Bay-Waveland will host U.S. Junior Women’s Doublehanded sailing this weekend

The United States Junior Women’s Doublehanded Championship for the Ida Lewis Trophy will be hosted by the Bay-Waveland Yacht Club this weekend.

Races will take place Friday through Sunday. Youth female sailors from the Coast and the rest of the nation will compete.

Twenty-nine boats and 58 sailors ages 13 to 19 along with their afterguard from all around the country will battle for the championship. No private coaching is allowed. Competitors must be individual or family members of U.S. Sailing and U.S. citizens at the time of registration for the event.

A maximum 40 boats is allowed.

Participants will be expected to be able to fly a spinnaker on a trapeze and manage a boat in up to 20 knots of breeze.

“BWYC has a long history of hosting U.S. Sailing National Championships and is proud to be a partner in the sailing community on a national level,” former BWYC Commodore Richard Heausler said. “Our club welcomes the competitors from around the nation to participate on the Gulf Coast.”

The U.S. Junior Women’s Doublehanded Championship for the Ida Lewis Trophy was started in 1995 when it became apparent that a second championship in a doublehanded boat was needed to complement the singlehanded event. It became a U.S. Sailing national championship in 1996.

The trophy is named after Ida Lewis, the heroic daughter of a lighthouse keeper.

This story was originally published July 6, 2016 at 1:55 PM with the headline "Bay-Waveland will host U.S. Junior Women’s Doublehanded sailing this weekend."