Bushwhacker Cup adds Melges 24 Gulf Coast Championship

September 27, 2021 - Pensacola, FL, U.S.A -  It’s Back. Last year the combined Melges 24 Gulf Coast and Atlantic Coast Championships were sailed on Mobile Bay because the Pensacola YC marina had been damaged by Hurricane Sally. The Annual Bushwhacker Cup is back on track for November 2021… The Race is On!

Entries are now open for two major Fall regattas in Pensacola, Florida… the WFORC (now the West Florida Open Race Challenge) October 15-17 and the Melges 24 Bushwhacker Cup/Atlantic Coast Championship November 12-14.  Pensacola Yacht Club has posted NOR/SI’s and other regatta information on www.yachtscoring.com and on www.pensacolayachtclub.org/Racing.

The 2021 Melges 24 Gulf Coast Championship previously planned for Southern Yacht Club this time was scheduled for the same weekend as the postponement date already published  for the 100th Anniversary Gulf Yachting Association Lipton Cup Regatta and celebration.

Pensacola Yacht Club is adding the Melges 24 Gulf Coast Championship back to the Annual Bushwhacker Cup November 12-14. Once again the Bushwhacker Cup includes both the Atlantic Coast and the Gulf Coast Regional Championships. And it is the 10th and final event of the US Melges 24 Class National Ranking Series.

All National and International Melges 24’s are invited to Pensacola for excellent racing and hospitality, including some free Bushwhackers. Come to Pensacola for excellent Melges 24 racing in the annual Bushwhacker Cup including  the Atlantic Coast Championship. Practice racing and a dockside clinic will be offered on November 12th.

Ten (10) races are scheduled for the regatta. The RC will  attempt to complete five (5) races per day. 

Registration for the combined events will be on Yacht Scoring. https://yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=14722

November 12  - Registration, Practice racing & sponsored class clinic/party 
November 13 – Five races scheduled & Party
November 14 – Five races scheduled & Party & Prizes

The Bushwhacker Cup also serves as Race #10 of the Melges 24 National Ranking Series. 

Pensacola YC will provide a month's free trailer parking through to the Bushwhacker Cup for Melges 24's also entered in the WFORC. Free trailer parking is also available for a layover before heading to South Florida for the winter series racing.

The WFORC regatta is an Open Challenge for PHRF, one design C/R type boats and One Design performance sportboats, like the Melges 24, Viper, VX One, J70 and other classes. Five boats are required for a class. PHRF Fleets will be offered for spinnaker and non-spinnaker boats sailing different courses. For the sportboats, a separate performance circle will be provided.

Fun and Fair Racing

Come on down to the South’s finest, friendliest Yacht Club. Enjoy a bucket of Bushwhackers, and race on the world famous waters of Pensacola Bay under the expert direction of Pensacola’s PRO Hal Smith.

Pensacola Bay is 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. It divides the Gulf Islands National Seashore on Santa Rosa Island from the seashore park on Perdido Key.

The Pensacola Bay racing areas are a matter of minutes from the Bayou Chico Channel and the Pensacola YC marina. That’s more racing and less transit time from the club to the courses.

In October and November, Pensacola sailors often find a daily sea breeze that builds from a mid-day southeasterly to the afternoon 12-15 southwesterly they love. In other seasons, the winds are determined by frontal passages, temperature variables, and Florida sunshine.

All sailors are invited to come sail on Pensacola Bay. Organizers of amateur regional, national or international sailing championships and professional sailing events should contact  Pensacola Yacht Club to discuss racing with us on beautiful Pensacola Bay. https://www.pensacolayachtclub.org.

For more information, contact 
Talbot Wilson 
Pensacola Yacht Club
REGATTA MARKETING & PUBLICITY 
Email: talbot@talbotwilson.com