Racing Program:
The centerpiece of the club’s racing program are the Wednesday night races. Three Series of 5 races each are run between mid -May thru mid-September. At the end of the year, awards are given out at the annual banquet in early November for each Series winners as well as awards for the Fleet Champions.
Wednesday race night draws up to 70 some individual boats broken into 9 different classes.
All are determined by a Lake Erie PHRF rating system, called PHRF-LE. These “handicaps” put each boat into a fair competitive racing class. Currently we have 3 main and jib classes and 6 spinnaker classes. All helmsmen/women must be BHSC members and we encourage all crew to join the club as well.
BHSC also provides Tuesday racing programs. One program is titled China Light which is designed as a women’s racing program. Certain parameters exist such as a female must be the helmsperson, she must be a BHSC member and there must be more women onboard than men. This is designed to encourage women to become actively involved in sailing and to provide as much racing experience as we can offer.
The other is titled RCR Series and provides a venue for those just entering the racing scene and wanting more “on the water” practice or for those who may have purchased a different boat and want more practice time. No perimeters exist other than to be a BHSC member as stated above.
Within each of these, BHSC provides a main and jib class as well as a spinnaker classes. So each Tuesday night there would be 4 different racing starts.
There are regattas that are run on 2 different weekends over the summer. The Summer Regatta is a two day regatta and the Last Chance is a one day regatta. The scheduled courses are weather and wind dependent and can be any arrangement of short or distance races.
BHSC also sponsors a double-handed racing series and on occasion a single handed racing series. This is for those who like to race and venture out solo or with one other crew member. There are 2 races for each category and awards are presented at the annual banquet.
BHSC is one of several clubs sponsoring the Lake Erie Interclub Regatta. This is a five day racing event and takes in various ports of call like, Erie Yacht Club in Erie, PA, Port Dover, Port Colbourne, Point Abino, Buffalo Canoe Club and of course Buffalo, NY .
BHSC is proud to be a member of US SAILING Association (USSA), the Inter-Lake Yachting Association, (ILYA-LE), the Lake Yacht Racing Association (LYRA-Lake Ontario), the Niagara Frontier Yacht racing Association (NFYRA) and PHRF-LE.
The Buffalo Harbor Sailing Club races by the rules set forth by US Sailing. Your membership in US Sailing is optional. We encourage you to support this governing body. US SAILING is the National Governing Body (NGB) for the sport of sailing and sailboat racing in the United States. Its’ mission is to encourage participation and promote excellence in sailing. US SAILING accomplishes this through volunteers and member organizations, supported by an administrative staff and funded through your membership dollars. BHSC earns “MVP credits” when our members join or renew a US Sailing membership. Those credits can be traded for nearly everything US Sailing offers such as rule books, event prizes and most importantly and race management training programs! The credits are dollar-for-dollar and add up fast. When purchasing a US Sailing membership through our unique link, you will unlock a discounted membership price and communicate to US Sailing that you are a part of Buffalo Harbor Sailing Club. Follow this unique link when you register or renew:
US Sailing BHSC Member Registration
Sailors can also call US Sailing directly if you would feel more comfortable placing the order over the phone: 1-401-342-7947.