Oxford 2018, Cape Charles Cup, and More Racing

Here’s Your SpinSheet Racing Roundup August 10-12

Oxford 2018, Cape Charles, and more—racing sailors have plenty to keep them busy in the month of August, despite steamy weather, notoriously light air, and afternoon storm threats. This past weekend, August 10-12, featured a few Bay favorites.

Race to Oxford

The fleet experienced light air at the start of the 2018 Race to Oxford. Photo by Al Schreitmueller

We seem to be racing to Oxford a lot this year, don’t we? After a couple of years of it being held on Saturday instead of its traditional Friday start, Tred Avon Yacht Club’s Summer Race to Oxford once again gave racers a great excuse to take the day off and compete in the 30-mile distance race to the Tred Avon River.

Nick Iliff aboard Muskrat finished first under corrected time in PHRF N in the Race to Oxford. Photo by Al Schreitmeuller

Only 20 boats registered for the distance race—which is quite light, perhaps because of AYC introducing a Spring Oxford (90 entries) and the upcoming NASS Oxford Race (Sept. 8), which is always one of the most well-attended September regattas in the mid-Bay attracting 119 boats in 2017.

Here’s a link to the 2018 Race to Oxford results.

Here’s a link to SpinSheet’s Race to Oxford Photos by Al Schreitmueller.

Oxford Regatta

A variety of boats, family-friendly racing, and TAYC hospitality make the Oxford Regatta a beloved annual event.

TAYC’s Oxford Regatta pretty much welcomes anything that floats with a sail in it. PHRF racers and a myriad of one-design competitors are in the fray: Comets, Penguins, Snipes, Lasers, Optis, 420s, Stars, Shields, and Log Canoes.

The delightful variety of boats, family-friendly aspects of racing, and hospitality of TAYC have made this a beloved summer event for many, many years.

Find 2018 Oxford Regatta results by class here.  

Find Will Keyworth's 2018 Oxford photos here

Cape Charles Cup

Cape Charles Cup 2018 Awards Ceremony

The Broad Bay Sailing Association presented a 15-year-old Southern Bay summer favorite Saturday and Sunday: the Leo Wardrup Memorial Cape Charles Cup (CCCup), a distance race of about 16 miles (shortened a bit this year) from Little Creek to Cape Charles, great party at the Oyster Farm at Kings Creek, and Sunday race home. The Schooner Virginia was there to welcome competing boats across the finish line at Cape Charles. Sixty-three boats raced on at least one of the two days.

SpinSheet was on the scene at the party  taking photos, spending some time with competitors, and enjoying all that Cape Charles has to offer. Although heavy rains messed up the beginning of the party, they did not stop hearty Southern Bay sailors from having a great time on C Dock at the Oyster Farm. Once the weather let up, sailors enjoyed beer, good food, a lively awards ceremony, and silent auction/raffle results---this event is a big fundraiser for Sail Nauticus. Too bad there was no dancing because of the band getting rained out, but it did not stop a few hundred racers from partying on. 

Thank you CCCup racers for your warm welcome to SpinSheet! We love you guys and will be back!

Find 2018 CCCup Results for Day 1 and Day 2 here.

See more great CCCup photos in the gallery below and at the 2018 CCCup gallery here.

Would you like to see your event in our racing roundup?

We welcome Chesapeake racing news and photos every week by 9 a.m. Monday for inclusion in our racing roundup. Send stories, results, and photos to [email protected].