69TH ANNUAL SAM WETHERILL RACE

With A New Race Course, Essex Yacht Club Kicks-Off Our Sailing Season

From Old Saybrook light to Martha’s Vineyard and back, overnight for a total of 140nm, the Sam Wetherill Race is the perfect tune-up race to kick-start your 2021 sailing season in New England. This race will be scored under ORC and PHRF rubles for monohulls, and the NEMA rule for multihulls. Doublehanded teams- this is a great race for you too! The Sam Wetherill Race suits seasoned offshore sailor and aspiring distance racers. It is also a qualifier for the PHRF New England Lighthouse Series. The 69th edition is also a part of the Eastern Connecticut Sailing Association Series.

"I am very excited about the changes that Essex Yacht Club has made to the Sam Wetherill Race. The new course maximizes what is best about the Block Island and Vineyard Races: distance outside of Long Island Sound. The majority of this race is likely to be sailed in stronger and more consistent wind than any of the races that originate in the western part of the Sound. The turning mark just off of Gay Head adds a whole new dimension to the Wetherill. Current in Vineyard Sound cannot be overlooked, and will be an important part of one's race strategy. There is a lot to like about this newly configured 140 mile course." - Tom Whidden, Past Commodore

Start Time:

The race will start at Old Saybrook Light at maximum ebb time at 11oo, Friday May 21.

The Race Track:

The course will be from the start 0.5 NM west of the Old Saybrook lighthouse around G31 southwest off of Gay Head, leaving it to starboard, then, leaving Block Island to starboard to the finish between the signal boat and the Old Saybrook lighthouse at the outer end of the breakwater. If no signal boat is on station, each yacht shall take their own finish time when the bearing to the lighthouse is 090 degrees.

Awards:

There will be an awards presentation on Sunday, May 23 at the Essex Yacht Club at 1800.

ENTER THE RACE VIEW NOR