Junior Lipton Regatta, Viper 640's and the Gulf Yachting Association

[Craig Wilusz]

Hi all. Junior Liptons are going on now on Vipers.  All sailors 18 and under. Ten clubs representing. Follow along here:
https://m.facebook.com/groups/1912474155654277?tsid=0.3262747484966497&source=result

[Craig Wilusz]

All right, non techie Craigee trying to do this via mobile device.  One of the starts at Junior Liptons, where all sailors are under 18:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hVBj5JgQmmg

[Craig Wilusz]

Boatpark at Southern Yacht Club for Junior Liptons on Vipe's

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=T3PUi429LxA

[Craig Wilusz]

Quick interview with all youth team from Jackson YC , Jackson Mississippi , sailing Vipers for Junior Liptons. 10 yacht clubs represented.  Rule is a skipper can only drive two out of six races.:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hFF-Qj9AbRM

[Craig Wilusz]

All right, this was Craig's first interview with some kids racing Vipers in the Junior Liptons, and a start.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5htBt8kzVs

[Craig Wilusz]

Hi all.

So the Junior Lipton's are held once a year in the Gulf Yachting Association.  All sailors must be 18 years old or younger to compete.  A GYA yacht club can only send one boat per club.  Out of a six race series, skippers can only drive two of the six races, requiring a mix of skippers and crews.  For example, Fort Walton Yacht Club had seven youth sailors, of which four of the kids had driver spots.  Some of the kids swapped out between races, so that every kids on the team had a chance to sail.

Ten teams, from ten different yacht clubs sailed this years event with approximately 80 plus youth sailors participating.  We had a yacht clubs from Texas (Lakewood Yacht Club) to Florida (Fort Walton Yacht Club) as well as clubs from Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.

As the GYA adopted the Viper 640 to replace the Flying Scot as the GYA interclub race boat, or Capdevielle series, all events previously sailed in the Scot are now sailed in the Viper 640.  The Flying Scot has been the GYA interclub raceboat for about the last fifty years and prior to that was the Fishboat .  This is to include the Junior Liptons and the ladies championship, the Knost Regatta.  the Knost regatta is only a few weeks away, and Craig hopes to be able to catch video for that event as well.

Some history of the Junior Liptons, taken from "History of Southern Yacht Club":

  "Recognizing the increased interest of, and participation by juniors in interclub racing, the Gulf Yachting Association donated in 1941 a beautiful sterling silver bowl and named it the Junior Lipton Cup in memory of the "grand old man of yachting, "Sir thomas J. Lipton. (Unlike today, in earlier years only senior members of GYA yacht clubs could participate in the Senior Lipton regattas held on Labor Day weekends.) Now the juniors had a Lipton Cup of thier own.
The Buccaneer Yacht Club was selected to host the first Junior Lipton Cup Regatta in 1941. Five clubs participated:Buccaneer, Gulfport, Mobile, Pensacola, and Southern.  The Southern Yacht Club won all three races that year...."
"Southern made a repeat performance in 1942  and after 1942, World War II interupted this series of races until 1947, with the Biloxi Yacht Club dominatingthe post war years..."


link to the Fish Class, the first interclub raceboat for the GYA preceeding the Flying Scot:
https://fishclass.org/history/history.html

[Craig Wilusz]

Gulfport Yacht Club, Youth Viper 640 Team, quick interview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MS7MWGkkLM4

[Craig Wilusz]

Start of race four of Junior Liptons:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19OxpzwAg3o

[Craig Wilusz]

Quick interview with youth ladies at the Junior Liptons.  Both young ladies were both crew and drivers at the event:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fbl7jdpNQuc

[Craig Wilusz]

Quick shot of youth teams prepping their club Vipers at Junior Liptons:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33TjXfIHr9E

[Craig Wilusz]

15 year old 'Sponge" after driving two races at Junior Liptons:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0Inr3GCw1A

[Craig Wilusz]

Walk down the dock on the "windy day" at Junior Liptons.  Wind reports show that winds were 10knts to 16knots during their sailing with a couple puffs hitting 20knots.  All the kids sailed the vipers well. a few teams opted not to pop the kite on the first downwind leg, but opted to go for the second downwind leg of race one.  All teams popped chutes the second race.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8N-z7S5o1g

[Craig Wilusz]

Quick one with 17year old Zach after driving his race at Junior Liptons:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_o8gsJlQcM

[Craig Wilusz]

Interview with 17 year old Ricky Welch from the winning team of the Junior Liptons.  Even bigger news was that Long Beach Yacht Club, Mississippi just picked up their first club Viper 640...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMOOMAlrWfM

[Craig Wilusz]

Fairhope Yacht Club Viper 640 Youth Team at Junior Liptons:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvVZVfSSijg