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Entries are now open the Melges 24 Bushwhacker Cup/Atlantic Coast Championship November 12-14. It's final event of the 10-regatta USMCA National Ranking Series, too.

Pensacola Yacht Club has posted NOR/SI’s and other regatta information on www.yachtscoring.com and on www.pensacolayachtclub.org/Racing.


Media Contact: Talbot Wilson
talbot@talbotwilson.com • 850-217-7138.
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Pensacola’s Melges 24 Bushwhacker Cup on track for record turnout
       By Talbot Wilson
 
Pensacola, FL – October 13, 2021: The Melges 24 Bushwhacker Cup is living up to its reputation as a competitive, fun regatta. With one month to the first warning, entries are equal to the numbers in the previous Pensacola event. 
 
Following a great Melges 24 US Nationals in the Detroit area, with 22 boats competing, the racing focus now shifts south, to Pensacola YC in Northwest Florida. The combined Gulf Coast & Atlantic Coast Melges 24 Championship sailors, plus other national and international sailors not only race for regional honors; but also for the overall prize, the Bushwhacker Cup.  
 
The Bushwhacker Cup is the final event of the 10-regatta US Melges 24 Class National Ranking Series, too.
 
After a practice day Nov 12th, wind willing, up to 10 races are scheduled for two days of racing on Pensacola Bay. PRO Hal Smith has a knack for getting in quick, back to back races that make sailors earn their dockside Bushwhackers back at the Pensacola YC sailing center.
 
As of this week, 20 boats had already registered. Pensacola YC and the US Melges 24 Class Association are shooting for 30 total entrants. The NOR, Registration and the up-to-date competitor list is available on 
Yacht Scoringhttps://yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eid=14722
 
“We are expecting close to 30 teams,” predicts Race Chairman Commodore Tom Pace. “Long time class competitors tell us to watch Bora Gulari USA in New England Ropes, Peter Karrie GER in Nefeli, KC Shannon USA in Shaka, and Richard Reid CAN in Zingara should be the big battle for the top three places.  Steve Suddath USA in 3 ½ Men, KC Shannon USA in Shaka and Brent McKenzie in Ex-Kahn look good in the Corinthian field.”
 
Gulari finished second overall in the previous Pensacola event while Shannon finished third as the top Corinthian.
 
“ But all bets could be off once the first warning sounds.” Pace added. “There are some very strong sailors on the start line. We are hoping that our new home town Melges 24 Phoeniceus, owned by Pensacola YC members Nathan and Jennifer Simonson, will be on the Corinthian podium… a dark horse. “
 
The 2021 Bushwhacker Cup is the first step toward the 2022 Melges 24 World Championships scheduled for May in Ft. Lauderdale. In December after Pensacola sailors will move to Miami for the Bacardi Series, racing in Key West and St Petersburg and then back to Miami for the Bacardi Invitational then up to Charleston Race Week and back down to the Worlds. Then the 2022 Melges 24 National Championship will be held in Pensacola in conjunction with the third edition of the Bushwhacker Cup.
 

Sailing on Pensacola Bay
Pensacola Bay and Santa Rosa Sound are naturally protected by Santa Rosa Island to the south. The pass to the Gulf of Mexico is located to the southwest, across from the Naval Air Station Pensacola and divides the Gulf Islands National Seashore on Santa Rosa Island from the western park on Perdido Key.
 
The racing area is a matter of minutes from the Bayou Chico channel and the Pensacola YC marina. That’s close racing… more racing and less transit time.

In summer months, sailors find a daily sea breeze that builds from a mid-day southeasterly to the afternoon 12-15 knot southwesterly they love. In other seasons, the winds are determined by frontal passages, temperature variables, sunshine and other factors. Tides are minimal, about one foot to one and a half feet.
 
Pensacola Bay is naturally deep with a white sand bottom. The water is clean, seasonally warm and just choppy in a breeze, but not often rough. The east-west shoreline in downtown Pensacola to the north is perfect for stadium regatta spectating.
 
All sailors— race or cruise— are invited to come sail on Pensacola Bay. Organizers of both amateur regional, national or international sailing championships and professional sailing events should contact Pensacola Yacht Club to discuss racing on beautiful Pensacola Bay. 
http://www.pensacolayachtclub.org
 
Pensacola Yacht Club, the South's Finest—
Pensacola Yacht Club is a championship sailing venue located on approximately 22 acres at the mouth of Bayou Chico just west of downtown Pensacola, Florida. Part of that area is approximately 250 feet of sparkling white beachfront property on Pensacola Bay adjacent to the club marina in Bayou Chico. 
 
