Why aren’t we sailing more???

[sailorsuz]

Hi. My name is Suzy and I am addicted to sailing. Thanks to GBCA I can get my fix on a multitude of boats. But when the icicle series ends, most people will forget about all the racing until it's a  reasonable temperature to go out sailing again, which would leave me without anything to sail for a couple of months if I didn't have a boat of my own. Herein lies the problem with Galveston bay sailing. We Texans can sail literally year round and choose not to. That's why I like Galveston Community sailing center so much. They offer fleet races week in and week out for their members as well as host open team and fleet races throughout the year. This allows me to feed my sailing addiction when the clubs up the bay don't have anything going on. My membership is super reasonable and I get to play on their boats pretty much whenever I want. The best part is that I don't have to maintain any of them!

[shawn]

Right now the link to the calendar is not working but I thought we had Frostbite series next.

[Bee]

HYC Midwinter Feb 27 and 28.  Skippers meeting is Friday Feb 26 at 7.

[PrisSail]

Hi Suzy,

I'm also addicted to sailing, but I'm owned by a boat so "fixing my addiction" means Time and Money, LOTS of time and money.  I don't understand your post - did you mean you are addicted to RACING?  Maybe there aren't races every weekend, but there is always sailing in Galveston bay, if you don't believe me drive over the Kemah bridge and have a lookie on any day of the week.  "We Texans", and others, DO desire to sail year-round, you would too if you owned a boat.  So why don't you buy a boat?  Oh!  You have access to the Galveston Bay Sailing Center, and you don't have to maintain any of their boats, good for you.  So what is the point of your post??

Racing is hard on boats, and the owner of the boat I usually race on will spend quite a bit of time and money servicing his boat before the HYC Midwinter Regatta.  Since you haven't raced with us and never will, howze about you contribute some of YOUR time and money to the boats you use to satisfy your addiction?

"Herein lies the problem with Galveston bay sailing"
You wanna know about sailing problems Suzie?  My boat has been raced hard (offshore) and put away wet, come over and let me show you the $3500 primary winch I just cleaned and inspected, it is trashed, I don't know what happened to destroy a big winch like that, but my boat isn't sailing anywhere until I renew that winch.  If we have ever met, the first thing you probably noticed about me is my smile, and that it needs about $2500 worth of dental appointments.  I also desperately need new glasses, but that ain't gonna happen any time soon because last night one of my crowns came unglued I was eating dinner, which didn't bother me nearly as much as the solenoid for my propane tank that started misbehaving while I was making dinner.

"The best part is that I don't have to maintain any of them! "  Oh Joy, I am sooo happy for you.  But please explain some more about your addiction and our problems with sailing year-round, I'm not getting it.

[Deckhand]

I don't believe Suzy was being critical of anyone, but trying to promote "Community Sailing Center Galveston" http://ssbgalveston.org/community.php . It took me a couple of times to also understand the connection. CSCG is another fine organization that caters to the sailing public. They have Wednesday Night Races and open Saturday sailing, all for a reasonable fee. It is also the home of "Sea Scout Base Galveston". CSCG has very nice facilities and if I lived in the Galveston area, it would be a good alternative to not owning a boat. I do agree with Miss Pris that owning and racing a boat does not leave a lot of free time OR money!
Past Past Commodore Scotty

[gadangit]

I happen to know Suzy and this post is a complete and total mis-characterization of who she is and what she wrote.  I suggest you re-read her post and take out all the things you think she said and respond a little differently. 

Yep, owning and racing a boat is not cheap or for the faint of heart. 

Hi Suzy,

I'm also addicted to sailing, but I'm owned by a boat so "fixing my addiction" means Time and Money, LOTS of time and money.  I don't understand your post - did you mean you are addicted to RACING?  Maybe there aren't races every weekend, but there is always sailing in Galveston bay, if you don't believe me drive over the Kemah bridge and have a lookie on any day of the week.  "We Texans", and others, DO desire to sail year-round, you would too if you owned a boat.  So why don't you buy a boat?  Oh!  You have access to the Galveston Bay Sailing Center, and you don't have to maintain any of their boats, good for you.  So what is the point of your post??

