By Edwin Reardon, Past Commodore
The Barnegat Bay Yacht Racing Association, BBYRA, started their 101st season of racing this past Saturday. Unfortunately Mother Nature did not cooperate and the racing was cancelled. The BBYRA organizes a 10 week championship series for the 14 yacht clubs on Barnegat Bay. Each Saturday one or two of the member clubs will host the regatta for the twelve different classes of sailboats. This season the BBYRA has a full schedule of 190 races.
Barnegat Bay has produced some of the top sailors in the country and the world. Members have gone on to win championships at the local, national and international levels, qualified as members of the United States Olympic sailing teams, and participated in and won the prestigious Americas Cup. Many of these champion sailors started their sailing careers in a junior sailing program at one of the BBYRA member clubs.
Find out what's happening in Toms Riverfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
BBYRA celebrated their 100th Anniversary last year with the publication of a book “Chasing Roosters A Century of Sailing on Barnegat Bay” and a one hour documentary film of the same title. The authors and producers of the book and film are Gary Jobson, Lara Walsh, and Dan Crabbe. Gary is a former junior sailor that learned to sail on Barnegat Bay and went on to become a world famous sailor, collegiate sailing coach, author, lecturer, television commentator, film producer, and a philanthropist. Lara is the current historian of BBYRA and a local sailor. Dan is the president of the Toms River Seaport Society and a former winner of a BBYRA rooster flag.
About now you should be curious how a rooster fits in with sailing. Check out the book or film and find out!
Find out what's happening in Toms Riverfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The book is available at any branch of the Ocean County Library or may be purchased from www.bbyra.org. BBYRA is a nonprofit corporation which fosters amateur sailing and competition on Barnegat Bay. One Hundred percent of the purchase price of the book and film will be used to support sailing at all levels for everyone; not just members.
I’ll follow up each week with the results of the Championship series and highlight some of the other events and people that make up the Barnget Bay Yacht Racing Association. Let’s hope Mother Nature is accommodating.
For more information about BBYRA please visit their website www.bbyra.org.
