The University of Michigan Sailing Team is proud to announce the Commodore John S. Barbour Memorial Regatta. This event will be hosted out of Bayview Yacht Club in Detroit, MI on Sunday, September 8, 2013. During registration, boats are offered and encouraged to take a local junior sailor along for the ride.
Commodore Barbour was a lifelong sailor and incredibly active member of Bayview Yacht Club since 1969. Mr. Barbour became commodore in 1989 and was responsible for the creation of the NA40 class. Commodore Barbour raced competitively in the NA40 Class for close to three decades. His passion was undeniable. He was adamant about keeping the fleet active, owning up to three boats at one point. Some of his greatest accomplishments include winning overall division title in the 1993 Port Huron-Mackinac Race on Velero VI, finishing first overall in the racing division of the 100th anniversary Chicago-to-Mackinac Race on Velero VII in 2008, and winning countless division titles. Commodore Barbour’s passion for racing and constant promotion of junior sailing encouraged the Michigan Sailing Team to create an event in his honor.
As a club sport at the University the team is student-funded, governed, and managed. The team is currently working toward a Capital Campaign goal of $100,000 to purchase a new fleet of boats to maintain their competitiveness. Creating and running a big boat regatta at a local yacht club has been a goal for a few years, and this year finally became a reality. The team participates in several large scale fundraisers a year, however the profits from our Strictly Sail Chicago Booth and Annual Banquet going directly to team operations.
The team hopes that the Commodore Barbour Memorial Regatta will help the team establish a sustainable fundraiser for our capital campaign. Additional goals of the event include developing better ties to the Detroit Sailing Community as well as allowing junior sailors the opportunity to participate in keelboat racing. Junior sailors throughout the DRYA are allowed to participate and boat owners are encouraged to take a few junior sailors along to expose them to racing in bigger boats.
The regatta is open to boats with a valid PHRF rating. The event will consist of a one day, 3 hour distance race on Lake St. Clair. We are offering an early bird registration special of $30/boat. Registration through Yacht Scoring has just begun. To register, follow this link to yachtscoring.
Junior sailors can sign up to race on big boats at this link
Please email our Long-Term Fundraising Chair, Ansley Semack at asemack@umich.edu or our Race Chair Will Cyr at willcyr@umich.edu if you have any questions.
