Lakewood Yacht Club’s Harvest Moon Regatta® Chairman Jack Seitzinger  has announced that the Skippers Meeting for the 29th Annual Harvest Moon Regatta® will be held on Friday night, Oct. 16, 7:30 p.m. in the club’s ballroom, 2425 NASA Parkway in Seabrook, TX

“Since this is a highly attended event of up to several hundred people, we are encouraging racers to come early to pick up their skipper’s packets at 6:30 pm,” Seitzinger related.  “Then they will have time to review the sailing instructions before the start of the meeting.”  The packets as well as on-line t-shirt purchases can be picked up in the Game Room (now called Captain’s Quarters) which is down the hall from the ballroom.   Other T-shirts and race paraphernalia can be purchased from volunteers in the ballroom lobby. Wristbands for the Welcome Sailors Rum Party in Port Aransas on Sat. ,Oct. 24, will be on sale in the ballroom.

“The Skippers Meeting is a critical one for racers to attend,” stated Lakewood’s Fleet Captain Ashley Walker, “as additional information will be addressed such as expected weather conditions, any changes to the racing rules or the dockage in Port Aransas.” The Harvest Moon Regatta® is a 150 mile race from Galveston to Port Aransas which will be begin on Thurs. afternoon, Oct. 22 and ends at the race finish in the channel at “Port A.”  Racers will be arriving in “Port A” at varying times on Fri., Oct. 23, depending on the wind conditions over the Gulf of Mexico.  The popular Welcome Sailors Rum Party will take place on Sat., Oct. 24, during late afternoon at the City Pavilion.  After a bar-b-que buffet, an awards ceremony will be held where race winners receive their trophies and the overall winner of the coveted Cameron Cannon and Bacardi trophies are announced.

The regatta is a US Sailing “offshore” regatta open to all racing cruising spinnaker and non-spinnaker sailing yachts with a minimum length of 27 feet.  Over 150 boats are expected to race this year with close to 2,000 racers, friends and family attending the awards ceremony.

The regatta is organized by Bay Access, a charitable organization supporting amateur racing.  It is hosted by Lakewood Yacht Club, City of Port Aransas and Port Aransas & Mustang Island.   A record number of sponsors this year include all Bay Access annual race sponsors, as well as Harvest Moon founding sponsor Bacardi U.S.A., with support from Quantum Sails and the City of Seabrook. “Through the support of these enthusiastic sponsors, we are able to provide a first-class event for our racers,” explained Seitzinger. For further information, please check the race website at www.HarvestMoonRegatta.com.