Western Outdoor Times - Times Spent Outdoors: Priceless!

Join us on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Jan. 17-18-19, 2014 for the 54th AYC Birthday Regatta and 15th Leukemia Cup -- three days of racing, cruising and desert hospitality! The Arizona Yacht Club Birthday Regatta has been raced continuously for over fifty years, held each year on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. weekend. It's Arizona Yacht Club's premier event.

The expected classes include Capri 14.2, Laser, Buccaneer, Portsmouth, Thistle, Catalina 22, Viper 640, Merit 25, Montgomery 17, Santana 20, PHRF spin, PHRF non-spin, Multi-Hull -- or create your own one-design fleet, or just come out and cruise!

Yes, this is a Leukemia Cup event, though without the live auction of years past. We're still raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and invite you to sign up for the Leukemia Cup scoring on Saturday. The top-finishing Leukemia Cup entrant in each fleet will be the winner. Tony Chapman is heading up fundraising and invites you to begin collecting money and to set up a fundraising page. If you have questions, please contact him at (602) 956-5101.

Sail with us, with over 200 sailors and "shore crew," and 70-plus boats. Sail under blue skies in front of the Black Mountains near Castle Hot Springs, Buzzard Neck and Humbug Bay. Celebrate with us under the stars, between the saguaro and ocotillo, with the burros and coyotes on our little slice of "Sailing Heaven," Lake Pleasant, just 45 minutes north of Phoenix.

The AYC Birthday Regatta provides a fabulous taste of desert winter sailing with warm days, fresh breezes and a wilderness vibe that no other regatta can match.

Emory Heisler (602.679.0462)

AYC 2014 Birthday Regatta Chairman