Valley Ho Power Squadron

Valley Ho Great Sail Race

The Valley Ho Great Sail Race (please note that all words in the title of this event are capitalized) is held in the Summer if there are sufficient sailboats in the Valley Ho Squadron to participate.  As many sailors know, two sailboats on the same track are almost always unofficially “racing” each other.  The Valley Ho Great Sail Race normally utilizes the Santa Monica Bay yacht racing buoys as “marks” for a race course, with a start time and expected buoy rounding times planned to avoid interference with any official Association of Santa Monica Bay Yacht Clubs (ASMBYC) races, although races ma y be scheduled off the Ventura-Oxnard shores.

The Valley Ho Great Sail Race is intended to provide novice racing sailors an opportunity to learn how to trim their sails to achieve maximum speeds and to better their handling of their sailboats on the various points of sail, from hard on the wind to broad reaching to running before the wind, needed to follow the planned course.

Racing rules and International Rules of the Road apply to all boats and are followed as required, but in order to keep the VHGSR a primarily “fun-on-the-water” activity, no protests are allowed, and, in fact, if any sailor lodges a protest, that boat is disqualified.  The VHGSR itself may be a total of six to eight nautical miles in length and may take about two to three hours to complete.  The Valley Ho Squadron power boat fleet usually attends and keeps track of the progress of the several contestants, although they scrupulously avoid interference or disruption of the wind for any sailboat.

The VHGSR has four distinct phases: The Exciting Race Start, The Dramatic Race Finish, The Victory Lunch, and The Impressive Award Ceremony (note: These are all capitalized, of course, because these are official titles of these events).  The post race dock party (Victory Lunch) or a dinner (Victory Dinner) at a local restaurant may be scheduled to provide sustenance to the weary sailors and to provide a venue for the Impressive Award Ceremony wherein the Valley Ho Squadron winner is presented with The perpetual trophy.  Sailors from other District 13 Squadrons may participate but only the Valley Ho Squadron sailors are eligible to win the trophy.