Community Corner
Local Sailors Win at Lake Minnetonka Sailing Regatta
The ILYA Regatta hosted by Minnetonka Yacht Club continues through August 21.
Minnetonka Yacht Club (MYC) is hosting the 2011 Inland Lake Yachting Association’s (ILYA) Annual Championship Regatta on Lake Minnetonka through August 21.
Competitors include some of the top sailors in the world, including several who have competed in America’s Cup and those who have medaled and coached in the Olympics.
Over 1,000 sailors will compete for the award of top Scow class racer in the United States during the 11-day event—which is being billed as the largest Minnesota sailing event in 129 years.
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Over 200 scows, a flat-bottomed sailboat without a keel, are expected to compete in the regatta's four classes: A (38 feet), E (28 feet), C (20 feet) and MC (16 feet).
“We just finished the first segment of the regatta with the C class boats and MC class boats,” event co-chair and MYC member Tony Jewett said.
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The winner of the C class event was Tim Krech from Minnetonka Yacht Club. Bill Colburn from Lake Harriet Yacht Club won the MC class event. Trophies were presented to the winners, and Jewett said the C class trophy is from the 1920s.
Most sailors competing in the C and MC class events on Saturday came from Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota.
“We’ve been getting rave reviews from our out-of-town sailors for the great hospitality,” Jewett said. “Members have offered up their homes and we’ve had two great parties on the island.”
The A class event begins at 11:00 a.m. on Monday. Sailors from as far away as New Jersey and Colorado are expected to compete, and spectator boats are available for people to watch the races.
“These are 38-foot boats with a crew of seven,” Jewett said. “It’s a pretty neat spectacle when these big boats are all on the water.”
The ILYA Regatta started on White Bear Lake in 1987. Minnetonka Yacht Club last hosted the event in 2001.
“We started putting a plan together to have the ILYA Regatta here in 2007,” Jewett said.
Located on Light House Island in St. Louis Bay in Deephaven, MYC began in 1882 when a group of yachtsmen established the club, which is one of the oldest clubs in America.
The sailing tradition continues today. MYC hosts weekly sailing races, as well as social events for its members. The Lake Minnetonka Sailing School (LMSS) offers sailing programs for beginning to advanced sailors at MYC. For more information, visit www.minnetonkayachtclub.org and www.lmss.us.
For more information about the ILYA Regatta, including the schedule of events, photos and results, visit www.inland2011.org.