Racing is hard on boats, and the owner of the boat I usually race on will spend quite a bit of time and money servicing his boat before the HYC Midwinter Regatta.  Since you haven't raced with us and never will, howze about you contribute some of YOUR time and money to the boats you use to satisfy your addiction?

"Herein lies the problem with Galveston bay sailing"
You wanna know about sailing problems Suzie?  My boat has been raced hard (offshore) and put away wet, come over and let me show you the $3500 primary winch I just cleaned and inspected, it is trashed, I don't know what happened to destroy a big winch like that, but my boat isn't sailing anywhere until I renew that winch.  If we have ever met, the first thing you probably noticed about me is my smile, and that it needs about $2500 worth of dental appointments.  I also desperately need new glasses, but that ain't gonna happen any time soon because last night one of my crowns came unglued I was eating dinner, which didn't bother me nearly as much as the solenoid for my propane tank that started misbehaving while I was making dinner.

"The best part is that I don't have to maintain any of them! "  Oh Joy, I am sooo happy for you.  But please explain some more about your addiction and our problems with sailing year-round, I'm not getting it.

[sailorsuz]

My intention of this post was not to insult the hard work that goes into maintaining a boat or the blood, sweat, tears, and sacrifices boat owners deal with on a regular basis (especially those who are dedicated to racing). I merely wanted to showcase what Galveston Community Sailing Center has to offer for those who can't afford expensive slip fees, maintenance costs and everything else that goes into owning a boat. I see now that I may have gone about that in the wrong manner before, and for that I apologize.  So, I'm sorry PrisSail if I have offended you. I do happen to  know what goes into keeping a boat afloat, as I have spent my fair share of time and money trying to keep my Morgan 32 in working condition as a 21 year old full time engineering student. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavors on the water.

[Hamburger]

I can say without hesitation that I've never been in the situation that I wanted to sail, but there just wasn't anything going on. It's always the other way around: lots of opportunity but no time to participate. Real life gets in the way.

[Bee]

I can say without hesitation that I've never been in the situation that I wanted to sail, but there just wasn't anything going on. It's always the other way around: lots of opportunity but no time to participate. Real life gets in the way.

Well said.

[JayZ]

I'll agree with Suzy on this.  The Galveston Sailing Center is absolutely top notch!  It is an amazing thing that was built and for those that haven't seen it take a look next time you go across Offats Bayou on the way to Galveston.

My son has sailed a couple of regattas out of that venue and i took a quick tour.  VERY IMPRESSIVE.

That said,  I'm with Al  I think there is always opportunity to sail unless of course life gets in the way.  ...I.E. being "corporate sponsor"  and Land Crew for my kids youth sailing programs -althoughI wouldn't trade that for the  world.

At any rate, I've often thought we had too many regattas here on the bay.  I'd like to see bigger but fewer events.

Cheers,

JZ

[Bee]

At any rate, I've often thought we had too many regattas here on the bay.  I'd like to see bigger but fewer events.

Bee agrees whole heartily. 

We have the least expensive sailing venues and we still have trouble getting more then 4-6 competitive boats out in any given regatta.  The offshore races (Heald, HYC, and GBCA (2)) started with a nice number and then just died down to essentially Harm's Way, Second Star, and Stinger.  Should have had at least 8 or 9.  Would have had that or more in the "olden" times.  I guess one can argue that these kinds of events are too expensive, but from my perspective that's not true.  Regattas are actually cheap here in sunny So Texas.  Don't have a clue as to how to get more boats out, but sure wish we could.  The HMR's are also down considerably from when Stinger first started doing them.  Need more boats.

[Hamburger]

The talk about too many events has been going on for years. Incidentally, one of the biggest concerns not mentioned here is that it takes an army of volunteers to put on a good regatta and we're wearing out our volunteers the way we're going.

For the 2016 J/70 North American Championship at LYC in May we're trying something that is new in its breadth of application: The cadre of race officials will be a true representation of the best Galveston Bay has to offer: We're really excited to have representatives from all four Bay Area clubs (LYC, HYC, GBCA, TCYC) and the Sea Scouts on the water for this event. I see this as an example of how we could transform racing on the bay to build the 'bigger regattas' that y'all are talking about.

