Amongst competitive sailors from Olympia to British Columbia, Bellingham Yacht Club’s PITCH event is regarded as North Sound’s signature regatta of the whole season. This year, PITCH has expanded to include the Pacific Coast Championship for J/70s with competitors coming from as far as California and Oregon.
“We are honored to host the J70/s championship for the first time and so excited to welcome back Canadian sailors to PITCH,” said Sarah Drotning, Bellingham Yacht Club’s Sail Fleet Captain. “While highly competitive, PITCH is also great fun and we are looking forward to celebrating with old friends and welcoming new competitors. The PITCH motto ‘‘Come for the wind, stay for the party!’” is spot on,” she added.
Fleet Captain Rich Sandeen added, “The BYC manages the competition in accordance with PHRF rules and PITCH is a Grand Prix qualifying race as well as a 48N Top 25. Not all regattas are run at this level of qualifying standards,” he added.
Competitors start arriving Friday, September 2. Races will run Saturday and Sunday of the Labor Day weekend while Friday and Saturday nights there will be parties with live bands, food and drinks. Saturday’s musical guest is the YogoMan Burning Band and all Bellingham Yacht Club members are welcomed to join the celebrations.
Started in the early 1970’s, PITCH is one of the oldest regattas in the North Sound and stands for Pacific International Tonnage Championships, predating PHRF. Bellingham Yacht Club is already planning the 50th PITCH celebration for 2024.
For information about the race and to register, click here.
The Bellingham Yacht Club is grateful to our sponsors for the PITCH regatta including North Sound Party Circuit, Tario and Associates, Port of Bellingham, WayCross, and YogoMan Burning Band.