Pensacola YC has been the site of numerous one design and handicap championships over the years. These include the 2000 USODA Nationals, and the inaugural Gulf Coast Championships in 2010 and the highly successful 2013 USODA Southeast Optimist Championships. The 2018 USODA Optimist National Championships drew 320 sailors from 12 foreign countries and the USA to the competition. It featured an opening ceremony keynote presentation by the team from the AC36 NYYC American Magic Challenge. The Kona National Championship was the highlight of fall sailing in 2018 wrapping up a super year. 
 
PYC hosts the Junior Olympic Sailing Festival every year near the Fourth of July. PYC hosted the US Sailing Single Handed Championships in 2010. The club hosted several Flying Tiger East Coast Championships, and the Flying Tiger Nationals were held at PYC in 2011. The club hosted the Ultimate 20 Nationals in 2012, and the Thistle Nationals in 2011. In 2009, PYC hosted both the Corsair Nationals and the Snipe Nationals. Also in 2009, PYC hosted the Junior Lipton Championship, the Gulf Yachting Association’s Junior Championship.
 
In 2019 PYC hosted the Thistle Class Southeast Championship in April, the 2019 Junior Olympic Sailing Festival presented by BBVA Compass in June, the Flying Scot North American Championship in July and the inaugural Melges 24 Bushwhacker Cup — the Atlantic and Gulf Coast Championship— in November. 
 
In 2021, Pensacola YC has returned to its national and regional regatta program. The club welcomed the North Gulf Challenge (St Petersburg to Pensacola) in April, the Catalina 22 National Championships in May, and looks forward to the rejuvenated WFORC, in October, and of course the Bushwhacker Cup in November.
 
Pensacola YC stages local regattas throughout the year and offers a youth Summer Sailing Camp in the summer and both youth and adult sailing instruction year ‘round. 
See 
Pensacola Yacht Club
 

For More Information 
Contact:
Tom Pace, Jr. — PYC Commodore and Regatta Chairman
Mobile: 850-572-6727
Email: tomracechair@gmail.com
 
Hal Smith— PRO 
Mobile: 864-275-6290
Email: hal_smith@mindspring.com
 
Andrew McMillan— Fleet Captain
Mobile: 850-982-3012
Email: cedrictehclaw@gmail.com
 
Talbot Wilson— Regatta Marketing & Publicity
Mobile: 850-217-7138
Email: talbot@talbotwilson.com
Bushwhacker Cup regatta Chairman (and commodore of Pensacola YC) Tom Pace polishes the Bushwhacker Cup. The cup is the combined prize for the regatta which includes both the Atlantic and Gulf Coast Championships and is also the final race in the US Melges 24 National Ranking Series.
Pensacola YC's annual Melges 24 Bushwhacker Cup and Atlantic Coast Championship returns to Pensacola November 12-14. The 2021 regatta in Pensacola is the final event in the Melges 24 National Ranking Series. Photo by Tom Pace
In the inaugural Bushwhacker cup Bruce Ayres’ Monsoon [USA 825] with crew Brian Porter, George Peet, Chelsesa Simms and America's Cup challenger Stars+Stripes USA CEO/skipper Mike Buckley won the inaugural Bushwhacker Cup with scores of 2-1-2-5-1 for 11 points.
Pensacola YC's annual Melges 24 Bushwhacker Cup and Atlantic Coast Championship returns to Pensacola November 12-14. The 2021 regatta in Pensacola is the final event in the Melges 24 National Ranking Series. ©Talbot Wilson
In the 2019 inaugural Bushwhacker Cup, Bora Gulari [USA820] with his crew of Kyle Navin, Norman Berge, Ian Liberty and American Magic’s CEO/Skipper Terry Hutchinson took second in the inaugural Bushwhacker Cup with a 4-5-1-2-2 record. 
Pensacola YC's annual Melges 24 Bushwhacker Cup and Atlantic Coast Championship returns to Pensacola November 12-14. The 2021 regatta in Pensacola is the final event in the Melges 24 National Ranking Series. ©Talbot Wilson
In the 2019 inaugural Bushwhacker Cup, Kelly Shannon, a Lake Lanier Sailing Club sailor from the Atlanta GA area, sailed Shaka[USA 801] to third place with scores of 3-4-3-4-5 for 20 points. He commented on his first time on Pensacola Bay. “We are lake sailors and we enjoyed the flat water in the bay Saturday. Melges 24’s do well in these conditions.”
The Pensacola Bay race area is only minutes away for the Pensacola Yacht Club for more race time and less transit. The downtown location of the club is convenient to the Palafox Place entertainment zone. ©Talbot Wilson
Pensacola Yacht Club sits on 22 acres where Bayou Chico flows into Pensacola Bay. Small boats launch from the 250 foot beach. Plenty of trailer space is available for boat storage between regattas. Pensacola YC is known as the South's Finest yacht club. Photo by Tim Ludvigsen/Pensacola Yacht Club
Copyright © 2021 Talbot Wilson and Associates. Inc, All rights reserved.


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