Members of Lake Geneva club to compete in Inland Lake Yachting Association championship
Top U.S. yacht racers will compete Aug. 17 to 21 in the second of three consecutive Inland Lake Yachting Association annual championships on Geneva Lake.
More than 250 Class A, E, C and MC Scow design yachts and teams and 875 sailors will compete for top honor in their fleets in an Inland Lake Yachting Association racing tradition since 1898.
Over the years, the Lake Geneva Yacht Club has produced many top world, national and collegiate champion sailors who have competed with distinction in Inland Lake Yachting Association annual championships.
Many of the champions will compete Aug. 17 to 21 on Geneva Lake in Fontana in the championship regatta including Brian Porter, Andy Burdock, Vincent Porter, Harry Melges III, Harry Melges IV, Peter Strothman, Malcolm Lamphere and Tom Freytag.
The first Inland regatta was in 1898 in White Bear Lake, Minn. The first Lake Geneva Yacht Club skipper to win in his class at the annual championship was Dr. Otto L. Schmidt, sailing in Class A in 1913. The first ILYA championship at Lake Geneva Yacht Club was in 1900, and this is the 112th ILYA inland championship and the 17th time the Lake Geneva Yacht Club has hosted the regatta.
The Edmund Pillsbury Memorial Cup
The Edmund Pillsbury Memorial Cup is presented to the most outstanding skipper in the Inland Lake Yachting Association annual championship, regardless of class of boat. Listed below are Lake Geneva Yacht Club skippers who have received the Pillsbury Cup.
- Jane Wiswell Pegel was awarded the Pillsbury two times for her performance in Class X and Class M;
- Buddy Melges, three times, Class E and Class A;
- Harry Melges III (son of Buddy Melges), three times, Class C and Class E;
- John Porter, two times, Class A;
- Brian Porter (brother of John Porter), two times, Class E;
- Vincent Porter (son of John Porter and nephew of Brian Porter), three times, Class X, Class E, Class A, Class E.
The regatta will attract top yacht racing skippers and crews from throughout the United States and some from the world’s yacht racing stage to compete in the nation’s premier inland lake sailing event of 2016.
The 2016 Regatta theme is “Sail It Forward—ILYA Volunteers.” At the Aug. 17 to 21 regatta, there will be “Sail It Forward” signage and highlight video recognizing 24 ILYA club nominees. Each individual will also be honored at a Friday night “Sail It Forward-ILYA Volunteers” dinner at the Lake Geneva Yacht Club.
The regatta is organized by the Inland Lake Yachting Association and hosted by one of the oldest yacht clubs in United States (founded in 1874), the Lake Geneva Yacht Club in Fontana, at the year-old Buddy Melges Sailing Center. The 2016 regatta will have five days of racing. The award ceremony will be Aug. 21. Considered the newest sailing facility in the United States, the center is named after Harry (Buddy) Melges Jr., world-renowned sailor, an America’s Cup winning skipper and 14-time ILYA champion. The center is home to the Lake Geneva Yacht Club and the Geneva Lake Sailing School. The annual ILYA championship will also be held at the Sailing Center in 2017.
The regatta will attract top sailors from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, New York, New Jersey, Colorado and Florida. More than 875 sailors and 250 boats from 30 U.S. ILYA member yacht clubs are expected this August. The annual event is the No. 1-ranked one-design sailboat regatta in the United States and represents some of the fastest mono-hull sailboats in the world, in the A Class and E Class, reaching speeds up to 25 mph.
The regatta will determine the top scow class racers in these four classes of yachts – A-Scow Class (38 feet, six to seven crew), E-Scow Class (28 feet, three to four crew), C-Scow Class (20 feet, two to three crew) and the MC-Scow Class (16 feet, one to two crew).
“The ILYA is proud to be able to continue its partnership with the Lake Geneva Yacht Club for the championship regatta this August which will bring four of our long-standing fleets together for what should be another fantastic event,” said Steve Schmidt, commodore of the ILYA. “We look forward to building on the success of last year’s event and welcoming many new sailors to enjoy the breathtaking new Buddy Melges Sailing Center which opened spring 2015.”
Outside the Lake Geneva area, 50 member ILYA Yacht Clubs throughout the country and many of their 10,000 members will be following the action daily online.
Sponsors
Sponsors for the 2016 ILYA Championship include Allstate Insurance, Lake Geneva Regional News and Reporter, Briohn Building Corp., At The Lake and Lakeshore Living Magazines, Fischer Fine Home, Keefe Real Estate, UBS Financial and David Perrigo, Lynch Motors, Line Honors, Gill, Tito’s Vodka, BMW of Crystal Lake, Ill., ShoreMaster, Clearwater Outdoor, Lake Geneva Brewing, The Abby Resort and First National Bank and Trust. Fans and sailing enthusiasts can follow the racing through on-water updates on Facebook and Twittter and at regattanetwork.com, ILYA.org and LGYC.com.
