We welcome all racers, cruisers, their families, and guests to this family-friendly event to kick-start a great year of sailing.  A great tradition at Fishing Bay Yacht Club, Opening Day begins with an Offshore Regatta.

DESCRIPTION This regatta will consist of one race for PHRF (A, B, C, NON-SPIN, CC) sailboats holding a valid PHRF of the Chesapeake certificate, one-design classes, and cruising class sailboats having a provisional handicap rating assigned by FBYC.

The format for all boats will be one short-distance race around government and drop marks. PHRF NON-SPIN will be sailed allowing only one (1) headsail downwind.

Regatta Schedule: 
0900: Flag Raising & Skippers Meeting
1100: Warning for the first start

Opening Day Social Events

1630: Ric's Place …

We all love the vibrant sailing culture at FBYC and 2022 will see the introduction of a new class for Offshore racing, the Offshore Division Cruising Class. This year, the new Offshore Division Cruising Class has been chosen as the class to compete for the Fishing Bay Challenge Bowl.  The award, to be presented at the Annual Awards, will go to the Offshore Cruising Class Skipper with the greatest boat days on the water in FBYC sponsored race events. The high point finish will be applied as a tie breaker

 The Offshore cruising class was developed to enable fair competition among like yachts in the configuration typically used by Cruisers.  PHRF ratings are available or FBYC will provide a provisional …

Hoping to see everyone at this weekend's kickoff to the sailing season - Opening Day 2022!

If you are not planning to sail, but would like to join the fun on the water, we still have openings on Race Committee:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080c4fa5aa2ba4ff2-2022

This is a low-key race and a great way to get some experience on Race Committee!

Our 2022 Schedule is posted and here are some ILCA Sailing highlights to put on your calendar for this year. 

Club Series - these are 5 single day events spread throughout the year that count towards the season series using the high point system. Anyone who sails in 50% of the races held qualifies for the series.  Some of these race days are sailed during one design events with the other one design boats, and other days will be stand alone days.  We'll run a Radial fleet and radial series on the days we have enough boats.  There's no entry and first warning times vary depending on the day.

• Saturday, April 30 - Spring Regatta
• Saturday, July 9 - Summer Regatta #1 (Sea …

Ladies, the 2-day women's sailing clinic is returning again! As always, there will be a beginning sailing class and a racing fundamentals class. Please save the date for the last weekend in July for this great event, filled with camaraderie, sailing, and of course the apres-sailing socials. To learn more, go to the event webpage. Registration up soon! Contact Caroline Patrick if you have questions. See you there!

Thanks to Arn Manella (US Sailing Instructor Trainer) and Bob Fleck for leading a fun and informative weekend with classroom and on the water training for RC mark boat and safety boat operators.  Thanks to Ruthanna & Ron Jenkins for organizing such an important event (and feeding the troops)!

Attendees sporting the latest in life saver gear.....

We've got lots happening at FBYC this spring!  Spring clean-up, sock burning, weather courses and now--CREW TRAINING SEMINAR.

Invite your friends and give it a go yourself to become valuable crew for our offshore racing boats.  This program has long been a successful way to introduce people to the club and gain new members.  So check out the program for 2022 and join us online by visiting:  https://www.fbyc.net/sailing/crew-training/

See you online and on the water.

Steve Montgomery led a large and energetic group of FBYC members including new members and juniors to ready the club for another great season.    Special shout out to Carl and Diane Simon for coordinating a well earned lunch for all.  

Thanks to all who participated and can’t wait to see you all on the water soon!

FBYC is proudly helping to sponsor Deltaville’s Oyster Roast and Sock Burn at Evolution Loft this Saturday, beginning at 3:30 PM.  There will be oysters, beer and music….and socks to burn!  It’s free to all who sign-up at: at:  Deltaville Sock Burn and Oyster Roast (constantcontact.com).But before you’ve tossed your socks into the fire, sign-up for our webinar/classroom sessions:  Weather for Sailors.  The online sessions are on Tuesday, March 29 and April 5, followed by our on-site classroom session on Saturday, April 16.  SPACE IS LIMITED AND IS GOING FAST SO REGISTER NOW.   Learn all about it at:  https://www.fbyc.net/events/2022/220329-training-weather-for-sailors-1st-zoom-session/

Then register and pay ($25/person …

We will be sprucing up the Club on March 26th 8:30-12:30!  Bring work gloves, rakes, clippers, comfortable shoes, and work with friends to make the Club gorgeous and ready for a new year.  Please sign up through SignUpGenius at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080c4fa5aa2ba4ff2-spring .  Lunch will be provided after cleanup!  The Bermuda High/Sock Burning Party follows later in the afternoon! 

Questions to Steve Montgomery 757-561-7289.

