HYC Offshore

[BJSailor]

C'mon folks, time is short!!!

NOTE -
.  Registration deadline is Sunday, 24 April.  That's this Sunday, as in 3 days from now!!!
.  No late registrations will be accepted.  Sign up by Sunday or we're SOL.
.  4 Boats to make a fleet.  If there aren't 4 boats, there's no fleet.  If there's no fleet, there's no race.
.  $100 registration.  Dig deep for one day of racing.  These events are expensive to put on, so pony up!
.  Mandatory Competitors Briefing on Friday, 28 Apr.  You'll never know the signals, marks or courses unless you're there.
.  PHRF GB certs. are mandatiory.  Danelaw is now legal:-)

No excuses!  This has been on the calendar for months.  It's not like you didn't know that the second leg of the Texas Navy Trophy was going to happen next weekend.

[JayZ]

Leigh and I already have plans to be out in Kerville driving through the hills well above the posted speed limits with a slew of vintage sports cars so I can't make it otherwise I'd be there to show support.

It kind of makes me sad that the sport of "offshore" racing seems to be really suffering around here lately.

I think it would be very wise and a good gesture on their part  if HYC extended the registration beyond Easter Sunday. 

[GordieK]

Hey Folks....I changed the deadline to Wednesday  night.....forgot about the holiday weekend. Hope that helps on the entries..Gordie

[Charles]

Thanks Gordie

[Big John]

Assume the mandatory skipper's meeting is Friday the 29th since Friday the 28th is a conundrum.  No, that is someone elses race.  Clean up the act.  Paraphrasing Bee, "What does it mean if there is a mandatory Skipper's meeting and no one has the time machine to be able to be there on the 28th Friday."  Hmmm  Gotta get an  anonymoujs logon....
j

[sailfastliveslow]

Hmmm?  $100, no competitors, long slog down to Galveston and back, a 70s era triangle course, one day, party week later in different town regatta?  Not exactly a compelling affair.  Just saying.

Read Cleans latest tirade in Sail Racing Ezine and he pretty much sums up this sorta deal.

[Kevin Bednar]

Personally I had a blast on the Heald Bank this year and have a number of good memories from past HYC offshores.  "70's era triangle courses" are some of the most popular around here including the Bay Cup and GBCA's own Icicle and Rum race series.  We've actually had quite a bit of interest in fixed mark courses for some of the major regattas from people who'd like an excuse to sail their boats but don't want to spend all day hoisting and dousing in windward-leewards.

[BJSailor]

At the USSailing Yacht Club Summit at the beginning of April, there were over 180 Yacht Clubs and sailing organizations represented and more then 300 total attendees.  There were many topics presented / discussed on some amazingly open forums - including race management, membership, participation, handicap and one-design racing, and many more.

There was an overwhelming majority of folks who agreed that, in our current environment, the single best change to racing formats that have been made to increase participation was to re-introduce fixed mark races and move away from what are now termed "boring windward / leeward courses" (their terminology, not mine).  Across the country, clubs are increasing their participation by moving toward distance (and short) fixed mark courses that challenge the sailors to actually trim their sails to something other a beat and a run.  More non-spin boats are participating.  More handicap boats are participating.  More cruising boats are participating.  And guess what - one-design participation has increased also!  Windward / Leeward courses definitely have their place for many one-design fleets and shouldn't be discounted, but all change isn't necessarily bad.

There was another positive item that came up at the Yacht Club Summit that a number of clubs have used to get more sailors and boats on the course - CLUB HANDICAP racing!!!  There were 30+ clubs that use some type of club handicaping as a tool to attract cruisers or non-racers to come out and play.  I don't think anyone at GBCA would be a bit surprised at how excited many clubs were to hear the details of how GBCA has implemented their Club Handicap system.  I had about 15 minutes of briefing time (allocated 5 minutes) and the interest / questions had to be continued after the session.

Take a look in Galveston Bay at the organizations that have increased or decreased participation over the past few years. Those that have increased race participation have listened to the racers and adapted their formats, races, and schedules to provide a product that satisfy the largest majority.  Informal races (Rum and Icicle races), one day events, fixed mark races, distance races are all now proving themselves as the product that the sailors prefer.

