Racing Overview - Westhampton Yacht Squadron, Ltd.

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The Westhampton Yacht Squadron (WYS) is a member of The Great South Bay Yacht Racing Association (GSBYRA) which, in turn, is a member of the U.S. Sailing. Our Members have courtesy privileges in many yacht clubs throughout the world. Members may compete in Midgets, Junior’s, Women’s and Men’s Single, Double, and Triple-Handed eliminations at local and regional levels culminating at the national finals.

Multi-class championship races are held each Saturday in the summer. Informal Sunfish races are held on Wednesday evenings. GSBYRA’s Invitationals, Eliminations and SS Association races are held throughout the season. There is also a Fall Series, open to all for the hardy Sunfish, Optimist, Lasers and 420 sailors.

Over the years, the classes of boats have changed. The Star, with its deep keel has disappeared as our bay grew shallower. AA’s Moriches Bays, Indians, Shore Birds and Small Sloops were popular in the twenties and forties. Narrasketuck’s and Lightning’s in the forties and fifties gave way to the high performance Dinghy type boats such as the tipsy Jollyboat and the Sailfish. In the sixties, Flying Scots, Force 5’s, 420’s, Y Flyers and Sunfish appeared. In the 90’ the only old wooden lady that is still with us is the S.S., a boat indigenous to the Moriches Bay area. Originally she was called the Special Sloop but later became known as the Small Sloop.

The present fleet of sailboats racing or used for instruction purposes at the WYS include Flying Scot, Optimist, JY-15, 420, Sunfish, S.S., and Laser.