GBCA Discussion Forum

Increase entry fees???

Bee, if you click on the text below the picture, you'll get the jpg picture and can print that. Or do we need to call Steve Jobs? Just messin' with ya.......

Check out the attached flyer for details about the Test Drive Day. J-Boats Southwest is also bringing the new J-95!

As Buddy said in a previous posting: This is an opportunity to grow the sport. Let's do it! Pass the flyer on to your neighbors and friends!

The Test Drive Day at Lakewood Yacht Club is definitely 'on'! Mark your calendar for Saturday 5/22 and, most importantly, pass it on to everybody you know who

• is trying to get into sailing but hasn't found a way to get in
• is a casual sailor but may be interested in getting into racing and wants to try a faster ride
• is new to the area and wants to establish connections
• wants to hang out with all the other sailors
• wants to help promote sailing in the area
• etc.

J-Boats Southwest will be there and is graciously sponsoring refreshments, the Viper 640 will be there to satisfy all those who couldn't stop salivating after seeing them at the Shoe Regatta and KO Sailing will be out to demonstrate some of their sailing toys. There should be something for everyone, from big to small. I'll post the complete boat list as soon as I have everybody committed.

Plan on having a blast!! And don't forget to call your friends who always wanted to crew on your boat, but you always had a full crew already.....[/list]

I believe that a lot is simply the confluence of PIS (Post Ike Syndrom) and TP (The Depression). Money just doesn't seem to flow as easily into whatever is necessary to keep a decent race program going. Evidence is easy to come by: Just look at the area club memberships.

The second issue I see is that, although this is one of the most boat-dense regions, we don't seem to be able to get many high end regattas going - I mean, events that attract programs from elsewhere (There are, of course, a few notable exceptions, like the J-80 NA's last year). As a consequence, some of our better area sailors are looking around the country - or beyond - to find the big challenges. Otra Vez, Solaris, Mojo, Hot Ticket, to name a few.

The third issue is that too many of those who are still buying boats get a ride that has little to no chance for a one-design class. As a consequence, you end up with PHRF racing and, while that is perfectly fine, it is (among others) frequently up to the whim of the weather who wins. That does take a little away from the satisfaction of winning, and provides too much excuse for loosing. I'm sure I get a lot of 'input' for this statement, but I'm certainly a firm believer in OD racing to test your sailing skills and get the blood pumping. Check out the current Annapolis NOOD regatta entrants - makes me green with envy! So, if you want to race, get a J-22, 24, 80, 105, 109, Viper 640, Sovereil 27 (?), Ensign, I'm sure I'm missing a few, here, but the message is that there's something for almost everyone. All these classes have the makings of a OD start. Or go crew on one. It's a pain to sail a 109 by yourself (I'm going to try this summer, though....)!

Lastly, there are a few bright spots: sign-up for the Shoe Regatta is strong (I guess, everybody needs new shoes....).The Vipers are coming for this event and they will organize real time tracking, to be played live at the LYC club house or on any interested computer. That's an exciting new concept! Also: We will organize a Test Drive/Demo Day at LYC, most likely on 5/22. Here's our chance to attract fresh blood into the racing ranks. I know from my own experience that, once you've raced, there's no going back. Details will be out shortly, but plant to get involved, and make sure to tell everybody!

Folks, I have checked with the LYC Flag and got the necessary support to put on an event like this. Tentative date: Saturday, 5/22, a week after the Shoe Regatta. J-Boats Southwest would support the event, similar to AYC, as would Jeff Jones/Viper. I'm also checking with KO Sailing. The concept would include test drives on the Lake for the smaller boats and the Bay for J-80 and up.

There's also talk about HYC, and I don't want us to get into a 'club competition'. So, let me hear y'alls thoughts on the venue. I'm personally not fond of the idea to split the event for the larger and smaller boats. One advantage of LYC is that we have almost everything from J-22 to J-145 at the club (exception: J-132 and shaky on J-24). Of course, I haven't checked with any of the owners yet.......If we go with LYC, the proposed date is pretty much 'it' unless we want to wait until it's unbearably hot and the wind disappears. Since this is less than 4 weeks away, let's settle the venue quickly!

Hamburg will be there, looking for a OD class for the 109's.

Current results are now available on the MEXORC Website at

http://www.mexorc.com/

Check it out!

If we're saying that a single crew member can have a huge impact, I'm even more against allowing two non-members on borrowed boats. How about requiring the lone non-member to be a Catergory 1, as a compromise?

The issue with the non-members is for us primarily the fact that this was published so late, that we had to make our crew selections beforehand, and that it is not reasonable to expect that we un-invite anybody and scrounge around for somebody who didn't have anything else planned for the weekend just ahead. If we want to got the route proposed now, I'm good with that, but let's start that with some advance warning, i.e., next year.

Al

I agree that there is no ambiguity in the instructions. But I disagree with the way the new rules have been set up. In a borrowed boat you can have two non-members (one being the owner), in a non-borrowed boat none? That makes no sense to me. However, if that's what everybody agrees to, I'll shut up. But not not this year, when the information was published a few days before the regatta. From the various chatter going on, I'm not the only one expecting that the non-member rule would be the same as in previous years. By the time the rule was published we had to have our crews pretty much in place, and there are quite a few from several clubs with an 'alien' on board.

I'm lobbying for having a bit more discussion among the participants before we change from what we've done for quite a few years. In the meantime, for this year let's allow one non-member on each boat, period.

Al

These rules seem to be different from the ones we used to sail by. Specifically, I remember that it was acceptable to have one non-club member on board. This was NOT dependent on whether the boat was borrowed or not. Since we're all a bit under time pressure here, I propose to maintain that old rule. A quick response would be really nice!

Al