FBYC has two great offerings starting this month:

Race Committee Training sessions begin Saturday, March 19 in Richmond and are followed up with on-the-water exercises.  Learn more and sign-up here:  https://www.fbyc.net/events/2022/220319-training-race-committee-training/

Weather for Sailors is a 3-part course beginning Tuesday, March 29 at 7 PM online.  Following another Zoom session the next week, the course wraps up on Saturday, April 16 with a 4-hour classroom instruction at the club.  It is taught by ASA instructor Captain Steve Runals.  Learn more at: https://www.fbyc.net/events/2022/220329-training-weather-for-sailors-1st-zoom-session/

Hope to see you all soon!

Mark your March Calendar for Fun, Work (just a little), and Learning

We’ve got a fantastic line-up of activities for FBYC members this month.  We hope you’ll take advantage of all your club is offering, including opportunities to volunteer and make FBYC ship shape and Bristol fashion.  Coming up first is:

Saturday, March 5, 2022 10 AM -1 PM  Middle Dock Work Day

Come with your power tools, work gloves and spirit to help install the new electrical/water pedestals on our new middle dock.  This helps save money and is a critical step for getting the dock ready for Opening Day.  We also need helpers and those who can serve lunch.  Sign-up at:  https://www.signupgenius.com …

Our fleet has a new name! At the last Board Meeting - the club agreed to begin formally recognizing the Laser Fleet as the ILCA Fleet. The old name will still be used informally and will still appear in some places. Starting this year, all of our events on the event page will be listed as ILCA events. Otherwise it’s the same boat and the same racing we’ve been doing.

Why the new name? Well, the class we sail has changed it's name and this keeps us in line with that change and should prevent any confusion over the equipment and rules we are using to race with. Some more details on that can be found here.

A cleanup of the Opti rack by the Main Clubhouse has begun.  We ask all members who currently have an Opti on the rack to place their name on the exposed end prior to April 1^st and remove any vessels they do NOT want to pay to store. In April, Optis with identifying information will be updated in the Club database for billing and official assignment to the spot. Questions should be directed to Steve Montgomery 757-561-7289 or monty1221@icloud.com.  

WANTED: Volunteers needed to work on plumbing and electrical work on the new Middle Pier. March 5, rain date March 12. 10-1 with lunch served. Work will be focused on prepping the new electrical/water pedestals for the electrician and installing plumbing pipes.  Skills needed are basic including drilling holes, screwing and unscrewing bolts, screws and the like, cutting and gluing PVC pipe.  The Docks Committee budgeted volunteer labor to complete this task in lieu of paying contractors. Two people to set up lunch are also needed!   Finishing the work by the 5th (12th if bad weather) is critical to opening the pier on time.  Please email Steve Montgomery (monty1221@icloud.com) AND sign up at Sign Up Genius- Middle …

If you have not updated the FBYC iOS app to version 1.6.7 please do so! This update includes performance and security updates. The latest version of the app requires iOS 15 or later.

Junior Program 2022

We have experienced high interest in the Junior Program, which is wonderful.  A reminder to all club members wishing to have their kids participate in Junior Week or Junior Teams, the FBYC member-only priority period ends at the end of February.  On March 1, all classes will be open enrollment.  Some classes are already showing they will be full once open enrollment begins, so if a member wants to be assured to have their kid involved, it is important to register by Feb 28.  When you enroll, if you end up on a waitlist and you are a member, please email juniors@fbyc.net., as we have purposefully left room in all the classes for members who …

MURPHY RULES:  JOIN THE RACE COMMITTEE

It is time to start getting ready for the sailing season.  You can kick it off by signing up for our Murphy Rules training in Richmond on Saturday, March 19th.  You'll learn what it takes to become a valued team member.  We'll have a display of some race committee tools and you can see how they work.  You will have a chance to meet other race committee volunteers and sign up for a race.  Our trainer, John McCarthy, will walk you through a day of race committee work and make sure you know how to work together as a team to give the racers a fair and fun day on the water.  Afterward we …

The days are getting longer and the junior programs committee has been hard at work preparing for an exciting summer of junior sailing. Here's the skinny:

• Learn all about Opti-kids, Junior Week and all the race team programs at: https://www.fbyc.net/junior-sailing
• To register, go to:  https://www.fbyc.net/junior-sailing/register-now
• FBYC members also receive a discount by using the coupon code:  FBYC
• Grandparents no longer need to register their grandchildren;  Your grandchildren's parents (also called your kids!) can register directly online by using the coupon code:  FBYC
• If you have additional questions, email:   juniors@fbyc.net

Fishing Bay Yacht Club is offering a Communications Internship for Summer 2022.  This is a three-month, part-time, paid position that offers flexible, remote work with the opportunity to work with a wide range of industry professionals.  Qualifications include:

• Strong communications and social media skills focused on writing and photography
• Ability to support numerous FBYC events, programs and initiatives using the FBYC website (FBYC.net), social media accounts, and other sailing and local media—both print and digital
• Ability to attend/participate in major FBYC events in Deltaville, VA as needed and/or coordinate with program chairs
• Desire to further the sport and lifestyle of sailing and a love of the Chesapeake Bay

FBYC will provide direction and support for this …