Lake Bluff Yacht Club to host major sailing regattas

The Lake Bluff Yacht Club will host two major sailing regattas during the summers of 2011 and 2012, officials said.

On Sept. 10 and 11, the club will host the 2011 U.S. Masters Sunfish Championships for sailors older than 40.

This will be the second time in recent years the masters championships have been held in Lake Bluff; the last time was in 2006. In previous years, as many as 50 men and women from across the U.S. have participated in this event.

Past participants have included several national and international champions of the Sunfish class, as well as other types of boats. This event will start and end each day at the public beach in Lake Bluff.

In late July and early August 2012, the Lake Bluff Yacht Club will host the 2012 Sunfish North American Championships. This regatta is open to all sailors and was last held in the Chicago area in 2001.

Preceding the North American Championships will be the North American Youth Championship for sailors younger than 18. Ninety-nine sailors competed in the 2011 North American Championships, held in Barrington, R.I.

Due to space considerations, this event will be held at the public beach in Waukegan.

All sailors in both regattas will use Sunfish Sailboats, identical 14-foot-long, single-handed sailboats that have been produced for more than 50 years. Men and women compete equally and there are prizes in various age categories and overall prizes.

The public is welcome to observe the racing and meet the sailors at the beach before and after racing.

The Lake Bluff Yacht Club is a community-based sailing, kayaking and social club. More than 110 families from Lake Bluff and surrounding communities belong to the club. For information, visit www.lakebluffyachtclub.org.

It hosts weekly summer and fall sailing races and several family-oriented social events each year.

For details, contact Douglas Warren, regatta chairman, at (847) 204-7023 or douglas.b.warren@gmail.com.