Etchells Class measurement inquiry protocol

11/14/2017

Ever wonder how to go about getting an answer to a question about measurement of a boat, its equipment or sail? Here is the full description of the way to do it.

Eight Races, Eight Winners, Championship Still up for Grabs

09/29/2017

Remarkably, at the end of the fourth day of racing in the Etchells World Championship, each of the eight races have been won by eight different teams. Thirty of the 51 competitors have had at least one top ten finish, demonstrating the amazing depth of the talent in this regatta.

Racers were greeted by typical San Francisco conditions for races seven and eight. As the race committee, headed by PRO Jeff Zarwell, set the line, wind readings were in the 17 – 19 kt range in a waning ebb with big chop.

Breeze on for Day Three of the Etchells World Championship

09/28/2017

Racers were overly eager as racing kicked off on the third day of racing in the 2017 Etchells World Championship. Unlike the previous two days, a consistent 8 – 10 kt westerly had filled in by noon and racing started on schedule – except for a general recall in race five, the first of the regatta. Racers were still pushing hard at the restart, with ten boats hailed OCS, and only seven returning to restart.

Consistency Pays Off for the Top of the Leader Board

09/27/2017

Day two racing began much as day one, with a two-hour postponement, although today the call was made to hold the racers on shore. When racing began at 2:20 pm the wind had filled in at 16-17 kts from a typical San Francisco Bay westerly direction of 225 degrees.

A Long First Day for Etchells Worlds Competitors

09/26/2017

The first day of racing for the 51 International Etchells teams got off to a slow start with a 2.5 hour postponement on glassy water. When race one finally began at about 2:30pm, the wind had built to a consistent 8 – 10 kts.  By the second race, the breeze freshened slightly to 14 - 15 kts. “The race committee, led by PRO Jeff Zarwell, did a great job completing two races in a short time window, getting everyone back to the dock before sunset,” said race co-chair Steve Fentress, and seconded by many racers.

2017 World Championship Final

09/26/2017

Congratulations to Steve Benjamin, Dave Hughes, Ian Liberty, and Michael Menninger, winners of the 2017 Etchells World Championship!

2017 Etchells World Championship Preview

09/25/2017

The 2017 Etchells World Championship, hosted by The San Francisco Yacht Club, kicks off on Tuesday, September 26, 2017 with the first of five days of racing on San Francisco Bay (9 races are scheduled). Fifty-one teams representing ten countries will be competing in the area known as the Berkeley Circle. This is the fourth time that the Etchells World Championships are being held in San Francisco Bay.

2017 North American Championship Concludes

08/22/2017

After taking the lead yesterday at the Etchells North American Championship, Scott Kaufman and his team of Jesse Kirkland, Lucas Calabrase, and Austen Anderson closed out the series today to win the 2017 title.

After several contenders found themselves in the teens after the first race of the day, the stage was set going into the eighth and final race of the event. Kaufman’s lead had narrowed, but the chasing pack faltered again, and with Kaufman coming in second in the race, all questions were erased.

Shroud Stabilizer Loop

08/15/2017

Is it permissible to use rope or elastic to tighten or stabilize the shrouds by deflecting them toward each other?

2017 Annual General Meeting announcement

07/28/2017

INTERNATIONAL ETCHELLS CLASS ASSOCIATION Notice: 2017 Annual General Meeting will be held on Monday, September 25, 2017 1730 at the San Francisco Yacht Club, Belvedere, California, USA

2017 Etchells Australasian Championship

06/11/2017

An array of conditions greeted the 39 starters in the 2017 Line 7 Etchells Australasian Championship. One crew managed them better than anyone else. So with three individual race wins and a pair of seconds from the seven that were held from Friday to Sunday, the crew to have their name inscribed as the 21st winners of the Mooloolaba Yacht Club’s annual classic is, Magpie. In second place was the fast finishing Iron Lotus, and in third were the social media favourites, Gen XY.

2017 Worlds Alert

05/15/2017

Early registration rates end on June 22 for The 2017 Etchells Worlds, sailed this year on San Francisco Bay and hosted by The San Francisco Yacht Club. The Worlds events kick off on September 22 and run through September 30.

2017 North American Championship

05/04/2017

Regatta website full of details and news for the event at San Diego Yacht Club. August 16-19.

Inside the Classes: Etchells

03/20/2017

Still tweaked, after all these years, but the Etchells class continues to deliver highly competitive and cerebral racing. Helly Hansen NOOD Regatta San Diego overall winner Argyle Campbell explains the nuances of this enduring one-design.

While modern one-design classes come and go, the Etchells endures, aging well as the ultimate tinkerer’s keelboat. Whether you sail it simple or sail it complex, the outcome is always the same: You’re only as fast as your last adjustment.

This long, slender classic came to the stage in the late 1960s, and while its lines remain true to its namesake designer Skip Etchells, its intricacies and the experience required to sail it to its potential are ever changing and ever elusive. Great sailors have gone to great lengths to master it, only to relinquish. Even greater sailors continue to unlock its mysteries today.

2017 Victorian States Championship

03/16/2017

2017 Brighton Land Rover Etchells Victorian Championship held at Royal Brighton Yacht Club. Congratulations to Jeanne-Claude Strong and her crew of Marcus Burke, Seve Jarvin and Tiana Witty for their win.