Sailing Championship Regatta on The Jersey Shore
The Lightning Class North American Championships, which will be held on August 9-13, 2010 at Toms River Yacht Club, Toms River, NJ, could easily see up to a hundred boats involved in the competition. This will be the North American qualifying event for the 2011 World Championships in Buzio, Brazil and competition for these coveted qualifying spots is expected to be fierce.
Barnegat Bay enjoys the distinction of being a hotbed of Lightning activity, with over 12 actively racing fleets and has a long tradition of high quality Lightning racing over the past 50 years. The racing for the Championship will take place in the Cedar Creek course, which will provide the fleet with open water and consistent sea breeze conditions.
The Jersey Shore is a great tourist location, and its spectacular ocean beaches will provide those not sailing with one of the best vacation spots on the East Coast. This summer the Toms River Yacht Club also hosted the Lightning Atlantic Coast Championship Regatta on July 25-26.
Teams from around the world, including those from Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Canada, and Ecuador will compete at the Regatta, which is a qualifier for both the Worlds and the Pan Am Games for United States teams. Many of the sailors are past world, national and regional champions. There will be several skippers from The Jersey Shore, including teams from, Surf City, Brant Beach and Brick Township.
Allen Terhune Jr., a former Beachwood resident and recent Barnegat Bay Hall of Fame inductee, won the title in 2002 and 2008 (previous blog).Terhune, 31, works for North Sails, Annapolis, Md., and sails one-design boats, and will be one of the contestants.
The Lightning has since become one of the most popular and competitive one-design racing classes in the world, with a long history on Barnegat Bay. The Toms River Yacht Club is deeply rooted in Ocean County's rich sailing history as its reputation in the sailing world extends well beyond The Jersey Shore. Among its members is Gary Jobson, who won the America's Cup in 1977 as tactician for Ted Turner. Jobson is a sailing analyst for ESPN, president of United States Sailing and the preeminent ambassador for sailing in the nation.
So come out and enjoy the sailing on The Jersey Shore!
Karl Hess, Barnegat
Your Agent on The Jersey Shore
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