FWBC Sailing Updates - November

coach364
6 days ago
8 min read

November Contents

Warrior Sailing

Dinghy Demo Day

Annual Turkey Trot

Adult Learn to Sail Clinic

Upcoming Regattas - Race of Champions

Club Racing - PHRF Weekend Series

Youth Sailing - Junior Team End of Season Regattas

Club Sailing Events in November

Warrior Sailing Camp at FWBC - November 4-6

On November 4th through 6th, we are supporting Warrior Sailing in their goal to teach and support wounded, ill, and injured veterans how to sail! The Starboard Foundation has vowed to match each donation made through the link below. Make sure to mention Warrior Sailing in the donation comment!

www.thestarboardfoundation.org/donate

Melges and VX2 Dinghy Demo Day - Saturday, November 15th

Curious about trying something new on the water? Join us for Dinghy Demo Day at FWBC on Saturday, November 15, hosted in partnership with Vela Sailing Supply.

We’ll have two exciting boats on site, the Melges 15 and the VX2, both designed for sailors looking for a fun, fast, and more physical dinghy experience. Whether you’re an experienced racer or just looking to broaden your sailing horizons, this is a great chance to hop in, take a sail, and see what these boats are all about.

Check out the demo signup via the FWBC app, then come spend the day at the club learning, sailing, and connecting with fellow members. Who knows, you might just find your next boat or help shape the future of our club fleet!

Annual Turkey Trot- Saturday, November 22, 2026

It’s time for one of FWBC’s most lighthearted and entertaining annual traditions, the Turkey Trot Regatta! Join us on Friday, November 22, for an afternoon of fun on the water before the holiday season kicks into full swing.

The Skippers’ Meeting will be held at 3:30 PM in the Regatta Bar, and after that, it’s game on! Any non-motorized vessel is welcome to participate, so bring out your sailboats, kayaks, or check out something from the club's adventure pack. Be sure to bring your nets for scooping up ducks and any other creative gear you can think of to help you earn some of the fun prizes up for grabs.

The Turkey Trot is all about creativity, camaraderie, and plenty of laughs, so gather your crew, decorate your boat, and come join the fun!

Adult Sailing Learn to Sail Clinic - Late Fall Session

Visit the FWBC Sailing Lessons Page to register

Upcoming Regattas at FWBC

Race of Champions - Saturday, November 8th

The Annual Race of Champions will be held on November 8th, racing will start at 11 am with 5 races, all to count to decide who will be the 2025 FWBC champion team. Racing will be on the FWBC J22s. Come out and watch the best of the best contend for this coveted trophy.

Teams are decided by the winners of the weekend series, the overall winner of the J22 Wednesday series, the winners of the Annual and the Ol Man of the Sea regattas, and holiday events.

Our 2025 Race of Champions qualifiers are:

Defender - Bryan Dyer, James Mitchell, William Toothe

Challengers

J22 - Jeff Keller, Sarah Francis, Johanna Holmes

Annual Regatta

J105 - Michael Winfrey, Marshall Wurst, Jeff Lonspaugh
J22 - Ben Robbins, Kendra Robbins, Julie Dederer

Ol Man of the Sea

J105 - Dwight Horton
J22 - Chris Holmes

Weekend Racing

J105 - Mark W. Smith, Marc Nilsson, Mike Garcia

Holiday Series

Independence Cup - Conner Fullerton

Crews of three, of two must be members or qualifying members of Fort Worth Boat Club, the third must be an active member of the qualifying crew if not a member of FWBC.

Many thanks to Jason Dyer, who will be the Principal Race Officer for the event.

It all comes down to this, one day, five races, and one club champion. Come out to watch, cheer, and celebrate the very best of FWBC racing!

Club Racing

PHRF Weekend Racing Series

We’re well into the fall season now! The sunsets are coming a little sooner, the weather is cooling off, and we’re enjoying some of the best sailing conditions of the year. Even as the days get shorter, there’s still plenty happening on the water; after all, we’re lucky to sail year-round at FWBC.

The Weekend PHRF Racing Series has wrapped up the PAKI Series, and the Blue Moon Series is underway with more great competition and camaraderie out on the lake. Whether you’re racing, crewing, or just watching from the dock, it’s a perfect time to be at the club.

November and December will feature the Blue Moon series to round us out of the 2025 season. This series has a mixture of weather potentials as we transition through fall to winter, presenting different challenges to our sailors.

Blue Moon Series Dates and PRO:

November 2 - Blue Moon 1 Wendy Vann

November 9 - Blue Moon 2 Dwight Horton

November 16 - Blue Moon 3 Governors

December 7 - Blue Moon 4. Matt Arno

December 14 - Blue Moon 5 Race Committee Chairman

By tradition, the weekend after the Annual Meeting, the new Board of Governors from the Race Committee, which is led by the Commodore.

Paki Series Results:

The Paki series has finished up, with 4 of the 6 races for the series completed, since sailing restarted on September after the summer break. Races 5 and 6 could not be run owing to a lack of wind.

Paki Series Results are as follows:

1. Desperado Michael and Randy Winfrey 11 points

2. Amor Azul Matt Talton. 13T points

3. SkyFall Martin Peacey 13T points

4. Eau La La Mark W. Smith 16 points

5. Beauty Dwight Horton 19 points

6. Blue Flash Matt Arno 22 points

See the Club Racing Page for Series Registration, Notice of Race (NOR), and Sailing Instructions (SIs).

