THE BOB JAMES MOBJACK BAY MEMORIAL REGATTA

The Ware River Yacht Club has had the good fortune to have among its charter members, not one, but two former Olympic sailors from the 1960’s sailing the US Flying Dutchman Class dinghy, Harry Sindle and Bob James. In 1968, soon to be Ware River YC member Robert “Bob” Lee James Jr. won the US Olympic trials regatta in San Diego, CA and went on to represent the USA in the Flying Dutchman (FD) class in Acapulco, Mexico finishing 9th out of a field of 30 International participants. Over the next few years, Bob won a number of both local and National regatta’s sailing his prized Dutchman boat “Merry Dutchess II”. In 1972, one year after the founding of Ware River Yacht Club, Bob and Andy Kittler (another Ware River YC member), won the US Nationals in the Flying Dutchman class, this time as Ware River hosted the event.

In later years Bob sailed larger keel boats and enjoyed sailing the beautiful waters of the Mobjack Bay and its tributaries. Originally a native of Mobjack, Virginia, Bob passed away in December of 2016 at his home in Bena, VA. This regatta is a tribute to both his life and the legacy he left at Ware River, and what better way to honor that legacy than to race in those same waters.