With another off season almost behind us it's almost time to turn our attention to preparing for this year's racing season here in the Okanagan. The 2014 KYC racing season has been published with a single tuneup session on March 30th and the start of racing on April 6th. One very exciting new feature of this years racing season will be the introduction of the Okanagan Race Week. Much work has been going on behind the scenes all winter on what promises to be the premier racing event in the Okanagan. The race week will be a joint effort between the SYC and the KYC with a little help from the Okanagan Race Week committee. It will kick off with a two day regatta at the Summerland Yacht Club on Aug 9th and 10th. This will be a very unique regatta for the Okanagan in the sense that it not only will be located in an area known for the best winds, but also will feature a truely square windward/leward race course. Great pains will be made to place the race course marks in the middle of the lake to optimize the winds and also eliminate any potential advantage that local knowledge may have provided for the home team. After two days of sailing in what should be Canada's best summer weather, the fleet will compete in a distance race from SYC to the Kelowna Yacht Club on Monday Aug 11th. This is a very challenging distance leg and can offer up a variety of weather conditions ranging from very strong winds rounding famous Squally Point, to glass like calm passing Gelatley Bay. No matter the weather, it will be a very enjoyable distance race through some of most scenic terrain found anywhere. Moorage will be provided at no charge to competators at both the SYC and the KYC giving entrants free downtown parking at the height of the Okanagan summer. All participant are invited to join in the KYC Wednesday night race and use it as a tune up sesion for the Commodores Cup which will run Saturday the 16th and Sunday the 17th. We welcome all out of town boats to the race week, and no matter what the rating or skill level, the local sailing community will provide great competition and a very unique sailing venue. During the laydays there are countless activities to keep your crew and families busy. Fill your days with touring world class wineries and other countless tourist attraction or just relax by the water. This truely will be a destination regatta not easy to forget. There will be a website setup very shortly at www.okanaganraceweek.com which will act as a central point for registration and payment, and will have posted all documentation required to participate. We hope to see everyone out here this summer for the kickoff to this anual event.
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