May 19, 2012
chesapeake alerion is the home page of the Alerion Express 28 Chesapeake Bay Fleet. Members from both the Eastern and western shores of the mid-Bay region share a passion for sailing the "prettiest lady at the dance." We get together at least once a year to enjoy some casual racing and more serious partying. This site includes recaps and photo collections of our prior Rendezvous'. Enjoy!
Bay-based Alerions will launch their first season of one-design, level racing. While casual racing at previous Rendezvous events was a fun part of the get together, Annapolis-area owners, led by Jack Detweiler, are kicking that up a bit. Well, a lot, actually. Here’s the schedule:
AYC SERC Spring Regatta, May 12 (Click here for results)
EYC/AYC Annapolis Leukemia Cup, June 2
EYC Spring One Design Classic, June 30
AYC Summer One Design Regatta, July 21
EYC/CRAB Boatyard Bar & Grill Regatta, August 25
AYC SERC Fall Regatta, September 9
The racing will be conducted by one or both of the Annapolis area yacht clubs, Annapolis Yacht Club and Eastport Yacht Club. You don’t need to be a yacht club member or even have a PHRF rating to race as part of the AE28 one-design fleet. The equipment requirements are simple – one AE28 of any vintage, non-overlapping jib, no spinnaker. The first Alerion to finish in each regatta will receive a trophy.
This year’s Rendezvous will be held on Saturday, June 2, in conjunction with the Leukemia Cup . On Friday before the race, there will be a Skipper's meeting to review race logistics and rules for those of us not fully confident of our racing knowledge. After the race, an awards party will be held at EYC’s facilities. Even if you are not planning to race, join the owners who are racing for dinner and postmortems. The perpetual trophy will be presented to the owner of the winning AE28.
For more information on the schedule or racing requirements, contact Jack at jackdetweiler@howardhanna.com. For more information on each event or to sign up for the race, contact the sponsoring yacht club (links provided in the Links section).
The Links section includes the site of the San Francisco Bay Alerion Express 28 Fleet. This Fleet has a very active racing and social program. I urge you to check out its site for some fantastic photos of Alerions in heavier weather. If you're interested in learning more about the boat itself, this site is a good resource.
The Alerion Express site is the manufacturer's marketing site for the boat and so has very complete information on the Alerion Express 28 and other Alerions in the product line. The Boatyard Bar & Grill is a sailor's hangout in Annapolis and its owner, Dick Franyo, has the good taste to also own an Alerion. SpinSheet is a must-read publication for serious Bay sailors and the site's not too shabby either.
Annapolis Yacht Club and Easport Yacht Club will be hosting this year's one-design races.