This weekend’s impressive fleet of determined sailors came to the 2018 International Masters Regatta ready to race. Five time Match Racing Champion Dave Perry came to race too, but like a true Master, his preparation began the moment he received his invitation. Perry started the regatta off strong and in the lead on Day One. Finishing the day in a tie with Tad Lacey, Perry’s win in Series Race 3 was the tiebreaker that put him in first place and set the bar for the rest of the weekend. Come Day Two, Perry never let the momentum die. Numerous sailors jumped the gun and were forced to restart while Perry’s seasoned skillset and stacked San Diego crew got off the line clean and kept Perry at the top of the score sheet.

There’s an old adage in sailing: If you’re not over early every once in a while, you’re not pushing hard enough. Day Two of the International Masters Regatta was full of action, particularly at the start line. A handful of boats jumped the gun and were penalized with OCSs. At this point in the regatta, the Masters are looking to put points on their competitors by getting a good start and an early lead. But, this strategy took a toll on second place sailor, Tad Lacey.

San Diego mountains and U.S. Navy ships framed the course of the International Masters Regatta today, Friday, October 19. Twelve seasoned skippers lived up to their Master titles, rotating J/105s after each of the four races on Day One. Light winds in the morning resulted in a 30 minute postponement, but the wind peaked at 12 knots by midday with temperatures in the low 80s. Cloudless skies and flat water made for ideal racing on the windward leeward course on beautiful south San Diego Bay.

The International Masters Regatta will return to the San Diego Yacht Club on October 19-21, 2018 for a regatta with some of the greatest names in sailing. Legendary skippers from across the country are invited to a round-robin battle in supplied J/105s and will be vying for the title in the stadium of San Diego Bay.

The final day of the 2017 International Masters Regatta could not have been a more picturesque day out on the water. Under the bright sun in South San Diego Bay, the twelve accomplished master sailors (slightly tired from the Saturday night banquet, but thirsty for the last day of competition) completed the last three races of the three-day regatta hosted by San Diego Yacht Club. The one weather complaint today was lack of wind at the scheduled start time. Race Committee postponed racing for an hour until the breeze came up to 5 knots and they were able to start the first race. There was a huge wind shift to the right at the end of the first race, so Race Committee re-set everything for the second and third races. Due to timing, Race Committee made the call to only run 11 races total, and they sent competitors on a long three legged race for race 11 in order to get back to SDYC for the awards ceremony.

The action returned to South San Diego Bay on Saturday, October 20th for day two of the International Masters Regatta hosted by San Diego Yacht Club (SDYC). The twelve master sailors from all over the country focused on the day’s four races, trying to improve from Friday, while also trying to keep up their momentum from the first two days of sailing until the regatta's final day on Sunday. With the wind at a light 5 knots, Race Committee started the first race on time at 11:30am. By race two, the wind was up to about 10 knots, a speed that continued throughout the rest of the day for the most part, similar to Friday. Luckily the weather has worked out largely as forecasted this weekend. Today the breeze filled in from the left and Race Committee got one race in at 250 before the breeze moved to the right.

The 2017 International Masters Regatta kicked-off on Friday, October 20 with a long day of sailing in South San Diego Bay. Twelve teams of seasoned master sailors completed the first four races of the three day regatta hosted by San Diego Yacht Club (SDYC) in J/105 sailboats. Competitors were eager to get going, however racing was delayed due to a J/105 breakdown on the way out to the race course. Luckily a replacement boat came quickly and Race Committee was able to start race one at 12:30pm. With some slight changes, Race Committee ran course 4 throughout the day in mostly 10 knots of wind and flat water.

Returning to the San Diego Bay on October 20-22, 2017 is the International Masters Regatta, hosted by San Diego Yacht Club for the sixth consecutive year. Twelve teams from all around the world will compete in this year’s regatta, which will be sailed in a round robin format. Historically, the International Masters Regatta was first established in 1975 and took place in the San Francisco Bay until 2012 when SDYC began hosting the distinguished event. The name of the event originates from the rule that invited skippers must be over the age of 60 and crew members must be over the age of 45.