There were a lot of take-aways from the Yacht Club Summit.  Many of them confirmed that some of the things we're seeing on Galveston Bay are what are successful in other places too.

Maybe those folks back in the 70's knew something.

All Yacht Clubs in Area F (Brownsville to Jackson Hole) have been given two mandates for 2011 (as determined at the Area F meeting earlier this year) - 1) get more children sailing, and 2) get more sailors drinking beer after racing.  The first is self explanatory.  The second is a mandate to get more sailors and boats out on the course and racing and then to show up afterward to socialize.  Devising alternatives to two-day windward / leeward events seem to be doing just that across the country in Area F, in Texas, and in Galvestion Bay.  Kudos to those GB clubs that are thinking outside the box and/or paying attentiion to those things that get more sailors drinking beer after racing!

Many of us have very fond memories of the fun and challenges of the overnight offshore races we've had over the years. Most of those memories are about the journey and not the desitnation.  I hope this event isn't cancelled again this year.

[ChrisA]

Well said, Brian. You forgot to give kudos to Kevin Box for taking the initiative for the GBCA Club Handicap class and the organization for including them in regattas whenever possible.

[BJSailor]

Although I neglected to mention Kevin in my previous post (apologies...), he certainly got plenty of mentions in my briefings and discussions in Chicago as the Wizzard behind these initiatives.  The credit here as well as Nationally goes to Kevin:-)

[Bee]

And, compared to Clean, Kevin Box is a Saint.

All Clean and the Anarchy crowd does is scream and holler to make sure SA gets more hits and Tempesta gets more $$$.

I guess its OK to sail to Cabo, but not OK to round some marks off Galveston.

[sailfastliveslow]

Really not the race format that seems difficult to comprehend; it's the skipper's meeting and party.  Think about it, for a single day of racing in our Gulf, as pleasure itself, how many more days are involved?  The skipper's meeting, and then, a week later, the party.  How many racers (skippers and crew) will show up a week after the event is over to celebrate?  Compare to, say CRW, where you show up Thursday afternoon, rig, sail Friday-Sunday, party every night and then awards early Sunday and back home.  In 72 hours, you get 10-20 races and 3 parties.  See the problem?  Just saying.

[Kevin Bednar]

Actually, I don't see the problem.  But then, I'm pretty sure most of us who do the offshore triangles aren't in it for the parties or even the trophies.  You should check out Texas Race Week on Galveston.  GBCA always puts on some great races, parties and trophies for that one.

[Bee]

After one of the all night Heald or Freeport Triangles (HYC Offshore) all I want to do is sleep.  I can't even drive home without at least a couple hour nap. I would never attend the party.

Trophies?  All we need is for someone to keep records that can be viewed on a smart phone.  Maybe we should award pictures of trophies.  Easier to store, easier to recall, and much cheaper to acquire.  Just think of the great slide show at the party --- oh wait, I won't be there.

[ChrisK]

Heald and the the HYC offshore races are exactly that, offshore races. They are not a race to a huge party (Harvest Moon) or a race week, like Texas Race Week or Charleston so the comparison is apples to oranges.  
I don't know how else you would do an offshore event like this in one day, given that the majority of the large boats capable of doing this race call Seabrook/Kemah/HYC home....
The Heald, HYC events are alot of fun. It's a great place to cut your teeth and get some offshore racing experience under your belt.
They are challenging races (try shooting the jetties after a long night), certainly long enough to test your endurance and your boat preparation. It's ideal if your crew aboard who may not be able to handle the motion of the ocean or have the proper gear...
In other words, the two races are not the distance of Harvest Moon, Race to the Border or Veracruz so they are a nice shakedown if you plan to do longer distance regattas or gain a little blue water experience when it comes time to deliver a boat to a far away land.

One of the biggest perks of all is you still have Sunday to recover and take the kids to T-ball practice...(with enough caffeine). In that respect, I actually think the format of the two offshore regattas are ahead of their time.

Finally, the Heald and HYC event put you in the running for the Texas Navy Cup...