lot of the faces on the water were young.
Here are some of Jan Anderson’s photos. The rest are here.
Optis downwind 
Surveying 
Opti Racer 
Seattle Laser Fleet Captain Mark Ross 
Sailing it flat and fast. 
Laser Radial Start 
505s 
505s 
Libby and Jonathan McKee 
Tasars 
Close Racing in RS Aeros 
Scott Malone 
It’s about intensity.
Kaitlyn van Nostrand, coach of the Mount Baker Rowing & Sailing Center, and who also coaches in New Zealand, was impressed. “It was the best run Turkey Bowl regatta I have been to! This was my 4th year coaching this event. The race committee did 3-minute starts and wow, the races went off fast with seven fleets.”
“It was a great showing by the 505s, RS Aeros and Lasers. Coaches did their best to stay out of the way of sailors racing. Big current on Saturday ebbing, so no general recalls. Great dinner on Saturday night too. A job very well done by CYC! Our parents felt welcomed, kids sailed and had a blast. “
Mt. Baker was represented with 9 boats, 10 sailors. SYC was there with their youth fleet and eight Opti kids managed the bigger breeze on Sunday. The Royal Van laser team showed up and said it was a great event.
Perhaps the most significant turnout was 7-boat Laser 4.7 fleet. This class, which is extremely popular in Europe, features a smaller rig with a different mast bottom section and a much smaller sail. It gives kids and small adults (approx 110-130 lbs.) high performance and provides a good stepping stone to other Lasers and dinghies. With used Lasers widely available, it’s an affordable and accessible racing platform, and with coaches embracing it as well, it is becoming a great tool for growing youth sailing. Alex Zaputil won the 4.7 class this time around.
With a total of 21 boats on the water, the RS Aero class was the biggest and arguably most competitive. Dalton Bergan won by a large margin, chased by John Renehan and Andy Mack. Hanne Weaver trounced the 18-boat Laser Radial fleet, Ian Elliott got by Ali Fuat Yuvali in a hard-fought Laser contest, Jay Renehan won in the Tasars and Miles Johannessen won in the 505s and Dieter Creitz won in the Optimist class. Results.
Kurt grew up racing and cruising in the Midwest, and has raced Lasers since the late 1970s. Currently he is a broker at Swiftsure Yachts. He has been Assistant Editor at Sailing Magazine and a short stint as Editor of Northwest Yachting. Through Meadow Point Publishing he handles various marketing duties for smaller local companies. He currently is partners on a C&C 36 which he cruises throughout the Northwest. He’s married to the amazing Abby and is father to Ian and Gabe.