Race your own sailboat, join a crew, or check out a J22 to get out on the water for Sunday racing and then socialize in the clubhouse after racing with fellow racers and members.

FWBC Sailors Representing Abroad

Texas Yacht Club Challenge Cup

Good luck to

Conner Fullerton

Ben Robbins

Kendra Robbins

Parker Younger

They will be representing Fort Worth Boat Club against the other Texas Yacht Clubs at Lakewood Yacht Club on November 1 and 2 on the LYC RS21s.

J105 North American Championships

Blue Flash - Matt Arno, Ken Dooley, Jack Fitzsimmons, Luke Fricke, Johanna and Chris Holmes, travelled to the Royal Canadian Yacht Club in Toronto to compete in the 2025 J/105 North American Championship with a fleet of 18. Placing 11th in the fleet against very serious competition, light winds for several days finishing with high winds on the last day, with 2 podium finishes of a 3rd and a 2nd. Go Blue Flash.

J22 North Americans

Mike Schwinn with Ale Schwinn and Ben Robbins, travelled to Rochester Yacht Club, New York to compete in the J22 North Americans, light winds were prevalent for this regatta too, a fleet of 25 boats and a 12th place with a 6th and 4th place in an 8 race series.

ILCA Masters

David Hiebert competed in the ILCA Masters World Championship at Formia, Italy, finishing 4th in the ILCA 7 Grand MAsters Gold Fleet, in a 6 races series with 2 firsts, 2 thirds a twirly impressive result in a fleet of 46 boats.

Ladies

Recognition also to Sarah Francis and Johanna Holmes who competed at the Mermaid Regatta at HYC on a J105 and placed second. This was an all female crew.

Southwest J Fest

Congratulations to Chris Holmes, Johanna Holmes, Sarah Francis, David Hayslip and Luke Fricke on winning the J24 Class at the Southwest J Fest Regatta at HYC in a fleet of 13 boats, 4 races were completed with 2 of those in first place.

Looking forward to seeing everyone on the water, the Blue Moon series is open to all sailboats and members of Fort Worth Boat Club, if you need any assistance or information about racing your boat, or one of the FWBC J22 fleet please do not hesitate to reach out to me or the office.

Ol Man of the Sea Recap

October 4 - 5

Congratulations to the following:

J105

1. Dwight Horton - Beauty

2. Michael Winfrey - Desperado

3. Mark W. Smith - Eau La La

J22

1. Christopher Holmes

2. Conner Fullerton

3. Collin Thompson

1. Lilyana Moody

2. Penelope Potter

3. Brigid Valenti

ILCA

1. Shiloh Mabry

2. Isla Mrstik

3. Finn Messner

Thank you to our sponsors for their continued support

Kristen Holle Real Estate Group

Bavaria Yachts

Real Yachts LLC

Tim’s German Autos

US Boat Haulers

American National Bank and Trust

Lakeview Marina

Vela Sailing

Thank you to Mark W. Smith for all of your hard work as the Regatta Chairman, Jeff Progelhoff and James Mitchell for leading the on-the-water action as the Principal Race Officers, and to our volunteers helping with race course management and safety.

Sailboat GPS Racing Trackers

We hope you're keeping up with the club races through the Trackers shared and hosted by Juan Carlos Romero, FWBC's Sailing Director. After the race, see the associated Slack channel for the tracker info. It is a great way to see what happens on the water and improve your sailing skills by getting a big picture view

If you have any questions about learning to sail or developing your crew levels, please remember to reach out to Sailing Director Juan Carlos or Coach Val for information on coaching and lessons.

Youth Sailing

FWBC Junior team finishing the season strong!

Our FWBC Junior Team has been on the move this fall, continuing to put in the work and represent the club at some big events near and far. After a busy summer, the sailors kept their momentum going through October with the USODA Midwest Championships and Pirates of the Corinthian at DCYC.

A few of our Opti sailors, along with Coach Juan Carlos Romero, made the trip north to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, for the USODA Midwest Championships, sailing on the home waters of the legendary Buddy Melges. It was a great opportunity to line up against some of the best sailors in the country, gain more experience at a major national regatta, and proudly represent FWBC nearly a thousand miles from home. It’s always awesome to see FWBC junior sailors competing on the national stage and stepping up to the challenge.

Closer to home, the rest of the team headed to Dallas Corinthian Yacht Club for the always-fun Pirates of the Corinthian Regatta. No wind on Saturday meant that Sunday’s races really counted, and with good breeze, we managed to get five races off. Great job to all our sailors, and congratulations to Isla Mrstik for placing 3rd in the ILCA 6 fleet and Christian Lopez for taking 1st in the ILCA 7s!

Looking ahead, there’s still more racing before we wrap up the 2025 season. Sailors are gearing up for Chocopalooza and the USODA Mid-Americans at Rush Creek Yacht Club, complete with the famous chocolate fountain, which will close out the 2025 Youth TSA season. The training and racing don’t stop for our ILCA team either, as they’ll be heading south for the District 15 Championships at Seabrook Sailing Club.

We’re so proud of the effort and progress this team has shown all season long. From traveling across the country to racing right here at home, they continue to represent FWBC with skill, sportsmanship, and plenty of team spirit.

Want to stay up to date with what the FWBC Junior Sailing Team is up to?

Facebook: FWBC Junior Sailing Program

Instagram: @fwbc_junior_sailing