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Welcome To Sailing in Texas!
AYC J/24 Fleet 21 welcomes you to winter sailing in Texas leading up to the 2017 J/24 North Americans!
J/24s racing on Lake Travis: First downwind leg of the 2016 J/24 March Madness Regatta. Photo courtesy of Bill Records.
Winter Boat Storage in Texas
In preparation for the 2017 J/24 North Americans, we have made arrangements with the Austin Yacht Club, Austin, Texas (http://www.austinyachtclub.net/) where we have space to store a limited number of J/24s during the winter. We are fortunate that we can sail 365 days of the year on beautiful Lake Travis, so if you are planning to compete on the 2017 North Americans, you can store your boat at AYC and you can continue sailing throughout the winter leading up to the NAs. You will have a wide selection of Fall and Winter sailing events to choose from, including local AYC events and out-of-town events, all within a short driving distance from AYC.
Contact
For more information, please contact Jorge Martin-de-Nicolas: jorgemdn@gmail.com
Fall and Winter Sailing in Texas
Here is a list of events for the Fall and Winter that are sure to draw the local J/24 fleets. All of these events are within 1-4 hours drive from AYC and many AYC J/24s will be in attendance:
- J/Fest 2016 (Oct. 29-30): Hosted by Lakewood Yacht Club, this event will be in the same bay as the 2017 North Americans. This will be the 6th event in the 2016 J/24 Texas Regatta Circuit (http://www.j24texas.com/).
- Governor's Cup Regatta (Nov. 5-6): Hosted by Austin Yacht Club. Two days of windward/leeward round-the-buoys racing for one-design fleets.
- Wurstfest Regatta 2016 (Nov. 11-13): Hosted by Lake Canyon Yacht Club on beautiful Canyon Lake in the Texas Hill Country. This with be the 46th year of the Wurstfest Regatta (http://www.wurstfestregatta.com/), and it always draws a good J/24 crowd.
- Texas "Circus" Regatta (Nov. 19-20): Hosted by Lake Canyon Yacht Club. The Texas "Circus" Regatta harkens back to the days when the regatta tent was made from old J/24 jibs! This will be the 7th (and final) event in the 2016 J/24 Texas Regatta Circuit, so competition for the top spots will be intense!
- Wild Turkey Regatta (Nov. 26): Hosted by Austin Yacht Club. Yes, the trophies are different sized bottles of Wild Turkey!
- Red Eye Regatta (Jan. 1): Hosted by Austin Yacht Club. Come for the New Year's Party, and stay for the Red Eye Regatta! Some years we have been known to sail wearing T-Shirts, but do bring your foulies just in case!
- AYC Frostbite Series (Jan. - Feb.): Hosted by Austin Yacht Club, the first series of the year is held on 5 consecutive Saturdays starting mid January, and since this is Austin, the "Frostbite Series" seldom lives up to its name!
- March Madness Regatta *** (Mar.): Hosted by Austin Yacht Club, this is the "flagship" J/24 event you don't want to miss leading up to the 2017 North Americans. This will be the 1st event in the 2017 J/24 Texas Regatta Circuit. See link below for photos and information from last year's event: http://www.j24fleet21.com/events/2016/J24CircuitStop/
- Cowtown Stampede *** (Apr.): Hosted by Fort Worth Boat Club, this is typically the 2nd event in the J/24 Texas Regatta Circuit, but (***) the 2017 calendar has not been finalized yet.
- J/24 North Americans 2017 (May 25 - 28): Hosted by Houston Yacht Club, in Shoreacres, Texas. HYC is less than 4 hours away from AYC, and with all the practice your team will be dialed in, and ready for the event!
About AYC
Austin Yacht Club was founded in 1951 primarily for the purpose of promoting sailboat racing and related social activities on Lake Travis. Since its founding, AYC has become the place in Central Texas where members and guests can find a fun, uniquely Austin version of what a yacht club should be: A great community of sailing enthusiasts with excellence in sailing skills, racing, and training.
AYC Facilities
AYC has approximately 200 dry slips where boats can be stored on trailers (with the mast up or down) and we have two mast cranes for raising and lowering masts.
AYC is nearly at 100% capacity but the AYC Vice Commodore has approved making some of our empty dry slips available this winter for competitors who will be participating in the 2017 J/24 North Americans.
The map below shows the layout of the AYC grounds, including the locations of the front gate, the AYC clubhouse, the work area and boat hoist, the dry slip area for parking boats and trailers (where we are offering winter storage for qualified J/24s), the AYC point, the north ramp used for launching and retrieving, and the main AYC harbor.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. If my boat is stored at AYC, can I participate in the AYC regattas? YES! If you store your boat at AYC, you would be welcome to participate in all events hosted by AYC.
2. Can I rent one of the cabins at AYC if I participate in one of the AYC regattas? YES! AYC has five cabins on site which may be rented by members and their guests. If you are storing your boat at AYC you would be welcome to rent one of the cabins for any of the events. The cabins are winterized, air-conditioned, and have kitchen facilities. A limited number of RV hookups and camp sites are also available.
3. If I leave my boat at AYC, and if I drive back home with my tow vehicle, how could I get my boat to the out-of-town regattas? If you plan to fly in to participate in some of the out-of-town regattas, we can recommend Longhorn Car and Truck Rental in Austin. They rent cars and trucks and they allow towing with their entire line of pickup trucks. They have a wide variety of pickups which are capable of towing a J/24 and we have had good luck using them for multiple regattas to tow our J/24s (http://www.longhorncartruckrentals.com/).
4. I have an extra tow vehicle. Could I leave my tow vehicle with my boat at AYC? YES! If you want to do the drive to Texas only once, you could leave your boat and tow vehicle at AYC and you could fly back home. We have ample parking at AYC and a limited number of spaces could be reserved for out-of-town tow vehicles. If you have an extra tow vehicle, and if you want to participate in some of the winter sailing events, you could leave your tow vehicle at AYC and fly back home after the events leading up to the NAs.
5. If I ship my boat to AYC using uShip.com, can somebody accept delivery for me? YES! If you are planning to use uShip.com to deliver your boat to AYC, we could arrange to meet the driver and accept delivery of your boat.
2016 March Madness Photo Gallery
Two professional photographers from AYC, Deborah Mathison and Bill Records were on hand during the 2016 March Madness Regatta and they made their full resolution images available to all competitors! Here is a sampling of their photos. We hope you can join us in 2017!!!
In addition, our friend Doichin Tzolov was on Race Committee and he created a 28 minute video with the highlights of both days of racing.
Thank you Deborah! Thank you Bill! Thank you Doichin! We appreciate you taking extra time out of the weekend to do this for us.
PHOTOS: AYC March Madness Regatta 2016, courtesy of Bill Records and Deborah Mathison.
Deborah Mathison Photos
Click image below to see an album with Deborah's photos:
Bill Records Photos
Click image below to see an album with Bill's photos:
Doichin Tzolov Video
Click image below to see Doichin's video:
