St. Petersburg Kicks Off Regatta Series With 5 Class Championships

L30 One-Designs will race both buoy and long-course races at the Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series in St. Petersburg. Paul Todd/Outside Images

Having been spared the significant damage back-to-back major hurricanes inflicted upon many parts of Florida, the team at St. Petersburg YC is pressing ahead with its regatta-packed winter calendar, including the Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series, which opened registration this week with the posting of the Notice of Race.

As the marque southern event of the 35-year-old Regatta Series, the St. Petersburg stop (February 14 to 16) is always favorite for locals and visiting sailors from the north escaping winter’s grip. The regatta is renown for its reliable racing conditions on Tampa Bay, a superb host club, and a blossoming city with a night life and cultural experiences on par with any top tourism destination in the Sunshine State.

Steve and Catherine Boho’s The 300 puts its winning form on display at the Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series in St. Petersburg. Walter Cooper

The invited one-design classes include: A Class Catamaran, J/70, J/24, J/88, J/105, J/111, L30, Lightning, Melges 15, Melges 24, S2 7.9, Sonar, Windmill and Weta Trimaran. Invited rated classes, for three days of buoy racing include ORC or Level.    

The regatta will be the first major event utilizing St. Petersburg YC’s new state-of-the-art marina and concrete dock facilities, which features more slip space for visiting teams, reducing the raft-ups of years past, electrical upgrades, and a pump-out station. With updates to the clubhouse as well, and a new dress code (note: leave your “cut offs, ripped jeans, extremely short skirts or shorts” at home), competitors can expect the same great hospitality the club has extended for three decades of the series.

The Melges 15 class continues its boom and expects another strong turnout at the Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta in St. Petersburg. Walter Cooper

Along with the traditional classes expecting strong turnouts, five have designated the regatta as class championships: the L30s will sail their North American Championship and the Melges 24 will race their Midwinter Championship, which is also a North American Sailing Series Qualifier. The venerable S2 7.9s will contest their Midwinter Championship, as will the Sonar and Windmill classes. With long-course racing continuing to draw top PHRF teams from around Tampa Bay, the regatta’s distance race fleets will once again enjoy two days of distance races.

With Helly Hansen returning as title sponsor for the 11th year, organizers are planning four nights of social events at the club, including the Sailing World Speaker Series on the eve of the regatta, an hour of storytelling and knowledge sharing with Sailing World Magazine’s Dave Reed and a celebrity guest.

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