29er Class in North America
As long as skiffs like the 49er remain in the Olympics, growing the youth version – the 29er – will be vital for North America to keep pace. Currently there are 350 29ers in North America, with about half of them in the USA, but it is estimated that 80% of those are on the west coast. To further the growth of the class, the “westies” organized an east coast road trip after the 2008 US Nationals at the Columbia Gorge, with four regattas lined up in Marion MA, Jamestown RI, Kingston, ONT, and Annapolis MD. Picture this: summer, teenagers, skiff sailing, three time zones away from home, fast food wrappers throughout the car… just your every day misspent youth. Image by John Liebenberg
2008 East Coast Summer Tour
July 25-27 US Nationals - Cascade Locks, OR
Aug 1-3 Buzzard's Bay Regatta - Marion, MA
Aug 9-10 East coast Champs - Jamestown, RI
Aug 16-20 North Americans - Kingston, ON
Aug 23-24 Mid Atlantic Champs - Annapolis, MD
Rather than rely on overseas suppliers and exchange rate variances, Canadian-based PS2000 is the North American builder. The class is seeing great growth all over the country, with the latest hot spots being the east coast and Seattle, with a good showing at most races and the energy to drive large distances to race in bigger fleets like North Americans that had 65 boats.

- Max Fraser for Scuttlebutt