Thomas Clark Memorial Regatta - Tri-Club River Race Series

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A very special ECYC tradition is the annual Thomas Clark Memorial Race each year in October. The Clark Race is the second leg of the Tri-Club River Series held in collaboration with the Essex Yacht Club's Thomas Willets Memorial Race and the Pettipaug Yacht Club's Charles Birch Memorial Race.

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Each race is named in honor of a special member of that Club. In our case, Tom Clark was a renowned Essex sailmaker who was a friendly fixture among the Essex boating community and an early member of the club. He sadly passed away in 1988. Past Commodore Jim Nash and his wife Liz donated the Clark Race Trophy in his memory, and the race has been run yearly since 1991.

 

Tom's wife Molly is one our club's two honorary members (Dr. Robert Ballard is the other). All ECYC sailors are encouraged to register and sail. Each race will feature a cruising class (or classes, depending on the fleet) for boats with PHRF ratings and an Ideal 18 class. The Clark Race will also be open to other one-design classes like Lasers, 420's Blue Jays, and MC Scows.

 

The Cruising boat with the best-combined result across all three races will win the Tri Club River Race Trophy in Celebration.