The Round the Lights Race 2014. Photo by David Baxter
The OPCYC Yankee Station Regatta Series (YSR) for 2015 starts on May 2 with the Round the Lights Race. This will be a chase start from the Old Point Comfort Marina, rounding the Middle Ground Light before returning to the finish at OPCM.
A detailed knowledge of Hampton Roads tidal flow is as necessary for this race as are racing skills. See the OPCYC web site for details.
The OPCM race will complement the Fort Monroe Bodacious Boardwalk Bazaar and Wine Festival also held on May 2. More than two hundred vendors, artists and crafters will display their wares under three large tents. Boats and RV will be on display, along with live music and great food.
Yankee Station Regatta dates for 2015 are:
1. Round the Light Race (chase start). 02 May
2. Yankee Station Race (off Buckroe Beach) 13 June
3. Veteran’s Cup (sponsored by LYC) 27 June
4. Yankee Station Race (off Buckroe Beach) 11 July
5. New Willoughby Challenge (sponsored by NYCC) 18 July
6. Yankee Station Race (off Buckroe Beach) 22 August
7. Tri Service Regatta 13 September
8. Round the Lights Race (sponsored by OPCYC) 17 October
OPCYCs power boaters are also active in support of Fort Monroe. On May 18 they will support Fort Monroe’s Casemate Museum by providing “sealift” for the museum’s staff and other students of history to Fort Wool, the manmade island just across the Hampton Roads entrance channel from Fort Monroe, for a tour of the fortress and its gun emplacements. When Fort Monroe was being built in the 1820’s, artillery lacked the range to close off the complete channel. As a result, Congress funded the US Army Corps of Engineer’s creation of a manmade island just on the south side of the deepwater channel from Fort Monroe to insure that Hampton Roads would be protected.
