Cooper River Yacht Club Hosts Two Day Labor Day Regatta

Aug. 14, 2008 - PRLog -- Members of the Cooper River Yacht Club report that this summer has been another great one for sailing on the Cooper River.  So conditions should be ideal for their upcoming annual Ernest M. Ritchie Regatta, scheduled for Labor Day weekend: Sunday August 31, at 1:00pm, and Monday September 1  at 11:00am.

Mr. Ernest M. Ritchie was the head of the Camden County Park Commission in the 1940s.  Mr. Ritchie was instrumental in arranging for the newly formed club to occupy the formerly abandoned tennis club building as a headquarters for the club, with the tennis courts used as a boat storage yard.  Every year that he was involved with the Commission, now known as the Camden County Parks Department, Mr. Ritchie attended the club’s awards ceremony on Labor Day. He also arranged for the Park commission’s donation of funds used to purchase trophies for the Labor Day awards, so in honor of Mr. Ritchie’s generous support of the club, the club’s Labor Day regatta is now known as the “Ernest M. Ritchie Regatta.”

There will be three sailing races each day, open to the different types of sail boats but most of the sailors will compete in the most popular GP14, Laser, and Sunfish sailboats.

The public is invited to stop by to see the races.  Admission and parking is free, and club officers will be on hand to answer questions on sailing, sailing lessons, and other upcoming club activities.

The club also schedules annual regattas on Memorial Day and the 4th of July.

Conveniently located on South Park Drive, in Collingswood along the Cooper River Park, the Cooper River Yacht Club (CRYC) provides a comfortable, safe, and friendly place to learn how to cruise and race, at a home away from home for like-minded boat lovers, where there is always ample free parking.

For over sixty years, the CRYC has been a vital part of the Camden County Parks system, providing a full season of activities for sailing enthusiasts.  The club hosts races on Sundays at 1:00pm, from April through November, as well as a summer series of Thursday evening handicap races.

CRYC is part of an association of fourteen sailing clubs located from the New Jersey Shore throughout the Delaware Valley: the Mid-Atlantic Yacht Racing Association (MAYRA).  MAYRA schedules regattas at the various member clubs throughout the summer, including CRYC.  For many sailing club members, MAYRA competitions are the highlight of their summer sailing experiences.

The CRYC also offers Community Sailing, which enables members to use any of the club’s fleet.  Some of the many types of sail boats available are Precision, Laser Radial, and Sunfish.  Community Sailing is an excellent way to personally experience each of the different types of sailboats, helping members who may be considering the purchase of their own sailboats to make informed decisions based on hands-on experiences.

The exciting world of sailing is as close as the easy to reach Cooper River Yacht Club, on the Collingswood side of Cooper River Park.

For more information on the Cooper River Yacht Club, and all of their sailing instruction programs and summer sailing season activities, visit the club’s website at www.CooperRiverYC.org or arrange to visit the club in person by calling the steward at 856-869-9145.

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