Lakewood Yacht Club Race Committee Chairman Dwight Bengtson has announced that the  Heald Bank Regatta has been scheduled for the weekend of April 16-17.

This race, which is open to the public, is held offshore in the Gulf of Mexico starting at the Galveston jetties, marker 11.  The race begins on Saturday afternoon and finishes early on Sunday morning.  Spinnaker boats will sail a triangle course of approximately 85 nautical miles while the non-spinnaker boats will sail a two legs reaching course of approximately 60 nautical miles.

“This should be one of the most fun nights of racing that one can experience offshore south of Galveston,” related Bengtson.  “It is also a good warm up for the longer distance races held in the Gulf such as the Harvest Moon Regatta coming up  October 13-16 of this year,” he added.

Past Commodore Tony Wessendorff stated that the silver level sponsor for the Heald Bank Regatta is Sea Lake Yacht Sales.  Bay Access, a not-for-profit organization created to foster amateur racing, is also a sponsor.  Wessendorff also added that racers should know that PHRF certificates are not required for the cruisers class.

There is a mandatory Skippers Meeting on Friday, April 15 at 7 p.m. in the Chart Room at Lakewood Yacht Club, 2425 NASA Parkway in Seabrook.  Trophies for this race will be presented at the Sea Lake Yacht Sales Shoe Regatta Awards Ceremony which will be held the evening of Sunday, May 22.

To register for the Heald Bank Regatta, please go to Lakewood’s website at www.lakewoodyachtclub.com  Or, for questions, call the club’s office at 281-474-2511.