Orange Bowl Youth Regatta back for 68th year

It's that time of year again. Regatta season has started. This weekend, starting yesterday, in fact, you'll see lots of youthful sailors in the village, all part of this year's Orange Bowl International Youth Regatta (OBIYR), home based at the Coral Reef Yacht Club.

700 sailors, aged 8 to 18 are expected to compete now through Monday. Now in its 68th year, it draws sailors from all over the world to experience our winter weather while sailing. Unfortunately, they had to deal with rain on the first day.

There is “Olympic type” racing going on right here in our village. It is the largest Youth Regatta in the United States. Young sailors from around the globe (27 countries) are are here to sail.

“Coral Reef Yacht Club is proud to be involved in this premier event, which provides up-and-coming sailors with an opportunity to race competitively and become more active within the sailing community,” said OBIYG Chair  Henry Chau. “Besides the excitement of the regatta, more than half of the sailors and their families come from outside of South Florida and spend an average of 5-6 nights here, which helps support our local economy in the form of hotel nights, food, transportation, and retail sales.” 


Photos courtesy of OBIYR