| Long has the 18ft Skiff been considered the ultimate dinghy to sail or to watch sailing. As such it has often been the boat of choice for those wanting to make an impression on the general public. Most can remember the 18ft Skiffs being televised in the 90s on Sydney Harbour and this success has been talked about being emulated much before. Now the newly formed American Sailing League is having a no holds barred go at doing just that, and it would seem they are off to a good start.
Founded by Jeff Causey and Thomas Loughborough, the American Sailing League has a simple aim: to bring exciting sailing to the masses in the form of close to the shore events sailed in high performance boats. “There is a group of sailors in San Francisco Bay that sail 18ft Skiffs and have done for a while,” Causey explained to TheDailySail. “Most of them are organised around a group called the Skiff Sailing Foundation, started by a couple of guys a few years ago to bring that kind of sailing to the States, because we still lack a lot of it. We wanted to start putting on Grand Prix regattas where we could do something and make a spectacle to attract sponsors because most of us have been sailing these boats on a shoe string really, with only what we can bring in through the Foundation.” ...more |
