Colorful sails dotted New York Harbor Tuesday, as the Dennis Conner International Yacht Club Challenge, held by the Manhattan Sailing Club, kicked off the first day of races. The international regatta includes teams from Bulgaria, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, United States and Wales. Yacht Club Bulgaria, skippered by Ivan Grekov, claimed victory in the first race, but there are still plenty more chances to win, as races will run through Sat. Aug. 26 with two races daily between noon and 5 p.m. The Bulgarian team asked a battery of questions before the races began, and their curiosity paid off when they beat 15 teams to come in first, with second place going to St. Petersburg Yacht Club, skippered by Rich Doyle. Winning skipper Grekov commented that manning the tiller as helmsman for Wednesday’s races would be Karen Mitchell, a disabled woman working to qualify for the Olympics.
Janet Kwon
