The 2024 US Open Sailing Series for the Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta at Los Alamitos Bay Yacht Club in Long Beach, California, delivered an exhilarating week of competitive racing, featuring a diverse fleet of sailors across multiple classes. This event, an integral part of the sailing calendar, showcased both seasoned competitors and promising young talents.
The event brought in a combination of Olympic, Invitational, and Youth World Classes for competitive racing in Southern California waters.
The Long Beach venue, renowned for its challenging conditions and scenic backdrop, provided the perfect setting for this prestigious regatta. As the sailing community looks ahead, it’s worth noting that Long Beach will serve as the sailing venue for the 2028 Summer Olympics, promising more thrilling races and showcasing the world’s best sailors.
“Extremely competitive classes showed up to race in stellar Long Beach conditions providing 12-17 knots on Friday and Saturday and 8-10 knots on Sunday,” shared Regatta Co-Chair and Long Beach Yacht Club Vice Commodore, Lisa Meier. “Coaches and competitors were at the highest levels. One just had to look at the ILCA 6 course to world class competition to see Charlotte Rose/USA, Lillian Meyers/USA, and Wiktoria Golebiowska/Poland battling it out in world class conditions! All classes provided stiff competition with lead changes throughout the regatta.”
- 29er: Kevin Cason + Holland Vierling, San Diego Yacht Club
- 470: Kyra Phelan + Sawyer Bastian, St. Francis Yacht Club
- Finn: Rob Coutts, Mission Bay Yacht Club
- Formula Kite: Adam Keaton, Fastmetrics
- ILCA 4: Nate Colbert, Mission Bay Yacht Club
- ILCA 6: Wiktoria Golebiowska, Poland*
- ILCA 7: Hamilton Barclay, Barclay Sailing
*Denotes international competitor
Five of the seven class winners hail from California, representing the West Coast at the event.
“The Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta is designed to run during the Olympic window,” noted Mike Van Dyke, Chair of US Sailing Board of Directors and Staff Commodore of both Long Beach Yacht Club and Los Alamitos Bay Yacht Club. “It’s a preview of the day of how the sailing will look for LA28. Next year, we expand the number of classes as we welcome back the 49er, FX, Nacra 17, and iQFOiL. The Format expands to 9 days with each class racing 4 days. We’re partners with the City of Long Beach, welcoming and hosting visiting athletes as they move from Paris to Long Beach.”
The 2024 US Open Sailing Series not only highlighted the current elite sailors but also served as a critical platform for emerging talents to make their mark. The event reaffirmed the vibrant and competitive spirit of sailing, setting a high bar for future regattas.
For regatta highlights, visit: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtc1xG1KHqw4_8z6lpeAKRrpuaRImJf58
For photos, visit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/195842591@N03/albums/72177720318964487/
For full results, visit: https://raceoffice.usopen.ussailing.org/en/default/races/race-resultsall/text/2024LongBeachOlympicClassesRegatta-en
And check out this interview with Southern California American Magic Sailors, Riley Gibbs and Michael Menninger about the conditions in Long Beach and well wishes for the Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta competitors: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlPZRx683Io