An effort to “turn around the freighter”

The dissertation, The State of the Sport in 2020, spoke of how regattas had evolved:

At some point in time our pursuit of perfection took over our weekend regattas, and every course configuration became windward-leewards, and every event took on the format of a world championship.

So, for decades now we have been promoting a plan that emphasizes excellent crew work, refined tactics, elite speed, and in handicap racing, benefits modern boats that have efficient layouts. Plus now, the trend has been to get as many races in a day as possible.

We have effectively squeezed out the casual competitors, and worse, socializing may be getting sacrificed too.

In this report by RCR Yachts, an effort to “turn around the freighter” is occurring in Youngstown, NY:

---

Planned as a sequel to the old Level Regatta, the goal for the 2025 Youngstown Chase was to bring back the fun and social side of the event. You can’t really duplicate the vibe of the days of 400-plus boats, but you can certainly try some new wrinkles, and they worked.

The Chase is now two days of pursuit racing, one each Saturday and Sunday. The legs are longer with minimal mark roundings to welcome those who struggle to find crew. Two divisions of PHRF spin, one of non-spinnaker. Racing wraps up early so there is plenty of time for mingling, food, drinks, and music. There was a full stage for the bands and on Sunday every boat got free pizza. Mount Gay hats, of course.

The competitors enjoyed the break from the sausage courses and the hectic start lines. In pursuit racing, each boat has its own start time so you are usually starting with a couple of boats or alone. Non-spinnaker white-sail cruising boats get to try racing in the lowest of low-key environments.