Fewer Regattas: Which one's should go away? Somebody speak out about that, and don't exclude your own club! I see several categories of events:

Weekend Bay Regattas, the staple of racing on the bay: HYC Midwinter, GBCA Performance Cup, HYC Elissa Regatta, LYC Shoe Regatta, HYC Leukemia Cup, HYC HOOD, LYC J/Fest, HYC Turkey Day

Offshore Regattas: LYC Heald Bank, HYC Offshore Regatta, LYC Emerald Coast, GBCA Texas Two-Step, LYC Harvest Moon

Fixed Marks Races: GBCA Icicle Series, GBCA Rum Race Series, LYC Bay Cup Series

Specialty Events: GBCA Conundrum, GBCA Singles, GBCA Doubles, GBCA Women's

I'm sure I missed some (e.g., TMCA?) events. Each category attracts its own set of participants and the vast majority of the regattas have significant history. Is that a reason to keep it? I don't now. Which ones should go away? Step up and say!

Here's a thought that I'd like y'all to ponder: Should we not have a Galveston Bay Championship? Not yet another event but crowning the right boat as the Galveston Bay Champion at the end of the year. A boat that has participated in a predefined set of regattas which includes the three clubs that put on bay regattas and outperformed the rest (not as easily defined as you might think!). Think about it: Would this not provide an incentive to participate in a wider set of regattas? We could define this as a small set (e.g., Performance Cup, Leukemia Cup, Shoe Regatta) or any combination of larger sets, maybe mixing weekend regattas with fixed mark ones. In the end we'll have a (rotating?) event attended by all that celebrates the champs. That would pull the bay together and generate some excitement!

[Tye Dyed Gary]

  I am not saying do away with any regatta's. What, you might consider is changing the format on some of the regattas to 'One Day' vs Two Days. 1)It would be less stressful to get crew , many can only sail one day, 2) less wear and tear on race committee, and 3) Sunday could be an alternate, IF, weather caused problems on Saturday. 
  It is something to think about, does this regatta really need to be two days or is one with 3 to 5 races enough?

[Bee]

Al:

In the past, Stinger has done almost every regatta and race available. That is mostly due to the fact that I never felt that I could afford owning a racing sailboat until I reached my 50's. Its fair to say that, with a couple of exceptions, I have enjoyed every regatta and race and really appreciate all the work you and all the volunteers do in this regard.  It would be difficult to impossible for me to give you a list of the regattas I think should go.  The only race I would change is the second GBCA offshore.  I really miss Texas Race Week and wish we could figure out a way to bring it back.

My biggest concern is the lack of big boat entries in our races and regattas.  When I first started racing on the Bay, one could count on as many as 8-9 boats in any given PHRF class.   Now it is more like 4 or 5. Based on their HOOD regatta with close to 100 entries, HYC did and excellent job of getting a lot of entries, but the number of big boats was modest. I am uncomfortable sailing on the same line with 75 boats that are much shorter and lighter then Stinger.  Generally the line is too short and the potential for collision is too great. I certainly do not know what to do about the lack of big boat participation but its not a small issue.

I am rapidly reaching an age where physical limitations are going to force me to reduce Stinger's overall participation. While I am not ready to do it, I suspect the first to go will be the offshore races.   I will break a leg to keep doing the HMR, but it may have to be on a different easier ride boat. I may eventually get to the point where I just do the pursuit style races and even limit that to one such race each weekend.  I am pretty sure it also means that I won't be downsizing to something like an 88 or 70.

Its safe to say that I don't have any suggestions for cutting back on the number of races. I pretty much like them all and I believe those volunteers do an absolutely fabulous job of making it all work.

[Bee]

  I am not saying do away with any regatta's. What, you might consider is changing the format on some of the regattas to 'One Day' vs Two Days. 1)It would be less stressful to get crew , many can only sail one day, 2) less wear and tear on race committee, and 3) Sunday could be an alternate, IF, weather caused problems on Saturday. 
  It is something to think about, does this regatta really need to be two days or is one with 3 to 5 races enough?

Well said.